Echoes
by Kagaseo
Summary: AU. A modification of the seal holding back the Kyuubi has surprising consequences. When each choice brings about a new world, what will happen when different possibilities collide? Many Naruto wreaking havoc! First fic.
1. Chapter 1: Space Breaker

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. It belongs to Kishimoto.

_**Chapter One: Space Breaker**_

Somewhere in the Land of Grass, the land was shattered.

Shards of rocks were flying, trees were cut, and a bridge was destroyed in a deafening explosion. Faster than the wind, two figures engaged each other in battle, circling, running away, beginning a deadly dance of punches and blows.

The fighters were a red teenager with three tails and a white man with snakes attached to his hand.

The crimson juggernaut's cloak of chakra burned the man's reptilian allies, and a great sphere formed in his left hand. The white snake gracefully avoided it, and the rasengan instead crashed on the ground, creating a crater as large as a house.

Slamming his hands together, the treacherous Sannin began a hand-seal sequence. Dozens of cobras escaped from his mouths, biting the vessel before being consumed by his unholy chakra. The container fell, his body covered with wounds.

"Does that hurt much, Naruto-kun?" Orochimaru asked with mock concern. He was filled with a sadistic joy.

The teen immediately stood up, while the power of the fox healed his flesh and skin. "I barely felt it," he stated, lying through his teeth.

"Like your teammate." Orochimaru's clothes were still tainted by Yamato's blood. "But I forget: he didn't have the Kyuubi to help him, so he must have died painfully…"

Naruto's fists clenched. He only knew Yamato for a few days, but he was saddened and enraged by his death. He failed to save him, like Sasuke. "You will pay for that," he promised.

Team 7's mission was to meet a spy at the bridge, a person that could help them find Sasuke. When they arrived, they discovered his identity: Yakushi Kabuto, the treacherous medic-nin. But before they could do anything, Orochimaru had shown up, and Kabuto had attacked the disguised Yamato, revealing his true allegiance to the snake.

It was at that moment that Sai backstabbed them.

_"Why Sai?" Naruto asked, avoiding a swing of the teen's sword._

_His aggressor didn't respond verbally, only increasing the speed of his assaults. Looking sideways, the demon vessel saw Kabuto and Sakura engaged in a deadly dance of medical jutsu, and Yamato barely avoiding the fists of Orochimaru._

_"Why are you doing that?" he shouted as he punched the other boy in the belly. "Why do you betray us?"_

_"It is my mission." His voice was cold, emotionless. "Orochimaru-san has an alliance with the authorities of Konoha, and I cannot allow you to kill him."_

_"That's bullshit!" Naruto punched Sai in the head, and he heard his opponent's nose breaking under the strength of the blow._

_Sai didn't even flinch. "Believe what you want, that's the truth. I am sorry, but I will have to remove you."_

_"Then… I am sorry too." The vessel punched the traitor again, and again. Sai's face was now bruised and bleeding._

_Sai riposted, cutting the skin of Naruto's left cheek with his blade. A small tear of blood fell on the ground as Sai's disturbing smile widened even more. "If you want to live, you will have to kill me."_

_"We don't have to kill each other!"_

_"We are ninjas. We are killing machines." The statement was flat, as if it was an universal truth. "One of us will die today. If you don't kill me, then your friends will die too."_

_Naruto suddenly realized something. "You want to die."_

_Sai's fake smile shattered a bit. It was awfully disturbing, but it confirmed Naruto's idea. "I only live for the mission. I have no name nor identity, only the mission. Death is the only alternative to the mission."_

_"You can stop! You can live for yourself!" He formed a rasengan in his right hand._

_"As I told you, I don't exist. I can't feel anything. I will never be able to live normally. I am… a tool. And tools only exist to be used, or to be broken." The smile returned. "Please… kill your heart." He charged at the container, his blade in hands._

_Naruto closed his eyes. "I am sorry," he said as his rasengan tore the boy apart._

And then it got worse.

_"Sensei!"_

_Naruto could only watch helplessly as a dozen of snakes bit Yamato. The reptiles shredded his skin, tearing away his flesh and basting Orochimaru with human blood. Then, nonchalantly, the creatures released their grip, leaving the bloody mess falling on the soil._

_The Sannin then glared at the surviving members of team seven. "Now it's you-"_

_"Orochimaru-sama!"_

_Naruto's rasengan didn't kill the traitor. It only hit Kabuto's belly. The medic had jumped between the two of them, saving the snake at the cost of his own life. As the vessel saw the transpierced body of his enemy, completely bloodied, Naruto found similarities between the current situation and Haku's death at the Land of Wave._

_Like Zabuza before him, Orochimaru tried to destroy them both. Unlike the mist-nin, he didn't use a sword, but a wind jutsu. Naruto barely had the time to withdraw his arm before the air cut Kabuto's corpse in half._

_The snake smiled. "Thank you Kabuto. I knew I was right to recruit you. Still, you could have killed the girl. Disappointing."_

_Disgusted by the man's lack of emotion for his subordinate's sacrifice, and angry at him for killing Yamato, Naruto felt the power of the Kyuubi racing in his veins. As he changed of appearance, becoming more bestial and being wrapped in a cloak of red chakra, Naruto looked sideways at Sakura. "Flee! Return to Konoha! I will kill him here and now, but I need a lot of space. I don't want you to die in the crossfire!"_

_"But Nar-"_

_"Flee!" he ordered her. "Leave!"_

_Sakura reluctantly obeyed. "Don't die!" she shouted as she disappeared within the forest._

_"I will come back, I promise!" he yelled back._

_Orochimaru smiled, amused. "I am a bit angry, Naruto-kun: you underestimate me. But let me, in my great generosity, teach you a valuable lesson." He began a hand-seal sequence. "Don't make promise that you can't keep."_

_As three tails of power formed in his back, Naruto charged at his adversary, intent on avenging the Sandaime, Yamato, and all the people killed by the man._

The Sannin smirked. "Always so strong, so courageous, even in the face of your own failures. Somehow, I have the impression of fighting another Minato… one without the original's talent."

The Jinchuuriki's eyebrows raised. "Who?" He wondered why did he ask. Sakura's life depended on him, and he had to stay focused.

The man's vicious smirk widened. "What, Jiraiya didn't tell you?" He sneered. "But it is not like he taught you anything valuable…"

Naruto greeted his teeth. The snake was trying to anger him, he knew that, so he tried to calm himself. He had learnt long ago that his hot-blooded nature had only brought him problems. While preparing himself to attack, he decided to answer to his enemy. "He taught me many things."

The Sannin laughed.

It was neither psychotic nor ironical. Simply honest. Naruto was completely taken aback by this reaction. "What? A big sphere of chakra? How to summon toads? Seriously, what did you learn during these last three years? How to make a bigger rasengan?"

The three tails of chakra behind Naruto stopped to move as he stiffened. He hated to admit it, but the Sannin was right. As he failed to find an adequate answer, the snake continued to mock him.

"Did he teach you how to use toads for practical techniques? Did he teach you his sealing art? Did he teach you any new jutsu?" he asked cruelly.

Naruto frowned. "He taught me how to use the Kyuubi's chakra."

"No." The Sannin smiled. "This power isn't yours. The fox is only loaning it to you… while killing you from within." Naruto's surprise must have shown on his face, because the traitor decided to explain himself. "Aren't you aware of the price of this chakra? It's breaking down your body, shortening your life expectancy! You must have lost, what, fifteen years of your life during your 'training' with Jiraiya. And let's not talk about how many times you used that power during your battles! You will be lucky if you reach sixty!"

Naruto closed his fists. It wasn't true, it wasn't true…

"You must have already felt it before! That suffering, that comes when this red energy fades away! It is only a shard of the existence that awaits you as Konoha's sacrifice!"

"That's not true!" Naruto shouted. "Tsunade-"

"Tsunade lies to you!" Orochimaru responded. "If she wanted you to be strong, you would already be able to compete with me without the Fox! With the power of the Kage Bunshin, you path could have been one of greatness! The power to learn everything, to assimilate the knowledge thousands of your copies have collected?" He glared at Naruto. "That power, I have looked for it… killed for it… and you, and only you, could have used it to its full potential!" He walk in circle around Naruto, immediately on his guards.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked, more and more confused. The man was lying, he knew that… but he seemed so honest… still, his eyes followed his nemesis' every moves…

The snake's eyes transformed into two pits of hatred and scorn. "You never found out? The memories of a Kage Bushin always return to the original. If you had created thousands clones, made them practice hundreds of techniques, during the last three years, then you would have been a credible challenger, and not a banal child dependant on the power of a treacherous demon."

The lie was… no. No, it wasn't a lie, he realized. It was the truth. All the times he had vivid memories of a hundred of death, of Gaara's sand crushing him, of that bone freak's deadly attacks…

"And do you know that the Rasengan is incomplete? That elemental manipulation could have finished it? But, excuse me, I forget: you don't even know what elemental manipulation is, don't you? Too bad, Sasuke knows. Jiraiya knows. Kakashi knows. I know. Even your friends must know! You're nothing more than a red chakra pump! Konoha kept you on leash, stained your growth, and weakened you!"

Lies. Lies. Lies. Lies. Lies. Lies. Lies. Li-

"But then, they acted the same with your mother, so I can understand."

Naruto froze.

"That proud lady of the Whirlpool, so strong, so active, so HATED!" Orochimaru shouted with an insane glee. "The previous Kyuubi's vessel! Restrained by Konoha, weakened, cast aside, until your father saved her from her misery!"

"You…" he was lying, he was lying- "You knew my parents!"

"Every ninja in this rotten place knew them!" the Sannin spat. "The Sandaime, their protector; Kakashi, your father's student," he smiled cruelly, "Jiraiya… your godfather."

Rage filled Naruto's heart, and the Kyuubi's voice roared for blood and destruction in his mind. "YOU ARE LYI-"

Pain raced through his body, as a sword erupted from the snake's mouth, transpiercing his thorax.

Rage became insane hatred, and the Kyuubi's chakra intensified. Naruto's skin was torn away as blood and demonic energy fused to create an unholy scarlet armor. As a fourth tail formed behind him and as he took the appearance of a miniature Demon Fox, the boy struggled to maintain control over his body.

"_**Let me kill him,**_" the Kyuubi's voice said in his mind. "_**Let me take care of him.**_"

"That power is not your own!" Orochimaru withdrew the Kusanagi of his opponent's body and this time, tried to behead him with an elegant swing of his blade. The composite being's neck stopped the blade like a rock. One of the tails smashed the Sannin, burning the lower half of his body. However, it wasn't enough as a second, fully healed Orochimaru emerged from his older self's mouth.

"The Sandaime never believed in you!" the Sannin taunted. "He pretended to love you, but did nothing to help you reach your full potential! You think it is the first time the old fool has done that? Then why do you think I deserted Konoha? He tried to restrain all those who could surpass him!"

Before the struggling spirit of Naruto could respond, the snake's fingers wrapped themselves with purple flames. "And without limits, my power now surpasses the Kyuubi itself!"

He opened his palm and then touched the transformed Naruto's belly. The container fell on the floor immediately, his scream resonating through the entire battlefield.

No word precise enough to describe what the teen felt at that moment existed in this word. Pain was far too weak, and torture an understatement. In an instant, the power flowing in Naruto's veins left, giving way to the greatest dolor imaginable. He felt all of his body burning from the inside. The Kyuubi's coherent sprit was shattered instantly, leaving only his unrestrained hatred and chaotic memories instead.

The worse thing was that the red chakra was still leaking from the seal… but without any will to direct it. The wild power shredded Naruto's chakra coils while healing them, filled his mind with terrifying images of slaughter and misery…

But despite all his hatred and malice, the Kyuubi discovered this day that even his evil couldn't overcome the sheer determination and willpower of his container. Naruto, despite the pain, remained sane and aware of his surroundings.

But as he saw Orochimaru gleefully enjoying his victim's situation with a sadistic smirk, the blonde teen also saw images of his past behind his enemy. The day he learnt to tree-walk, the day he met Jiraiya, the day he finished the rasengan…

"They… taught… me…" he muttered.

"They taught you the basics." Orochimaru's voice was soft and friendly. Naruto could have mistaken his tone for one of kindness, but he was painfully aware that the Sannin was simply delighted to hurt him even more. "Kakashi taught Sasuke his best jutsu. During these three years, while I have taught Sasuke kenjutsu, sealing, practical summoning, genjutsu, dozens of jutsu, advanced taijutsu and elemental manipulation… Jiraiya has only corrected some of the flaws in your taijutsu, taught you how to make a bigger rasengan, and how to ask the Fox for chakra. That is all." He lowered his head to lock eyes with his victim.

"Because of the Sandaime's, and Tsunade's, orders. Because your village did not believe in you. Because you were not meant to be a ninja… but a slave."

Naruto didn't respond. He wanted to, but he realized it was the truth. The demon vessel was completely self-taught. He had never received help, or never enough. He had never got any real training, only pointers. And… he didn't know who his parents were… until Orochimaru told him.

Why had he been so naïve? Why had he believed they would help him? Why had he loved them? They had lied to him, and he had always known. He realized that, deep down, he had always repressed these thoughts. He wanted their acknowledgment, he wanted them to praise him… and he fell for their false friendship.

Orochimaru smirked. "But don't worry, you will be avenged. As soon as I take over Sasuke's body, I will attack Konoha again, and burn it to the ground… after I kill your girlfriend, of course."

Somehow, Naruto, hearing these words, found the strength to move. He punched the snake in the face.

Orochimaru was catapulted backward, hitting a tree and breaking it. As he stood up again, Naruto, covered with an inform mix of blood and wild chakra, felt the seal on his stomach burning. Looking briefly at it, the teen noticed it had changed. It was now a twisted symbol, a black web, fluctuating with periodic pulses of chakra.

"You are right, Orochimaru," he said, while the pain left, replace with a twisted feeling of omnipotence. "This power isn't my own… like this body isn't yours. It doesn't matter." He formed a sphere of chakra with his right hand. "Do you know why?"

Orochimaru didn't respond.

"Because even among those liars, I found real friends." Images of Iruka, the owners of the Ichiraku, Sakura, the other Konoha rookies, and Lee's team formed in his mind. "And I will not allow you to hurt them!"

At that instant, Orochimaru understood that he had awakened a sleeping giant. "Crap," he muttered as the ball of energy reached him, pulverizing the landscape with a bright flash and deafening sound.

When the dust cleared up, the Sannin had disappeared. In his place, a giant crater. As the vessel thought his adversary was finally dead, something erupted from the ground. A disgusting mass of white flesh grew more and more, until it reached the size of Gamabunta. Eight heads of snakes were now gazing hatefully at the teen.

One of the hydra's mouths opened, revealing the nude torso of Orochimaru instead of its tongue, the Kusanagi in his hands. "That's a strong attack that you have there, Naruto-kun," he taunted him. "But it's not strong enough."

Unfazed, Naruto ran at the beast. He didn't know for how long he could manage to control the Kyuubi's wild chakra, or if he would even survive for long, but at least he would drag the Fox and the snake in the underworld with him.

As he felt the seal on his stomach more and more, the vessel reached his enemy at full speed.

The seven other heads of the monster reared up to strike, and tried to bite him. But their speed couldn't keep up with the red juggernaut, who avoided all of them. "Friends?" Orochimaru shouted. "That's your reason to fight? Open your eyes! Your friends are dragging you down to their level, restraining your potential!"

Jumping, Naruto soon found himself flying at Orochimaru himself. "They are chains!" the Sannin snarled as he moved his weapon.

Naruto didn't avoid the stab. Instead, he used the opportunity to grab the man's head with his chakra-charged hands. The blade _did _penetrate through the wild, chaotic chakra cloak, piercing his left shoulder, but Naruto did not care. His fingers burned Orochimaru's flesh, making him scream with pain.

"If my life was a lie…" the container rasped, with a deep, hollow voice as swirling winds of red chakra enveloped him and his nemesis both, "if everything I did was for nothing… if everything I believed in was an illusion… then nothing matters anymore! I don't care if I die here! I'm taking you with me, Orochimaru!"

The seal on his stomach fluctuated, changed, and space itself twisted into a black hole.

"No," Orochimaru screamed desperately, as the void consumed his hydra's body, "I will not die here. I will reach eternity, and become omniscient! The eyes of your friend will be mine… everything will be mine! I am Orochimaru of the Sannin, the necromancer, the Sandaime's killer, and I! WILL NOT! BE DEFEATED!"

Flesh became dust, blood became gas, and the immortal Sannin was swallowed into nothingness.

"I AM OROCHIMARU! AND MY WILL! WILL BE DONE!"

The Sannin's last words resonated in Naruto's head as he saw him disappear before him. Only the Kusanagi sword, now in his hands, was the proof that Orochimaru even existed. The hole had consumed him completely, like an ogre.

The world was breaking down. Powerful rays of light swarmed Naruto, as his surroundings were erased from existence. A crimson wind of chakra enveloped him, and he sensed the seal burning away his skin.

"I'm sorry… Sakura-chan," he muttered, with sadness in his voice. "You will have to save Sasuke without me."

A second later, he found himself lying on a street, under a clouded sky.

* * *

><p>"Hey."<p>

He kept his eyes closed.

"Hey, wake up!" the girly voice shrieked. "WAKE UP!"

Naruto grumbled, before opening his eyes. He saw a blonde, cute infant angel…

"Damn, you're a lazy bastard! Get up or I will kick you in the balls!"

… or maybe not.

Naruto gritted his teeth. "What do you want?"

"What do I want? You passed out in front of my home! Can't you find another place to sleep? Are you a hobo?"

Naruto reddened at the accusation. "I am not a hobo! I am a ninja!"

"Really?" she asked, surprised. Then she noticed his headband. "Oh, sorry, are you a hobo-ninja?"

He immediately stood up, with a mask of anger over his face. "I am not a hobo, damn it! I am a genin of Konoha!" The girl took a step back, terrified, and Naruto suddenly noticed he was still carrying the Kusanagi in his left hand. He immediately softened up. "Sorry, I didn't want to scare you. I am in quite a bad mood."

He didn't know how, but he had survived. Well, he was tired as hell, bruised, and his clothes were shredded at some places. But at least, Naruto was alive. He didn't know where he was, but it certainly wasn't the battlefield where he just killed Orochimaru. Perhaps had he been summoned? Teleported somewhere by the unleashed power? The teen would have to look at the seal to check it out.

The girl accepted his excuses with a nod. She was Konohamaru's age, had long, blonde hair, and beautiful blue eyes. She had strange marks on her cheeks, and was wearing an orange vest and pants. She looked like a younger version of his female transformation.

As much as he was pleased to see someone wearing the best color ever, he had more important things to do. First and foremost, he had to check up if Sakura had survived. Secondly, he had to interrogate his "teachers" on Orochimaru's revelations. As much as he was loathed to admit it, the monster did have a point, and if his mother really was the previous container of the Kyuubi, then he had to know. Thirdly, he had to warn Tsunade about Sai's treachery. And finally, he had to show Jiraiya the seal on his stomach.

"Well," he said to the girl. "Can you tell me where I am exactly?"

She frowned at him. Naruto knew this look well. _Are you stupid _was written all over her face. "In Konoha. The southern district, to be more precise."

So he was near his home. And in Konoha itself? Was it fate that transported him there? Looking at his surroundings, Naruto found that, yes, he was in front of his home. He saw the Hokage tower standing far away from them, and the four village leaders watching over the town.

The teen blinked. Four? "Where is the Godaime's face?"

The girl smiled. "Godaime? I know Sandaime-jiji is old, but he did not kick the bucket yet. And if you want to see the future Godaime, then here I am for you!" She pointed her finger at her face.

Still confused, the vessel stared dumbly at the girl. "Who are you?"

"Me?" She grinned. "I'm gonna be the future's first female Hokage ever, the great Naruko Uzumaki!"

Shock spread over Naruto's face.

* * *

><p>It was definitely a crazy place.<p>

It was Konoha. The districts were the same, and with the exception of the missing head of Tsunade, everything was identical to the original village, down to the last house. But…

The Sandaime was alive. The oldest of all Hokages wasn't dead and buried, killed by his own, favored student. And the townsfolk were… different.

Younger.

First and foremost, he saw some of his friends, the other rookie nine. And they were the same age as Konohamaru. He saw Shikamaru and Chouji eating on the top of a building. He watched Sasuke training at his empty compound. Heck, he even observed Kiba taking Akamaru on a walk! The dog was now a puppy, adorable, but not an adult, like in Naruto's Konoha.

Finally, there was one last little problem…

"So Hobo-san? What are doing exactly? You're on a walk?"

The girl followed him everywhere. Like Konohamaru! Though if she was who he thought she was, then it was expected of her to seek the company of a person that didn't ignore or threaten her. He sighted. "I am not a hobo."

"Yeah, right," she snorted sarcastically. "What's your name, actually? I gave you mine."

Outwardly, Naruto was the very picture of calm; inwardly, he was a nervous wreck. He thought about what kind of name he could give… and then found one. "Sai."

"Sai?" He nodded. "That's a nice name."

"Yeah," Naruto said. "Naruko is a nice name too."

It was completely lame, but it had a strange consequence. The girl's smile widened hugely. It was… a normal smile. Not the false one she was always showing to the world. "Thank you mister."

"It's nothing." He stiffened. The vessel looked at the top of a building, but saw nothing. Strangely, he had the feeling that someone was watching them. He gave his kindest smile to the little girl.

"You know what, Naruko, I am a bit hungry. Do you know a good restaurant?"

"Yes!" She was almost jumping in place. "It's the Ichiraku Ramen Stand, and Ayame-chan and Teuchi-jiji sell the best ramen in the world!"

Naruto nodded. Another clue. "You know what, I'm feeling generous today. Do you want a meal?"

She stared at him with an awed expression. "Seriously?"

"Yeah."

She stayed silent a moment. And then-

"YOU'RE THE BEST HOBO EVER!"

* * *

><p>The ANBU gritted his teeth. "He knows we are observing him."<p>

"You're sure Dog?" Yuugao Uzuki asked her sempai.

The man nodded. "For a young man of his age, he has good instincts. He doesn't show it, but he is on his guard."

"What do we do then?"

"He mustn't know we are following him and Naruko. Use a genjutsu to mask your presence."

"Okay." She stared at the teen. "Who is he?"

"I don't know," Dog answered honestly. "But if nobody except us noticed his presence, then the barrier is ineffective and our guards useless. If he works for a enemy village, then we're in big trouble."

"He seems interested in Naruko. Do you think he is aware of her condition?"

"I hope he does not," he said. "I really do."

* * *

><p>Ichiraku's was the same place that he remembered. Well, Ayame was a little younger, but the only disturbing thing was the color of her skin. To be this red… was she ill? And for once, the villagers weren't glaring at him, but at Naruko.<p>

The first time he had noticed this behavior, he locked eyes with the girl. The sad, dead look on her face was the same that he had worn himself during his childhood, before he met his friends. And what about the dread in her gaze, when she had stared back at him? She was obviously afraid he would reject her.

Instead, he had glared back at the villagers. It must have been disturbing for them, to see a teen with the 'demon girl', if he heard them well. But they quickly decided to focus on other, more important matters. Yeah, the Kusanagi on his back truly was intimidating.

"Well, Sai-san, will that be your order?" Teuchi asked, with a hollow tone.

"Yes."

The man nodded, before giving him the ten bowls of ramen. "Never thought I would see someone eating as much as an Akimichi," he muttered, unaware of Naruto's sensitive hearing. He ignored him, like he ignored Naruko's shocked expression as she saw him eat twice as much food than her in less tan a minute.

When he finished, she was staring at him dumbly, before looking at her five bowls of ramen. She began to eat at a surprising speed, as if she could beat his record. Teuchi kept his laugh in check, and Ayame only had eyes for Naruto. The mysterious observers seemed to have disappeared.

"So, Sai-san," she asked with a predatory look. "I never saw you in Konoha. Where were you hiding?"

It was time for Naruto to invent a believable lie. "It does not surprise me you don't know me, since I never stay in town for long. I prefer to go out in the field."

"Your missions must be important."

"It depends. They go from 'protect this man' to 'save that cat'. More the former than the latter, but it happens."

The teen noticed that Naruko had stopped eating and was now looking sideways at him. Ayame kept her look. Naruto found it creepy. "And your team? Perhaps I know them?"

He smiled. "I doubt it. Haku-san is too shy to talk to anyone outside of the group, Zabu-san is an asocial jerk, and Yamato-sensei is one of the most private people around. I would be surprised if someone other than the Hokage knew we exist."

She nodded, and strangely enough, her face reddened even more. She closed her eyes, and seemed absorbed in deep thought. And then she tried to close the distance between them. "A secret team, with a lot of missions. You must be a very competent ninja." She was now sitting one meter away from him.

Okay, what was wrong with her? Why was she acting so-

"And I like competent men."

…

Was she _hitting _on _him_?

"Well, I am quite capable in a fight, yes," he said. As he saw Ayame blink, Naruto hesitated. What could he do to stop the inevitable flirting scene?

Fortunately, his guardian angel came in the form of a bratty girl. "REALLY?" she shouted as she put herself between the two teens, much to Ayame's displeasure. "Can you teach me an awesome technique?"

"Yes."

"Oh come on, tea-" She stopped talking. "You accept?"

"Why shouldn't I?" he asked

She seemed at a loss for words. "It's just that… I… I never…" She stared at him with awe. "I don't know what to say."

"Then say nothing," he said. "But aren't you in the academy? Why don't you ask the teachers for help instead?"

She bit her lower leap. "They don't like me. They never help me."

Another clue. "Then I will," he told her.

"You promise?" she asked expectantly.

He smiled. "Of course, Naruko-chan." Ayame was looking at them with awe. Much to his displeasure, Naruto understood it only made him much more awesome than he already was in her mind.

Naruko did not care. "Then… why not tomorrow morning, Boss?"

* * *

><p>Unknown to Naruko, Naruto decided to follow her. Hiding on the top of a building, the vessel stared at the young girl as she returned home. In his apartment, to be precise. As much as he knew that it was creepy and just plain wrong to stalk a child, he felt he had to watch over her. Naruto's suspicions were now confirmed. He had no doubts about her identity anymore. Yet, he still couldn't believe the all but stated truth.<p>

She was another himself.

What had happened? What force sent him in a world where he was a girl and not a boy? Was it a powerful genjutsu? A trick? He doubted it, since the level of detail was far too high for an illusion, and its creator couldn't have known about unimportant things like Ichiraku's or the habits of the other genin. Except…

The Kyuubi. Taking away his jacket, Naruto channeled his chakra to his belly and stared at the appearing seal .

It was… a total mess.

The seal now looked like a spider's web, with nine circles inside of it. Nine spirals were enclosed by them. And in the center of the web, a form that looked disturbingly like an eye. The form of the web seemed to change. It was moving, like a living creature.

Closing his eyes, Naruto entered his mind.

When he arrived, he discovered it wasn't the same sewer anymore.

His mindscape had changed. The water wasn't troubled, but as clear as crystal. The corridors now looked like they were made of the purest steel, and were now illuminated, no longer dark and gloomy. "Kyuubi!' Naruto shouted. But he didn't get any answer.

It was at this moment that he saw the Kyuubi's cage.

It was a spider's web now. A web of dark metal, constantly shifting and transforming. Nine spheres of crystal were trapped by the construct, and Naruto could see a red light inside of them. And in the center of the whole thing, another sphere. But inside of it, he could only see deep darkness.

Between the threads, the teen saw strange mirrors, filled with blurry images. Approaching, Naruto touched one of them. The images soon became clearer.

He viewed himself. He watched a younger clone of him, at a hospital, healing a wounded Sasuke with medical jutsu. Disturbed, Naruto looked into another mirror. This time, he saw another himself summoning snakes, under the gaze of Orochimaru.

In another mirror, he was wearing orange armor and locked in a swordfight against an enraged Zabuza.

In another, he was training alongside Sasuke and Itachi, his sharingan observing Itachi's masterful accuracy with kunai.

In another, he was wearing a black suit and dancing with Hinata under strange, multicolored lights.

In another, he was smiling as he set a village on fire, killing everyone in the vicinity, before being challenged by a blind Sasuke.

In another, he was commanding the trees and plants, under the kind stares of Tsunade and Shizune.

In another, he was wearing an Akatsuki cloak and fighting against an adult Gaara alongside Deidara.

In another world, he was in the middle of a genjutsu battle with Itachi Uchiha himself.

And it continued, ad infinitum. In one mirror he was a hero, in another a monster. He saw himself as the greatest of all warriors and the weakest of all civilians. Naruto watched images showing him training under the Sandaime, Kurenai, Itachi and many more. Sometimes he was dating Sakura, or Temari, or Ayame, or some girl he had never met.

In each mirror, something was different.

"What the fuck?" was the only thing he found worth saying.

* * *

><p>The Sandaime Hokage was calmly reading Jiraiya's reports about a mysterious organization when he sensed a chakra signature in the vicinity. Looking up, the old man noticed the ANBU with a dog mask in front of him.<p>

"What is it Kakashi?" he asked.

The younger ninja removed his mask, revealing his handsome face and his mismatched eyes. His sharingan's three tomoes were swirling.

"Hokage-sama, I am afraid to say that we have a fake ninja infiltrated in the village."

Sarutobi frowned. "A spy?"

"I don't know, but he seems to be interested in Naruko."

The old man's eyes widened. "Explain me everything, in detail."

"We were watching over Naruko, like all times, and she ran into him. He looks like a normal genin, if a bit dirty, but he has an insane amount of chakra reserves. In fact, he is more or less a Bijuu without a tail."

"That's disturbing. The only person known with this level of chakra reserves is Kisame Hoshigake, an S-Rank missing-nin."

"Yes, but that is not the only worrying element about this false ninja. It's his weapon." Kakashi stopped. "The last time I saw it, this sword was in the hands of one of your students."

"The Kusanagi?" The Sandaime stood up immediately. "This boy is carrying the Kusanagi?" The ANBU nodded, and Sarutobi scowled.

"Hokage-sama, what do we do about him?"

"I want five ANBU watching him and Naruko at all times. I will warn all the jounin and ask them to keep an eye on him. If he is related to Orochimaru, then he mustn't be underestimated. If he is Orochimaru in disguise, then we need to take him by surprise. He never cared about collateral damages and attacking him inside of the village without preparation would be disastrous."

"And what about Naruko? He promised to train her."

Sarutobi's eyes narrowed. Had his student decided to steal the Kyuubi? To take revenge on his teacher through one of the people he cared about the most? "Kakashi, if he tries to corrupt her… if he tries to hurt her… if he tries to capture her… then stop him, no matter the cost."

Kakashi nodded gravely. "I will, Hokage-sama."

* * *

><p>A man was staring at the battlefield, his attention focused on the tiny, little disturbance in space. It was not big enough to warp its surroundings, and almost invisible, but he could sense it.<p>

He had observed the fight between the Kyuubi's vessel and the snake Sannin, and had found it entertaining, the results more than anything. He even forgot about his original goal, to observe Sasuke Uchiha's potential. Instead, he was currently analyzing this incredible thing.

It was a portal in space itself. A gate to somewhere else in the cosmos. He had never heard of something like this, so it was probably a completely unique phenomenon. And, if the slight diminution in size that he noticed was of any indication, a very ephemeral one too.

What should he do? He would probably never find something like this again, so it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But was it worth the risk? After a quick debate with himself, he decided that yes, it was. Without the Kyuubi, the plan was ruined, and if there was a slight chance of recuperating the vessel, then he had to take it. Heck, he might even find something interesting on the other side of this portal.

The man advanced, and disappeared into the void.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's notes:<em>**

Okay guys, here is my first story, Echoes. After reading some reviews, I decided to clarify some things.

1) This story has been inspired by Nobody102's idea of Legion, and by the huge number of fics that I've read, all with the simple basic premise: what if? Basically, this story follows the theory of the multiverse: there is an infinite number of alternate versions of the Canon Naruto around... and after some events, one Naruto gains the power to 'jump' in them, meeting his counterparts and recruiting them along the way. In clear, you will see the alternate Narutos that generally show up on this site, like a puppeteer, an evil one, one trained by the Yondaime...

2) This is NOT a NarutoxNaruko pairing! They are simply the two main characters. Honestly, while there will be some romance in the story, it isn't its main point! The main pairing will probably be a Naruto/Younger!Yugito.

3) The story will follows story arcs, and not be simply 'jump in world A, meet friends, jump in world B'. There will be main antagonists, because honestly, I think villains are half of the story and the heroes the other. Balance, guys. Balance.

4) Characters outside of the villains can and WILL die. Actually,

5) This story is trying to fill some of the plot holes left in canon, like the lack of training, the fate of the Senju, the fate of the Yondaime's belongings...

6) The main Naruto is not the canon one. It is very close of him, but have some key differences, mainly maturity. He's more focused.

7) I am open to critics, as long as they are constructive. If you think I created a plot hole, made spelling mistakes, did something wrong, tell it. How do you expect me to improve otherwise?

8) there will be cameos of other fics, if I get the authorization.

So tell me what you think of this chapter, and please review. It helps with the motivation.


	2. Chapter 2: Alternate Reality

This is the corrected version of the chapter, thank to Alpha142's suggestions. A great thank for your precious help!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Chapter Two: Alternate Reality<em>**

It was a normal morning in Konoha. Most people were asleep, Sasuke Uchiha was training alone, and a blonde girl was running in place.

"Sai-sensei, what will you teach me? How to teleport, how to breath fire, how to fly?"

Naruto smiled. They were at a special training ground, with some trees and three logs. A few stray memories rushed through Naruto's mind, but he ruthlessly repressed them. He would be to Naruko everything Kakashi had _not _been to him: a mentor, a teacher, a confidant. "I will teach you how to climb on trees."

Her face was immediately covered by a disappointed look. "But, I already know how to do it!"

"Like this?" he asked as he began to walk on the bark of one big willow, much to Naruko's amazement. When he reached the top, the vessel turned around and locked eyes with his 'student'. "Want to try?"

The girl immediately ran… and fell after three steps.

Naruto calmly jumped next to her. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm not!" she snarled before rising up. "I'm just surprised."

"It is normal for your first time," he said calmly. "The base of this exercise is to control the amount of chakra in your feet. Too much and you break the bark, not enough and you don't adhere to the surface."

She stared at him with a questioning look. He sighed. "Chakra is the fusion of your mental and physical energy. Basically, it's your stamina made form, and the fuel of all jutsu and all ninja techniques." He made a hand-seal. "If your want to channel your chakra and focus, then make this seal and concentrate. You will sense it."

Naruko obeyed, and closed her eyes. Naruto sensed her chakra, and found that her reserves were lower than his own when he had been the same age. The sex difference perhaps? Was her seal different than his own? The Kyuubi was still in her, however. He had learnt to recognize this foul power's distinctive aura.

As he saw her walking on the tree and falling after eight steps, the teenager understood that her chakra control was also better than his own at the same age, and as precise as his current mastery, aka average. After a few exercises, he was sure she would succeed at doing what he had never done: to create a normal Bunshin.

"When will you graduate, Naruko?" Naruto asked.

"In a week," she said as she tried the exercise again, this time making ten steps.

"And do you feel ready?"

"Of course I feel ready!" she answered. It was a lie, obviously, but it was expected. He had always refused to admit his weaknesses at the same age.

"Then I won't have to help you with the basics." He knew he was toying with her, but he wanted her to be completely honest with him. It was somewhat hypocritical, since he didn't even give her his name, but he intended to reveal it when she was ready.

Naruto found himself wondering if Jiraiya and Kakashi had thought the same thing. That is, if Orochimaru had told the truth, and not lied. His doubts had ultimately led him to decide not to confront the Sandaime: if he was the same as the one Naruto had known, and if his old student was right, then Naruto would probably not be allowed to teach Naruko anything, or might be used as a weapon, or might be directly sent to Morino Ibiki for a muscled interrogation. Even if the Sandaime was as kind as he had appeared to Naruto, the vessel didn't know how he would react to his revelations. The idea of alternate worlds already sounded half-insane in his own opinion. He could be sent to a mental institution, or worse.

Of course, there was the possibility of DNA tests… but if the divergent elements between this Konoha and his own were more numerous than expected, they might fail to help. How could he prove he was an alternate Naruko if they had different parents? All options being risky, Naruto had decided to say nothing, to train Naruko in secret and perhaps to contact a seal master on his own. The seal didn't seem dangerous, simply disturbing and useless.

It wouldn't be too difficult: Naruko only talked to the Hokage once per month, or after a prank. As long as she didn't talk to the old man, everything would be fine. Of course, she would talk to him after graduation, and then he would have to explain himself, but when that time came he would have found a believable story to tell.

He was so screwed it was almost funny.

Naruko bit her lower lip. "Well… I would need help with some things…"

Naruto smiled. "It's the Bunshin, isn't it?" he asked with false innocence.

The little girl stared at him blankly. "How do you know?"

"I guessed it." He stared at the tree. "You have… huge… reserves of chakra, but with little control over them. The Bunshin's chakra requirement is so insignificant that it is extremely difficult for person like you: they can't help but overpower the technique."

Her jaw dropped. "You mean I will never be able to create a Bunshin?"

"No, I mean that without enough control your efforts are in vain. But fortunately," he smirked, "I can help you."

"How?" she asked avidly.

"By increasing your level of control over your chakra, through exercises like this one. After you reach the top, I will teach you another one, and you should be able to master the technique before your graduation." He suddenly had an idea to motivate her. "And if you master the Bunshin, then I will teach you one of my jutsu."

"Really?" she shouted. As he nodded, she hugged him. "Please, tell me it's a big one."

"A really good one," he promised, "but only if you succe-"

Naruko was already on the top of the willow.

* * *

><p>For the next exercise, they went to the bathhouse, incognito of course. In Naruto's opinion, the water's temperature was relaxing, and it was one of the places where they would be left alone by Konoha's townsfolk. Nobody wanted to see the 'demon girl' nude.<p>

She wasn't nude of course (he wasn't a pervert, despite Jiraiya's 'mentoring'), only wearing a practical white swimsuit that he had bought for her, since the merchants were less than enthusiastic when Naruko had come with him the first time (even Naruto's menacing stare didn't convince them to sell her something). He, on the other hand, was simply wearing orange boxers and Tsunade's necklace.

"Hey, Sai-sensei, what is that?" she asked. "It's beautiful."

"It's a gift from someone that…" he stopped. How should he consider Tsunade now? If Orochimaru had told him the truth then she had lied to him… but on the other hand she had risked her life to save him from the snake the first time they had met. Perhaps she wasn't aware of his teachers' bad tutoring? "I love her dearly."

"Her?" Naruko's knowing look immediately told Naruto that he had just made a big mistake. "You have a girlfriend? Damn, I'm already imagining Ayame-chan's face when-"

"She isn't my girlfriend!" he protested. "She is far too old for that!"

"Yeah, whatever," she said with a smile on her face. "And why does the age difference matter?"

"It matters when she's old enough to be my grandmother. And that I somehow consider her as such." _Despite everything_, he found himself thinking. "But anyway, I don't have a girlfriend."

"Then talk to Ayame-chan. She is only waiting for your proposition." She winked at him, imitating a kiss. "Or perhaps it's because of me?"

Naruto smiled. "Maybe… but back to business. The next exercise is an extension of tree-walking, the water-walking." He stepped on the hot water. "It's basically the same thing, but since the surface is not solid, it's much harder."

She nodded. "But why are we doing this here, in the men's bathhouse? Why not near a river?"

He had already prepared an answer. "The heat will relax you and help you concentrate. And at this hour, every man is somewhere else other than there."

It was the truth, but the _real _reason he choose this place was far more different: he hoped to meet Jiraiya, his old teacher, to show him the seal, and knowing his habits, the pervert would soon try to peep at the women through the hole in the wall. And he was pretty sure only he, Jiraiya, Ebisu, Kakashi and maybe the Sandaime were aware of its existence.

Yeah, he suddenly realized that all his teachers were perverts. Cursed libido.

The seal had changed, and he didn't know how to repair it. The Kyuubi was nowhere to be found, and Naruto couldn't access its chakra anymore. The strange mirrors inside of his mindscape also bothered him.

The situation wasn't that bad, however. Without the Kyuubi's chakra in his coils, his control over his own had increased dramatically. He was not even _close _of being able to compete with Sakura or Tsunade in this domain, but at least he was now on the level of a normal chuunin. Practicing this exercise with Naruko would benefit him too.

While he was observing his student's attempts (and failures), Naruto unexpectedly gained the memories of one of the clones he had sent at the library earlier in the morning. The information he had gathered on astronomy, mathematics and physics were interesting… if only the original could understand them! He found himself regretting not having studied well at the academy. If he had, he would have been able to find a rational explanation for everything that had happened to him lately. Heck, he might have found a way to return home.

_Hey… why not correct that mistake? _He thought. He created another clone, who immediately left for the library.

Somewhere, two clones dispelled. This time, the memories were more useful. The first one had been a member of the rasengan-training division, and the second of the Kusanagi-training division. The reports were mixed. While Naruto was now sure he would be able to use the rasengan without his clones at the end of the day (one hundred of his copies were working at it, so it was only a matter of time), his swordsmanship was the same as before: inexistent.

He _did _find how Orochimaru managed to make the sword grow (a chakra pulse, a discovery one of the clones had paid for with his life when the blade had cut through his head), but without the talent to back up this wonderful technique, the Kusanagi was only useful as a spear. He lacked Orochimaru's proficiency, and it was becoming clearer and clearer for him that without a sword master to teach him, his training was a waste of time. He would have to retrieve the weapon later in the day.

Naruto sighed. He briefly wondered where he would find a master willing to train him, until he thought of a solution.

The toads. Gamabunta wielded a blade, so maybe another amphibian knew how to use one as well. He had to ask Gamakichi about it.

Biting his finger, tasting his own blood, Naruto began the hand-seals necessary for the summoning jutsu, before slamming his palm on the ground.

Nothing happened.

Naruto tried again. And again. And again, until he noticed Naruko's questioning look. He locked eyes with her. "I have a little problem."

The understatement of the century. One of the only techniques he knew wasn't working anymore! Calming himself, Naruto closed his eyes and thought about the possible reasons behind this disaster. Perhaps his contract with the toads had been severed when he had crossed the barrier between his world and this one? Maybe the distance was simply too great for this jutsu to work?

The result was the same: no summons anymore.

Naruto repressed a scream of frustration. Why was the universe so intent on messing with him?

"What is it, Boss?" Naruko asked him.

He sighed. "It seems one of my techniques don't work anymore," he answered honestly.

"How is that possible?"

"I don't know, and frankly, I really don't want to talk about it." He looked up at his student. "What about you? Have you already mastered the exercise?"

"Yes." She backed up her claims with a demonstration. His 'sister clone' was now standing perfectly on the water.

Naruto smiled, and he joined her. He cocked his head towards her. "Are you ready for a spar on the water?"

"Of course."

"Then let's begin."

Less than a minute later, Naruko was sinking in the bath. Lifting her up above the liquid with his left hand, Naruto sighed. "Let me guess: your only recurring sparring partner is a log, or teachers and classmates outclassing you in everything. Am I right?"

He already knew the answer to his own question, since it had been the same thing with him, but seeing her nod angered the blonde teen. What the fuck was Iruka doing in this universe? At least he had corrected him some of the time in his homeworld! "Sorry, but your fighting style is full of flaws. You may get killed if you continue to use it." Naruto smirked.

"We will have to correct that."

* * *

><p>"Winner: Naruko Uzumaki."<p>

The girl looked at the limp form in front of her. Sakura Haruno was glaring at her, still under the shock of being outclassed by the dead-last of the class.

Her fighting prowess (Sai-sensei called it taijutsu) had improved dramatically over the last five days, and, two days before graduating, she was now able to beat all the girls in the class. Of course, Sai already told her that the clan heirs weren't allowed to practice their family's style at school, but her utter pawning of the civilians' children was clear proof of the effectiveness of the teenager's teachings.

"This finishes today's spars," Iruka announced. "Everyone can return home."

As Naruko was about to leave, the teacher put one hand on her shoulder. "I want to have a word with you."

Naruko frowned. "What's the matter, Iruka-sensei?" Another punishment? But she had won all the fights! It was unjust! "Have I done something wrong?"

"No," he replied. "But I want to know who taught you that style."

She bit her lower lip. "Why? And how do you know?"

"I am just a bit curious," the teacher stated. "This style is a bit different from the standardized one, so I thought someone trained you in using it. And you confirmed my suspicions."

Naruko looked at him strangely. "What does it matter? He is a nice guy." Sai-sensei was one of the greatest people she had ever met. He was friendly like Ayame-chan and Teuchi-jiji, kind like the Hokage-jiji, and willing to train her. She would repay him well when she became Hokage.

"I only want to know who he is. This style is a bastardized, if efficient, version of the academy one. I have never seen it before."

Naruko smirked. "I doubt you know him. Sai-sensei is a genin."

"Who?" he asked her.

Her eyes widened. "You don't know him?"

"No. Can you describe him?"

"He has blonde hair, blue eyes, always looks like a hobo…"

Iruka shook his head pensively. "I remember all my students, and I don't recall who you are talking about."

She bit her lower lip. "Perhaps he was in another class?"

"Possible," Iruka said. "I will do some research."

"Yeah. But now, if you excuse me, I have to go."

The teacher nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I'm sure that you're occupied. Well, tell this 'Sai' that his defensive stances are useless when the enemy targets the legs, and that he should protect his head a bit more. His style is ineffective against a fast opponent, and ..." Noticing Naruko's dropped jaw, Iruka grinned. "What, it's my duty to help my students, especially when they can improve."

* * *

><p>Naruto was meditating under a tree. He was near the place where he had fought Mizuki in his homeworld.<p>

The exercise was meant to increase his chakra control, but he didn't make much progress. In fact, he was more preoccupied with the loss of his summons. His clones didn't find any relevant data, and he was angry.

But his experimentations with the rasengan had worked, and he could now use it without his clones. He also mastered another technique he could teach to Naruko after her graduation. Now, he only had to try the exercises his clones gathered on elemental manipul-

"HEY! BOSS, WHERE ARE YOU?"

Covering his ears, Naruto repressed the urge to yell back at the newcomer. "I'm here, Naruko," he said calmly.

As soon as she stepped into the clearing, his student immediately hugged him. "Sai-sensei, I beat all the girls in my class!"

He narrowed his eyes. "Really? One by one?"

"One after the other! I am truly the best kunoichi of all time!"

_She really is a younger me. _"I'm very happy to see you succeed. It's the best thing a teacher could wish for. But next time, don't yell at me. It makes everyone in the vicinity aware of your presence."

"Why is that a bad thing?" she questioned him as they ended their brotherly embrace.

"Because some people might have bad intentions. If the enemy notices you too soon, you're going to be in big trouble." He learned this lesson the hard way at the bridge. If Kabuto hadn't seen them and attacked Sakura before she could reach and help Yamato, then the fight could have taken a very different turn.

"Yeah, says the orange eyesore," Naruko deadpanned.

"When you have the Henge, it's not important. And the enemy tends to underestimate ninjas in bright colors. I am talking about your attitude."

"What is wrong with my attitude?" she asked wearily.

"You act as if you want everyone to notice you," which she was trying to do, obviously. "You shout all the time, you make your presence known each time you enter a building, you tell everyone you want to be Hokage…"

"I am going to be Hokage!" she yelled at him again. Apparently, he had hit a nerve.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "And WHY do you want to be Hokage?"

"Everyone will then be forced to respect me!"

He stayed silent a moment, before using the armor piercing question. "Are they truly worth the effort?"

Naruko looked at him with a blank expression. Naruto knew he was in some way cruel, but he felt this talk was necessary. It had taken his retrieval mission with Sasuke for him to fully realize he needed to mature. His inability to understand Sasuke and to do what was necessary only brought him problems. His needless rivalry with him, coupled with his less than reasonable handling of his teammate, were the real causes of the Uchiha's desertion.

Pursuing the title of Hokage for nothing more than respect was simply illusory. The villagers would respect Naruko only if she acted like a martyr for a decade, and if Orochimaru's rant was the blunt truth, then Naruko didn't need to earn anything. They were _indebted _to her, and had (and would have) to repay the years of suffering they had inflicted on the other vessel in some way or another.

If Naruko truly wanted to follow the path of Hokage, then she had to do it for the right purposes, not because the Sandaime told her to or for perhaps empty words of praise. She needed a good justification.

He had returned to Konoha for the same reason he had stood against Orochimaru: to protect the few people he truly loved. And even now, when he saw Naruko treated as badly as he was, by the same people despite the differences between this world and his own, he was still doubtful he had made the right decision.

"Are you going to work all your life to earn the respect of the people treating like you like the scum of the earth? Are you going to forgive the people shunning you for nothing? Hokage won't bring you their acknowledgment. It is their acknowledgment that will bring you the title of Hokage, not the other way around. If you want to be Hokage, you will have to become this town's most respected champion."

He stared in the direction of the memorial. "If you want to be a hero, then your path will be one of pain and sacrifice. It is only then that your name will be written on this monument, far away from there."

"Then they will write my name on it!" she announced.

"Only after you died," he stated, and shock spread over Naruko's face. "It's a memorial, where the names of all the heroes that died for this place are celebrated. If you want acknowledgment, then you will gain it there." He locked eyes with her.

"Now, I want you to answer this question with sincerity: why do you want to be Hokage?"

For at least five minutes, the clearing stayed silent. Finally, the little girl murmured something.

"To protect my dearest people."

Naruto smiled. "You will. I promise I will help you to."

Naruko smiled back. "Yeah… but now back to business! What is wrong with yelling at the enemy?"

The vessel sighed. Some things never changed.

* * *

><p>"Aren't they cute?" Yuugao asked. "Dog-sempai?"<p>

Kakashi was as silent as a rock. He had observed 'Sai' (if that was his real name, and the ANBU was convinced it wasn't) and found him… disturbing.

The sheer number of clones he could make had pretty much confirmed his status as a Bijuu without a tail, but how could he even know the Kage Bunshin? Perhaps Orochimaru had taught it to him, and in this case this genin was surely a high-ranking soldier in the snake's organization. But he seriously doubted that the Sannin would give the Kusanagi to anyone, even an elite agent.

If this was really Orochimaru in disguise, then why was he acting so openly? The snake knew better than to show his sword in public, or even expose himself at all. Heck, the Orochimaru he knew would never be able to act like a big brother to anyone! Finally, another point truly disturbed the ANBU.

This boy knew the Rasengan.

Only he, the Sandaime and Jiraiya knew how to use this jutsu. Recreating it was next to impossible without advanced knowledge of the Tailed Beasts and chakra manipulation. Without Kushina, Minato would never have created this technique at all!

Who was this guy?

"Kakashi," another ANBU asked, "why are you acting like that? Is it a cat?"

Kakashi looked sideways at the four agents, tasked with the duo's surveillance. "No. I need to go for a walk," he deadpanned, as he stepped in the clearing, much to his partner's annoyance. After a quick search, Kakashi found what he was looking for: some of the boy's hair.

"Yuugao, would you kindly take this to the hospital? I want to test something."

* * *

><p>The day before graduation…<p>

Naruko channeled her chakra, and made a hand-seal. Three perfect copies of herself appeared in the clearing, all grinning. One minute later, a shout resonated in all of Konoha.

"I DID IT! I FUCKING MASTERED THE BUNSHIN!"

"My felicitations, my student," he complimented her while clapping his hands. True, she could have announced her success without the excess language, but he was willing to let it slide this time. Her joy was simply too pure to be tarnished now.

"I DID IT BOSS!" she screamed as she hugged him. Resting his palms on her shoulders, he smiled.

The moment lasted for a moment, before they separated. Naruko's face was as red as a tomato. "Thank you Sai-sensei. For everything."

His smile didn't waver. "It's nothing."

"No," she said. "No, it's not. I wouldn't have been able to do the jutsu without your help, sensei. You have helped me train when almost nobody even wanted to _talk _to me, and I couldn't have progressed this much without you." She bowed slightly. "Thank you, Boss."

Naruto, touched, returned the gesture. "You know, Naruko, I remember something… I promised to teach you a jutsu if you ever mastered the Bunshin."

She stood up, gazing at him like a hawk. "What kind of jutsu?"

He smirked, before disappearing in a cloud of smoke and silently reappearing behind Naruko. He put a kunai near her neck. "Give me your money!" he yelled; much to her horror, before laughing and stashing the weapon.

Naruko stayed immobile, before awing. "Badass."

"The Shunshin. Quick, efficient, silent." He didn't want to teach her the Kage Bunshin, because having Naruko explain to her future jounin instructor how she got her hands on a forbidden jutsu would be troublesome for them both, and the rasengan was simply too well known for being taught to a child. He didn't know how the Sandaime, Kakashi or Jiraiya would react. Maybe later.

He had learned the basics of the Shunshin from books, and the clones had helped him master it very quickly. They had also discovered some ingenious uses of the tree-walking technique, but didn't find any relevant jutsu in the library. All the knowledge about techniques was jealously kept secret by the clans, the village, and the ninjas themselves. The only public jutsu were the basic ones, unfortunately.

It took Naruko only five hours to master the technique. Her higher chakra control was certainly the cause of this result.

"You know what, Naruko," he told her. "Since your graduation is tomorrow, why not do something special for the occasion?"

"What?"

He grinned, and explained to her his plan. She immediately agreed, a smirk on her face.

Yeah, some things never changed.

* * *

><p>The day of the graduation came. Naruko was ready to pass, and Sai-sensei, after much deliberation, had finally decided to change his wardrobe for something more presentable than half-torn clothes. He was now wearing a black shirt, purple pants, and an orange cloak fully concealing his awesome sword. Naruko wondered why he was doing that, but Sai assured her it was simply to not make people uneasy.<p>

The Hokage Monument, watching over the town, now had a new face, courtesy of the Boss. Naruko's grinning head was staring at the town, much to its citizens' displeasure.

How the genin even _succeeded _in doing something like this in one night was a mystery for Naruko, but he promised to teach her how after her graduation. She was confident, of course. While she was an utter failure at academics, her accuracy was now average, her taijutsu very good, and she could finally do the Bunshin. Her success was assured.

But during the course of the exams, she noticed something strange with her teachers. While Iruka seemed happy to see her succeed, Mizuki's eyes were filled with a barely restrained rage. So much that he looked downright murderous when she made the three needed Bunshin.

In the end, she proudly showed her prized genin headband to the crowd of parents assembled before the school, much to their anger and Sai-sensei's joy. "I am a genin now, Boss."

"I know, Naruko. I never doubted it." He smirked mischievously. "Let's go to Ichiraku's. My treat."

"Cool!" she shouted. "I knew you would understand my needs."

* * *

><p>Kakashi's eyes widened as he read the medical report. He gazed at the doctors in front of him. "Are you sure it isn't an error?"<p>

"We thought the same thing the first time, Kakashi-san, so we reran the test three more times. We don't know how it's possible, but…"

Kakashi reread the report. He would have to talk to this Sai tonight.

* * *

><p>"Ten bowls, Teuchi-jiji!" Naruko yelled. "I'm going to eat until I pass out!"<p>

"The same thing for me, mister," Naruto ordered calmly.

"Of course!" he brought forth the bowls. Apparently, he had already prepared them for tonight.

"Teuchi-jiji?" Naruko's eyes shimmered with joy. "Are they what I think they are?"

"Yes," he confirmed. "This is the Deluxe Miso Ramen, created by the Ramen deities themselves to satisfy our earthly appetites with a heavenly savor! Prepared by myself to celebrate this special day!"

"YES! THANK YOU TEUCHI-JIJI!" the girl immediately started to devour the food at a blinding speed. Naruto smiled at the spectacle. Ayame and Teuchi also looked amused.

"So you're finally a ninja?" Ayame asked.

The younger vessel nodded vigorously. "Thang to Saiz-zenzei!"

"Naruko, don't talk with your mouth full. That's impolite."

"Buz zat the truf, Zai-senzai!" she swallowed. "You're the best teacher ever!" she claimed.

"You're that good?" Ayame questioned.

Naruto reddened a bit. "Well, I'm ok."

"Perhaps you could train with me one day?" she asked jokingly. "You would make a good cook."

"Maybe. Never tried."

Naruko looked up at him. "I'm sure you would be the best." She smiled. "Then you could prepare me some new dishes!"

He laughed. "Let me guess," he locked eyes with her, "Ramen?"

"You read my mind," she said mirthfully. "I knew we were made for each other."

The discussion continued, and between Ayame's attempts at inviting him on a date, Teuchi's jokes and Naruko's fascination with the Deluxe Miso Ramen, Naruto enjoyed the moment. He wanted it to last forever.

"Hello everyone," Iruka said, as he entered the ramen stand. "How are you doing?" he asked Naruko.

She smiled and touched her headband. "Very well, Iruka-sensei."

"I am very happy for you," he said kindly, before seeing the other vessel. He tried to hide it, but Naruto noticed the tension in his muscles. "And you must be the famous Sai, I presume?"

The demon container nodded. "Happy to meet you, mister," he shook hands with the man.

"As a fellow teacher, I have to congratulate you on helping Naruko to pass."

"You also have a part in this success."

"No," he said flatly. "It's only when you took her under your wing that she had begun to improve. I should have realized sooner that she needed an individual's help. I take this as a personal failure."

"Don't worry, Iruka-sensei," she said. "I _did _pass, after all."

"Yes, but if you hadn't met your friend, you wouldn't have," he stated. "I wouldn't have realized you needed more training in time and you would have failed. Badly."

"It's all right," she assured. "I forgive you."

He smiled. "I… don't know what to say."

"Then say nothing," Naruko smirked, much to Naruto's amusement.

But then Iruka posed a fatal question.

"Well, Sai-san," he said, "when did you attend the Academy? I haven't found anything on you within the archives."

At least now he knew the reason behind the man's hidden tension. He had doubts about the teenager's identity. Naruto didn't answer.

In fact, the silence was so awkward that he almost felt relieved when he noticed a figure standing on the top of the building behind them, unsealing a scroll and unleashing a wall of kunai upon the ramen stand.

"On the ground!" he shouted as he took Naruko in his arms and sheltered her behind the bar, Iruka imitating them. Teuchi and Ayame had good reflexes, and dropped to the floor. The weapons demolished the restaurant's façade.

"Impressive," a voice snarled. "You're a fast bastard."

"Mizuki?" Iruka shouted, horrified, as he recognized the voice. "What are you doing?"

"My duty, Iruka," he responded. "I am killing the demon for the good of the village."

"That's insane!"

"Of course, he is," Naruto snorted as he took the Kusanagi in his right hand, observing the man from an opening in the bar. "You expect us to die so easily? Get your head out of the clouds! Do you really think you can defeat three ninja alone?"

"No, of course not. You're like vermin, awful but tough," Naruto saw him smirk. "That's why I have brought back-up."

The vessel's eyes blinked when he saw a dozen ninjas getting out of the shadows of the empty street. The two guards of Konoha's gate, a disfigured man, one of the Chuunin Exam's proctors, three ANBU and three other ninjas he only saw once or twice. They were all heavily armored and prepared to kill them.

"We have all agreed that having the demon brat as an official genin is a true danger to Konoha's safety," the man announced. "And you, Sai… if this really is your name… I am afraid your life ends here, fake ninja!"

Naruto frowned as he saw his four protégées stiffen beside him. "Well, I kind of lied when I said I was a genin of Konoha…" he explained.

"You never were!" Mizuki shouted. "No genin named Sai has ever studied in the Academy! Who are you really? A spy? A pathological liar? Something else?"

"None of those," the vessel replied, much to Naruko's amazement. "I'm just a lone wanderer lost on the road of life…"

"Quoting Kakashi won't help you!" one of the ANBU claimed. "You're a danger to this place, and a demon-lover! We can't allow the Kyuubi to receive any training!"

Naruto's eyes narrowed, and Iruka's glared at the attackers. Naruko stared at them questioningly. "What are they talking about?"

"They are trying to unsettle us," Naruto said. Mizuki had used the same tactic back in his homeworld, and he would not fall for it again. "Stay hidden and flee with Ayame and Teuchi as soon as possible. Alert the Hokage."

Iruka looked sideways at him. "Sai-san, we can't defeat them all. Some of them are jounin, they are better equipped and they outnumber us six to one."

"We will simply delay them," he stated. "I have a few aces up my sleeve." If only he could still summon the toads…

Naruto sighed. "Okay, in case I do not survive this, then let me tell you this: Naruko, my real name is Naruto Uzumaki, I am a male version of yourself coming from an alternate universe, and your teacher will probably be a pervert."

"WHAT?"

"No time to explain." He channeled chakra inside the Kusanagi.

Immediately, the sword grew, cut through the bar, and impaled one of the ANBU at a blinding speed. Before the shocked band of traitors could react, Naruto escaped the booth and made the hand-seal sequence for the Kage Bunshin. Immediately, a hundred of his clones filled the street. Everyone looked at them in shock.

All the clones smiled. "Let's give these losers a lesson."

* * *

><p>A second later, the situation degenerated into a chaotic melee.<p>

Iruka could only watch mesmerized as he saw the clones of the blonde ganging up on Raidou and giving him a brutal beat down. The teacher, thanks to his detection sonar, quickly realized that they weren't normal clones, but solid constructs of chakra. He couldn't find the real one amongst them.

Unfortunately, one blow was enough to dissipate them, and the teenager's fighting style was still flawed. Some of their enemies successfully cut their way through them, trying to reach the escaping Naruko. A kunai in hand, Iruka silently attacked one of the chuunin from behind, gutting him. Another tried to kill him, but he successfully avoided his fists.

Iruka then kicked the man in the balls. He fell on the ground with tears in his eyes, and later died with a shuriken in the head.

_If it's worth fighting for, _Iruka thought, _it's worth fighting dirty for._

* * *

><p>Naruto gritted his teeth as he blasted away an ANBU with a well-placed rasengan. The other was already on him, trying to cut him in half with a sword, and the clones' numbers were dwindling. Yeah, half of the attackers had been defeated, but without the Kyuubi's chakra, Naruto couldn't make too many copies. He was already feeling tired, and his opponents weren't pushovers. Heck, the disfigured guy had risen and started fighting again, even after his clones had beaten the shit out of him!<p>

"Need help?"

The vessel blinked as he saw a Chidori cutting through the ANBU's body.

"I am disappointed by your actions," Kakashi said, his sharingan glaring at his victim. "Betraying your charge… you only deserve death," he said as he withdrew his arm from the corpse. He locked eyes with Naruto. "Are you alright?"

The vessel nodded, still somewhat shocked. "Thanks."

"It's nothing," the jounin said. "It's my duty to protect my teacher's heirs."

Naruto frowned, remembering Orochimaru's words. "Care to explain?"

"I know you're related to Naruko," he announced as they ran at the proctor and the last chuunin standing. "Your father… Minato Namikaze was the best of us all. We all regret his death."

"Why didn't you help Naruko then!" he yelled as he created a rasengan and charged at the chuunin.

"Politics," he answered with a hint of anger. "Konoha's authorities don't want the Kyuubi's container to be too strong, so they have forbidden all families from adopting her, out of fear that she could learn anything. I fear her jounin teacher will also be banned from teaching her more than the basics."

Naruto felt the anger he unleashed on Orochimaru returning. "The Sandaime-"

"The Sandaime can't ignore the will of the clans, of the council of Konoha, of its people," the jounin interrupted, while killing the proctor with a Chidori in the heart. "Konoha isn't a dictatorship, unlike the other villages."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. He would have a word with the old man as soon as possible.

* * *

><p><em>Damn, Iruka-sensei is a badass! <em>Naruko thought as she saw him defeat two ninjas handily. _And Sa-Naruto-sensei really is powerful. But what was he talking abou-_

A quick Shunshin saved her from a kunai stab. Mizuki looked downright murderous when his blade cut through a ramen bowl.

Naruko looked sideways at Ayame and Teuchi. "Run!" she ordered. They immediately left without saying a word.

"Why are you attacking us?" she asked him.

"Why?" he repeated. "That's simple: you're nothing more than a monster, a demon, the Kyuubi reborn. Haven't you guessed why all of Konoha hates you? Just remember your date of birth!"

_What- _she thought as she realized what the man was talking about. Terror spread over her face. "You can't mean…"

She only saw a wide and sadistic grin on his face. "Yes, Naruko: the Yondaime didn't kill the Kyuubi, he simply sealed her into a human. You! You're the demon fox that killed thousands of people!"

_I… I… _She couldn't believe it. She couldn't move, even as she saw Mizuki's kunai thrown at her gut.

"That's wrong!" Naruto's voice brought her back to reality. He was standing in front of her, the weapon caught in his left hand. "Naruko is not the Kyuubi! She is his warden! A hero, who doesn't deserve your hatred! She is a human, a girl worth respecting! And I won't allow you to hurt her!"

_Boss…_ She didn't know how to answer.

"You can't protect her alone!" Mizuki yelled, as the two gatekeepers came to his aid alongside the bleeding but still standing disfigured ninja.

"No. But he is not alone," a female ANBU stated, as she appeared beside the duo alongside Iruka and a silver-haired man. "For having broken the Sandaime's Law of Silence," the woman continued, "your punishment will be death."

"Give up Mizuki!" Naruto told the crazed instructor. "Your plan has failed!"

"Oh, the first yes," he said, as made a hand-seal sequence. "But not the backup one!" The guards attacked the ANBU duo, and the bleeding guy engaged Iruka in a taijutsu battle.

A symbol appeared on the ground, enclosing him, Naruko and Naruto. The girl found herself unable to move.

"What is this?" she asked.

"A trap!" the instructor said, as he tore his shirt apart, revealing a hundred explosive tags on his torso. "And you are caught within it!"

Naruko's eyes widened as she saw the teacher explode.

* * *

><p>In a strange place, nine spheres began to light up. A web of mirrors moved, and they trembled. Finally, a red light illuminated them, and the picture of a clearing appeared on them.<p>

* * *

><p>A second later, Naruko and Naruto had simply vanished from the surface of this earth, and a massive blast destroyed the whole street, killing and hurting everyone in the vicinity.<p>

* * *

><p>A flash of light illuminated a clearing. Sasori found himself looking emotionlessly at two blondes lying on the ground, right in front of him.<p>

"Okay," he said. "What happened?"

* * *

><p>In her bed, Yuugao Uzuki stiffened. Someone was there.<p>

She had been hospitalized after tonight's events, covered with burns and mentally broken when she had noticed the distinct chakra signature of a genjutsu. A potent one. First her crushing failure at protecting Naruko, and now an assassin? Did she have the same bad luck as Tsunade-hime?

"So you are aware of my presence. It won't help you, however." Yuugao locked eyes with a sharingan.

A second later, she wasn't at the hospital anymore. She was crucified, bleeding under a red moon.

The man in front of her was hiding his face behind a spiraled mask, revealing only one hateful eye. He was wearing a strange black cloak with scarlet clouds on it.

"Who are you? An Uchiha?" she asked. "Where am I?"

"The who is not important," he said. "The where, however…" He chuckled. "You are inside of the Tsukiyomi, a world under my total and absolute control."

"An illusion?"

"Yes," he answered. "But your pain will be real."

Yuugao glared at him. "What do you want?"

The man laughed. "What do I want? Answers, to all my questions. It's important. And the first is…" He approached her, until he was only a few centimeters away from her.

"Who was that blonde girl that you were always following around? And what happened tonight? Where has she vanished?"

Yuugao's eyes narrowed. "I will never tell you."

"You will." A spear appeared from nowhere in the man's hands. "I can promise you," he said as he stabbed her belly with his weapon.

It took her three whole days to crack.

* * *

><p>Leaving the hospital and the dead body of the ANBU behind him, Madara Uchiha teleported in the center of an empty street, which had recently been demolished by a huge explosion. The hole in space had left the very fabric of reality weakened here, and the immortal was confident in his ability to open it again.<p>

The situation was incredible. More than one reality existed in this universe. Even better, the Uzumaki teen could travel between them. He didn't know how it was even possible, but this power was truly interesting.

Madara was thinking on a whole new level. His master plan now seemed insignificant, and the existence of copies of Konoha was disturbing. He needed to recruit Naruto. With him, he would be able to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, _wherever _he wanted. He would be almighty.

The boy had been, like him, betrayed by Konoha and the Senju. It would be easy to coerce him into joining his crusade against the wretched place. If he couldn't be convinced…

_Well, force works too_, he thought as he vanished from this world.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's notes:<em>**

That chapter is a bit longer than the last, but I hope you enjoyed it. As you can see, my Naruto is not the canon one. He is a Naruto that matured after Sasuke's betrayal, and is far more collected, focused and smarter than his canon counterpart. Naruko, her, has the personality of canon Naruto.

And since I have to thank all those that reviewed my first chapter, I will answer some of the questions asked.

**About the Kyuubi-Naruto idea**: remember the Evil Naruto I was talking about in my last author's notes? Well, he is, kind of, a Gaara-Naruto. Although, he's far more sympathetic than Gaara and more of a very unstable kid.

**Why did I add Madara to this story? **Because I find the idea of a chase through endless universes entertaining. And why did I choose Madara specifically? Because I think that Kishimoto could have done a better job with his main villain. Instead of being a stereotypical evil superpowered jerk, Madara should have been what Gaara was to Naruto: an evil mirror of himself. What he would have become if he had decided to follow the path of blind (and maybe justified) revenge. The Madara of my story, despite his utter monstrosity, will more complex than the canon one.

**About One Piece-like universes or other Anime-universes**: maybe. I say maybe because most universes are simply variations of canon, where some elements changed and made the world take a turn for better or worse, but since everything is possible, I might add one world of this kind later.

**Naruko's training**: I think I made clear in this chapter that Naruto's fighting style still has flaws, and that he had lost some of his inner advantages (the Kyuubi and the summoning). I did this for a simple reason: having a hero less dependent on a big Deus Ex Machina (the Kyuubi) and more on his own abilities. His relation with Naruko is like the blind leading a less experienced blind: he knows more things than her, but is still dysfunctional.

So, write you next time, and thanks for the review.


	3. Chapter 3: Me, Myself and I

Hello everyone! Ready for the next chapter? It is the corrected version, thanks to my beta Alpha142. A big thank to you all who reviewed! You're awesome.

Disclaimer: Oh, and I don't own Naruto… and that's terrible.

**_Chapter Three_**

**_Me, Myself and I_**

In a little town located in a country so remote it wasn't even shown on maps, a twelve year old boy was glaring at a merchant. "What do you mean by 'there is no oil left to sell'?"

The man shrugged. "All our stocks have plummeted after the beginning of Rain's civil war. Trade routes aren't safe anymore, so we don't have supplies. We are already rationing the food, and now the oil. Sorry, but we have to satisfy our needs first."

For at least the thousandth time, Naruto Uzumaki massaged his temples in frustration. It was the third shop of the day, and the response identical to the previous: no oil left. And without it, Jiraiya couldn't use its flamethrower, its main weapon. Of course, he still had Orochimaru and Tsunade, but they didn't have Jiraiya's firepower. The first was only useful in close combat, and Tsunade was a fortress-type puppet, without any effective long-range weaponry.

Leaving the establishment, the boy mentally ran a checklist of the remaining possible solutions to his problem. He could try to create his own oil, but it would be a long and difficult process. He could also try to steal it from a local civilian, but that would instantly result in an investigation, the last thing he would want. Sasori and him needed to stay incognito for their job, so the less he attracted attention, the better he would be. Finally, he could try to buy it in the nearest Great Nation, but since Sasori intended to stay low for a while…

Naruto accepted the inevitable: he couldn't use his flamethrower for a _long _time.

Leaving the town, Naruto ran toward Sasori's home. The man had acquired a house in the countryside, where he could practice his art without being either bothered or observed by anyone, outside of his inner circle. The only people who visited them occasionally were either Sasori's agents or robbers. The first usually ended up leaving after a short stay, while the second generally finished their lives screaming as they were added to Sasori's collection or Kabuto's guinea pigs.

Of course, since most of them were rapists and/or murderers, Naruto didn't feel sorry for them at all. In fact, he would probably experiment on them himself once Sasori taught him how to make his own human puppets.

However, the blonde wasn't bothered by them in particular (he could kill hundreds of them without much trouble), but their increasing number was disturbing. Times of trouble were leading people on dark paths, who in turn perpetuated the problems. It was a vicious circle, one that had appeared again after Hanzo's fall and the end of the Hidden Rain.

**_No matter how well they try to hide it_**, the Kyuubi's deep voice resonated in his mind, **_humans are still animals. They like to kill, to hunt and to expand their territory. Their reasons always boil down to one: primal instinct._**

_Then why do we have doctors? Why does charity exist? Why did we invent commerce and peace?_

**_Your kind invented doctors so they could fight much longer. Charity exist as the carrot of the 'carrot and stick' duo. Commerce establishes a hierarchy between the rich and the poor, between the producer and the consumer. Peace does not exist: its real name is _truce_, a time where humans can't continue their eternal war for some reason and need time before being able to kill again. Face it, if you want a vision of humanity's future, then imagine a man killing another. Forever._**

Naruto shuddered. The Kyuubi's view of the world wasn't cynical, it was downright depressing.

**_It's the world that is depressing, not I. Your kind is the cancer of this planet... and its cure._**

The vessel felt almost relieved when he caught sight of Sasori's black house. The place seemed normal, but Naruto was fully aware of the many seals hidden under the ground. Sasori immediately knew when someone entered his property, and he could activate the defenses anytime he wanted. Fortunately, the boy wasn't in the missing-nin's black list, and never had been.

Opening the wooden door, Naruto mentally prepared himself for another creepy training session with Kabuto. The medic was a good friend to hang out with, but his fascination with corpses was… disturbing, to say the least. Even more when Naruto was helping him. He acted like a child happy at sharing his toys with a comrade.

Which he was, by the way.

But the time he entered the lounge, he only saw Sasori, sitting on an armchair. The man, looking like a normal, redheaded teenager, was wearing a green shirt and blue pants, an outfit revealing his real nature to all: a living puppet, the ultimate result of the puppeteer's quest for immortality.

"I was waiting for you," his mentor said calmly, his artificial visage expressionless.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. Sasori always kept an ordered schedule, and never diverged from it. When it was time for his student to train with Kabuto, he was starting another activity. He never waited for someone, unless something unforeseen had happened.

The vessel sat in another chair, locking eyes with his teacher in the process. "For what, may I ask?"

Sasori… smiled. Naruto shuddered. Sasori _never _smiled, except when he was pulling a prank or celebrating a success. Naruto had the feeling he would soon find himself on the bad end of a twisted joke. "We will talk about that later, but I can already tell you this: you will be _very_ surprised."

Okay, now the vessel was outright scared. Sasori didn't seem to notice. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"No," he answered. "They don't have any stock left for strangers."

The man nodded. "As expected. One of my agents in Ame has informed me that Konoha has recently decided to support the rebels. Iwa has immediately responded by offering its help to the loyalists."

Naruto frowned. "They are going to start another Shinobi War." It wasn't a question. Merely a fact.

"Yes."

**_Told you peace was simply a synonym for truce._**

"That's insane," Naruto said.

Sasori smirked. "Once again, Naruto, you mistake war for a mistake, while it is a _goal_. The Stone and the Leaf have prepared for this day since the Kyuubi's attack. Out of this war, a superpower will be born. It's a gamble: they win, or they die. No middle ground." He sighed. "But War is always good for spymasters like myself. Information is the base of warfare."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Sometimes, I regret having followed you."

The man stared emotionlessly at his student. "Why?" he asked, with a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Oh, you know, the whole immorality of your job, the deceptions, the murders…"

"The ninja world is built on lies and horrors," Sasori stated. "Since the beginning of time, man has always sought to justify his actions, even if he had to lie to himself. Morals, good and evil, are simply a question of perspective. They only serve to delude people into thinking that their struggles serve a greater purpose than self-interest. Most humans are cowards and hypocrites, unable to admit the real reason behind their actions: power."

_Damn, why are all of my friends cynical or pessimistic?_

**_Because we are older than you are_**, the Kyuubi chuckled. **_You are a fool, unable to see reality. You prefer illusions, since they give you a vague sense of futile importan-_**

_Kyuubi._

**_Yes, monkey?_**

_Shut up. I don't want to hear you anymore._

The demon stayed silent, for a few seconds. **_Idiot._**

"But anyway," Sasori interrupted Naruto's mental conversation, "I have found something fascinating in the forest nearby, when I was gathering wood to create a new puppet."

"What?" Naruto asked as he locked eyes with his mentor.

"Two blondes," the man answered, "a teenager and a girl of your age. They are probably brother and sister."

Naruto raised his eyebrows. "And?"

"Their reserves of chakra are… huge, to say the least. In fact, one has more chakra than you. More than any Jinchuuriki I have ever seen."

"Really?" Naruto demanded, surprised. He had never seen someone with more chakra than him. He had the Kyuubi's power flowing in his veins, so he doubted that anyone could have more chakra than the vessel of the strongest of all Bijuu.

Sasori nodded. "They appeared in a flash of light, and they were, and still are, comatose. I transported them here, and ordered Kabuto to examine them. The results, and especially the diagnostic of the blood tests were… unexpected." A creepy smile formed on his face.

"They are related to you, Naruto."

The boy felt like he had been punched in the jaw. He had a family? "If this is some kind of joke, I don't find it amusing." He still remembered the Sandaime's words. _You have no one. _"My parents are dead, the Uzumaki clan too. I don't have anyone else."

Sasori's creepy smile returned, chilling the vessel to the bone. "Oh, they are a lot more than mere parents." He rose. "Come with me to the laboratory, my student. You will see what I mean."

Naruto obeyed, and followed Sasori downstairs.

Kabuto's laboratory was rather luminous for an underground complex, though the phosphorescent seals were certainly helping. It was a large basement composed of white rooms, where the scientist could practice some vivisections without bothering his roommates. Entering the doctor's lair, Naruto felt the activation of the disinfectant seals, currently purifying his body.

After a short walk, Naruto sensed the strange and unusual unease of the Kyuubi filling his mind. _What's wrong? _he asked the demon.

**_I don't understand… I have noticed the presence of a Bijuu nearby. A strong one._**

_So one of these mysterious strangers is a Jinchuuriki._

**_Apparently. But… that's strange… its chakra… looks like mine…_**

Naruto stopped walking, much to Sasori's incomprehension. _Care to explain?_

**_I can't, vermin. I feel like someone watching his reflection in a mirror. A living mirror._**

"Sasori, the Kyuubi is disturbed. He says that one of your guests is a Jinchuuriki."

The man nodded. "She is."

"She? The Jinchuuriki is the girl?"

"Yes."

"What is her Bijuu? The Nanabi? The Nibi? The Kyuubi says its chakra looks like his own."

Sasori simply smiled, blatantly ignoring his disciple's questions. He began to walk again, and Naruto followed him. _Bastard._

The duo reached a small room, with four beds. Kabuto, wearing a cyan blouse, was watching over a sleeping teenager, probably sixteen years old. A comatose girl, looking like a female version of himself in an ugly orange outfit, was lying on another bed. _So she is the Jinchuuriki…_

**_What is it? That girl's Bijuu is as strong as I! Its chakra is the same as my own!_**

"The Kyuubi is… astonished." Even in his own mouth, it sounded strange. "The Bijuu inside of her is as strong as him."

Sasori nodded. "Normal, since it's another Kyuubi."

"... WHAT?" **_WHAT? What does that mean? I demand an explanation! NOW!_**

Kabuto gave the boy a sheet of paper. "This is the result of the blood tests."

Naruto read them, and his eyes widened. From the depths of his mind, he could sense the Kyuubi's amazement. Dropping the report, Naruto immediately approached the girl, before raising her shirt. On her belly, the same seal as his own. The shock was so great that he momentarily forgot the fact that he was acting like a pervert.

"What's the meaning of this?" he demanded after covering the girl's belly with her shirt again, reddening slightly when he remembered that she was related to him.

Kabuto chuckled. "Well, it seems you have an older brother and a younger, female twin. Congratulations."

Naruto's jaw dropped. _What. The. Fuck._

"Oh, one of them is awakening," Sasori stated, as the teenager began to open his eyes.

* * *

><p><em>Man, that was a strange dream,<em> Naruto thought as he became conscious again. _Mizuki successfully killing me and Naruko. Absurd._ He eyed his surroundings… and noticed Kabuto at his side.

For a few seconds later, Naruto found himself unable to move more than his eyelids.

Then, he punched the traitor in the face… and missed, since the medic barely avoided the blow. Getting up, Naruto tried to take the Kusanagi, but quickly realized that the sword wasn't attached to his belt anymore. The traitor had probably stolen it while he was sleeping.

But as he opted for a rasengan, Naruto fell on the floor, suddenly unable to move his limbs. Looking sideways, he saw a redhead with one hand steaming.

"Sorry to use this seal on you, little boy, but this is for your own good," the teenager said with a cold, emotionless voice.

"You should better listen," a blonde boy near him advised him. "Sasori can be quite nasty when he wants to."

"Sasori?" Naruto's eyes widened. "Sasori is dead." Sakura had killed him, along with Chiyo.

The redhead smiled. For the first time, Naruto noticed the mechanical aspect of his arms. Kabuto grabbed him by his shirt, and forced him to face the redhead. "In a sense, I died a long time ago. But my heart is still beating," the puppeteer stated.

_He isn't the original Sasori_, the vessel suddenly realized. _He is an alternate version of him. So this wasn't a dream? Mizuki did explode? Perhaps the seal activated…_ Naruto looked at the blonde boy. He recognized him. He was a younger Naruto, wearing a green shirt and black pants, eying him with a pale face.

_I see… so I am in another, alternate universe. Alone?_ he wondered, before noticing Naruko on the bed. _No, not alone. _He locked eyes with Sasori. "What have you done to her?"

"She was already comatose when I had found her and you," the redhead answered. "And nothing will happen to her, as long as you calm yourself and answer my questions. I mean you no harm, but I won't hesitate to kill her if you attack again."

Naruto frowned. Since he was powerless and that Naruko's life depended on him, the vessel decided to acquiesce to the man's will. "Sasori is dead. Or at least, my world's Sasori is dead."

The man smiled, the other Naruto stared at him with a blank expression, and Kabuto smirked.

"Lets talk like gentlemen. Do you like tea?"

* * *

><p>The puppeteer put his hands together. "So, if I understand, you are a Naruto Uzumaki coming from another universe, and she," he glanced at Naruko, "is a female version of you from a world different than yours and mine?"<p>

Naruto nodded. The paralysis had apparently ended, but he knew better than attacking. He was in Sasori's lair, against an S-Rank missing-nin and two of his helpers, alone, and without the Kusanagi. He was hopelessly outmatched, and if Sasori's pleasant attitude was any indication, so much that his host didn't even consider him a threat.

The vessel briefly looked at Naruko, then at his younger counterpart, before drinking his tea. While he knew that Sasori was a specialist in poisons, and that he didn't have the Kyuubi's chakra to heal him, Naruto was aware that Sasori could have already killed him if he wanted to, and that it was simply a manifestation of the man's power over him. It was also, maybe, a polite gesture.

"You don't seem surprised, Sasori-san." Naruto attributed the missing-nin's lack of reaction to his artificial body, but with that kind of person you could never know. Decades of shady activities must have reinforced his nerves and control over his emotions.

"In my long life, Naruto-san, I have seen many strange things, and Kabuto's blood tests have already confirmed your… genetic similarities, with my student." He locked eyes with his guest. "If your previous attempt on my doctor's life is of any indication, I assume that your relations with your Kabuto were less than cordial."

Naruto nodded. "He worked as a spy for you, but had in fact betrayed you for Orochimaru."

"The Sannin?"

"Yes. You had worked with him for a time, as two agents of Akatsuki."

"Akatsuki?" Sasori's face stayed emotionless, but his voice was laced with surprise. "The revolutionary group from Amegakure?"

Naruto shook his head. "The criminal syndicate intending to gather all the Bijuu to take over the ninja world. The most dangerous team of S-Rank missing-nins to have walked the earth."

Sasori narrowed his eyes. "Here, Akatsuki is an organization dedicated to end Hanzo's dictatorship over Amegakure. It was a pacifist movement at first, until one of the founders, Nagato, got assassinated by the Salamander. The leader, Yahiko, has started a civil war, which will soon evolve into a World War." Sasori smirked. "Strange, how things have evolved differently between our two worlds. What happened to my other myself?"

"A friend of I and your grandmother, Chiyo, defeated and killed him after you kidnapped the Godaime Kazekage alongside your partner, a madman named Deidara."

Sasori stayed silent a moment. "Killed by grandma… I should have guessed. Who could beat me except her, my teacher? It must have been a battle to behold."

_How can he talk so casually about his own death? Okay, it was simply another himself's death, but still! _"You used more than a hundred puppets, if I remember well."

Sasori locked eyes with him, and both his younger counterpart and Kabuto stiffened. Naruto understood that the trio was bothered by his knowledge of the man's arsenal. At least he had an advantage.

"A battle… ephemeral. Its memory will disappear one day. I hope to end differently. And about the me from this girl's world?"

"Never had the chance to meet him. We teleported accidentally during a battle, when an enemy tried a suicide bombing near us."

"Accidentally?" Sasori shook his head. "If you were in danger, then this... jump... was needed for your survival. Perhaps the seal activated to save you and the girl from death, or maybe it is somewhat sentient... would you kindly allow me to study it? As a seal master, I'm sure you will benefit from my experience."

As much as he distrusted the missing-nin, Naruto was also aware that he couldn't refuse, since he wanted to know if the seal could kill him anytime, or what had happened to the Kyuubi. Sasori was a seal master... and didn't seem to want him to die. "Okay."

"Good. This is the beginning of a mutually beneficial relationship, my friend." He glanced at Kabuto. "Why is the girl still asleep?"

"Naruko," Naruto said. "Her name is Naruko Uzumaki."

"Kabuto, why is Naruko Uzumaki still asleep? She should have already awoken."

"I don't know, Sasori-sama." He was currently making a diagnostic with his medical chakra. "But I have the feeling it has something to do with her Kyuubi." He locked eyes with the missing-nin. "Perhaps both Naruto would help better than I."

"And how do you expect us to help her, Kabuto?" the younger Naruto asked. "By going inside of her mindscape?"

"Possibly. Since you have the same Bijuu, and your older-self has had his for a long time, maybe you are connected in some way, or something like that."

The younger Naruto sighed. "Hey, my older me, do you know how to enter your mindscape?"

Naruto smiled, as he closed his eyes. "Of course."

"Then lets go!"

* * *

><p>Naruto awoke in an art gallery.<p>

Though, it wasn't really an art gallery. Instead, the place was an amalgam between his new mindscape and a museum composed of strange statues, and puppet designs. The web of mirrors was shifting in front of a big, changing portrait of the Kyuubi.

Naruto shuddered when the beast glared at him. **_"What do you want, vermin? You're even uglier than my current container."_**

"Hey, you're not a model yourself!" Briefly, Naruto realized that he was talking to the strongest demon he had ever seen, and the most arrogant of all Bijuu. But then he decided that the asshole needed to get its head out of its ass.

**_"I'm far better than a weak, idiotic blonde, that has been defeated by a weak machine!"_**

"The Yondaime was a blonde, and he crushed you! You can vent your frustration on me as much as you like, but it doesn't change the fact that you're just a caged pet!" Damn, decades of insults had given him some experience with the 'you suck' speeches.

His shouting worked, since the portrait instantly became red, and the fox's face twisted with insane anger. **_"I AM NO ONE'S PET! NO ONE'S, DO YOU HEAR ME! I AM THE MIGHTIEST OF ALL BIJUU, YOU MORON! IF THIS CURSED SEAL-"_**

"If this seal wasn't there, you would be walking the earth, like some random beast! You should be happy to serve a purpose, you ugly battery!"

**_"WHEN I ESCAPE THIS PRISON, THIS BATTERY WILL KILL YOU, THEN FORCE THE SHINIGAMI TO RESURRECT YOU, AND THEN KILL YOU AGAIN!"_**

"The Shinigami was the one who sealed you there, you idiot!"

**_"I WILL TEAR YOU APART!"_**

"I would like to see you try!"

Their exchange was interrupted by a laugh. Naruto looked sideways and noticed his younger counterpart grinning from ear to ear. "Man, I always believed I was the only one to enjoy teasing the Kyuubi. I will try to remember some of your insults for later."

**_"YOU WILL RESPECT ME, YOU LOSER!"_**

Ignoring the enraged fox's shouts, Naruto shook his other self's hands. "Happy to see you, Naruto."

"But the pleasure is all mine, Naruto."

**_"YOU'RE SICKENING ME!"_**

"Your soulmate is a bit loud. Why not leave him behind?"

"You read my mind."

**_"STOP IGNORING ME! COME BACK! I ORDER YOU!"_**

The duo ignored the beast's shouting, advancing through a corridor. "Are you sure we will find Naruko's mindscape at the other end?" the older one asked.

"I don't know," the younger answered, "but since it is the first time I have seen this corridor, and that we are here together, I assume that our minds are somehow connected. Nice seal by the way."

"Still don't know if it's going to kill me or something," he said.

"Well, Sasori is here for you. My teacher is creepy, but he's always looking forward to increasing his knowledge on seals or puppets." He stopped walking. "I can't believe I'm talking to myself."

"I know, I had the same impression the first time I met Naruko."

The young boy began to walk again. "Still strange."

Naruto nodded. "How did you meet Sasori?" he asked.

"When I was nine, one drunk villager broke the Sandaime's Law of Silence, and explained to me my… particularities."

"I assume the Sandaime wasn't happy."

"No. The drunkard ended up in a sealed room with Anko and Ibiki." The older Naruto shuddered at the thought. "The old man then decided to explain, in detail, what I really was: Konoha's sacrifice. I decided that, since the village hated me for something I wasn't responsible for, Konoha would be happy to see me gone, and that I would be pleased to never see them again."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. Another Naruto abused. It was the second alternate universe he was visiting, and Konoha had acted the same way in both. Each time, the Sandaime had done nothing, each time, Kakashi and Jiraiya had never shown up. He remembered his discussion with the second Kakashi. Even if the clans and the civilians had asked the Hokage not to help him, the Sandaime was still a respected leader. He could have helped him. Kakashi could have helped him. If Jiraiya really was his godfather, then he _should _have helped him.

He had to talk to a Sandaime, to a Jiraiya, to a Kakashi, no matter if they were simply alternate versions of the one he knew. He, and all Naruto across the cosmos, deserved explanations.

"So you chose to leave Konoha?" the older Naruto asked.

The younger vessel nodded. "One night, I infiltrated a merchant's caravan, and vanished from the village incognito. Two days later, I was on my own, an orphan without food alone in the Land of Fire. I fainted on a road the following day. When I awoke, I was next to a fire, and Sasori was reading a book in front of me. He asked me what a Jinchuuriki was doing outside of his village. After explaining to him my situation, he offered me a job. After a few months, he decided that he should leave a legacy, in case he died prematurely. Judging me worthy to be his disciple, he proposed to teach me his arts. I accepted immediately." He smiled. "And you? What happened in your homeworld?"

"I stayed unaware of who I was until my graduation, when I was twelve. Some crazy man broke the Law while he was trying to kill me. I became a genin, had many adventures, until one of my teammates chose to betray Konoha for Orochimaru. I tried and failed to stop him. After some attacks by my world's Akatsuki, I went on a mission to find my treacherous teammate, which went horribly wrong. I ended up locked in a fight with Orochimaru, who twisted my seal in the middle of our battle. I killed him, but the dysfunctional seal teleported me into Naruko's universe, then into this one."

The younger vessel nodded. "And her? What happened in her world?"

"She has the same story as my own, but I met her a week before her graduation, changing the course of her life."

The duo arrived at the end of the corridor, and inside a sewer. The older Naruto frowned. "That was how my mindscape looked before the seal got twisted. We should catch sight of the Kyuubi's prison very soon."

And effectively, they found themselves in front of a huge cage. Two gigantic red eyes were staring at them. **_"I was waiting for you, mortals,"_** the fox announced. Naruko was asleep under the sewer's troubled water, right in front of the seal.

The older vessel frowned. "So you're responsible for Naruko's condition."

**_"Yes. I wanted to talk to you, and to my counterpart." _**This Kyuubi seemed more slender than its other self, and its fur was paler.

The mindscape changed form. In a few seconds, the Kyuubi's portrait appeared behind the duo, and the web of mirrors at their left side. The two Bijuu remained unimpressed by the other's presence.

**_"So we are in the same situation,"_** the caged Kyuubi stated. **_"Our vessel's gender differs, but our seals are identical."_**

**_"It seems. Is your container an annoying brat too?"_**

**_"Unfortunately, yes."_**

The Kyuubi's portrait sighed. **_"Are we all cursed to be sealed in these idiots?"_**

"Hey!" The two creatures superbly ignored the younger Naruto's shouting.

**_"To be honest, I hope not. Maybe one of us didn't get caught by the Shinigami's hand?"_**

**_"Probably. We are the ultimate beings. Many of us must be still free."_**

Both the younger and older Naruto sighed. "I didn't know that all Kyuubi had such a big ego…" the younger one whined.

**_"Why not checking these possibilities?"_** The Bijuu in the cage eyed the web of mirrors. **_"If this device is the cause of our meeting, then maybe it contains the answers to all our questions."_**

The other Kyuubi nodded. **_"Strangely, I don't sense our brethren's presence in this place. But these spheres… I can see its chakra in them."_**

**_"Nine spheres for nine tails. But what contains the tenth?"_**

**_"Its mind, perhaps."_**

**_"We are chakra. We don't have a mind separated from our being."_**

**_"The seal has been made by the Shinigami, a god. Its powers are unknown, even to us. When the snake twisted the seal, perhaps a leftover of its being has awakened and modified it to avoid the container's death, giving him the ability to cross the barriers between the worlds in the process?"_**

**_"Possible." _**The Kyuubi looked into the older Naruto's eyes. **_"Little man, it seems that you have a godlike ability… the power to go wherever you want. Aren't you happy?"_**

"I still don't know how this power works," he pointed out. Strange. What did the Bijuu want?

**_"For now. For how long? Once this Sasori examines your seal, you should find a way to use this device in one way or another. And with it, you will be almighty. What will you do with it? Will you try to return to your homeworld? Create your own village? Rule all universes?"_**

Naruto frowned. "I haven't thought about that… but if I gain this power, then I think I will use it to help my other-selves." Three worlds. Three Narutos had been abused by Konoha, loosing their childhood in the process. Three hadn't had a family. How many others?

The Kyuubi smirked, an act that chilled Naruto to the bone. **_"So you want to give a hand to your less than fortunate counterparts? This quest might last until your death."_**

Naruto smiled. "I have always been determined."

**_"A quality we have in common." _**Bizarrely, a polite and calm Kyuubi looked even more frightening to the two awakened vessels than a furious one. **_"I want to talk with you, and you alone."_**

Everyone stared at the Bijuu with a questioning look, and in the second Kyuubi's case, a malicious grin. Immediately, the younger Naruto fell asleep, much to his counterpart's horror. He didn't know the Kyuubi had that power.

The beast's grin widened. **_"My chakra is flowing in his brain as much as in his muscles. I can't control him, but I can banish him in his subconscious for a time." _**He eyed his counterpart. **_"I don't know what you have in mind, but I suppose it doesn't concern me. Goodbye,"_** he said as he vanished from the mindscape.

The caged Kyuubi locked eyes with Naruto. **_"Naruto Uzumaki… are you aware of your parentage?"_**

Naruto's eyes widened. "My father's name was Minato Namikaze, and my mother was called Kushina Uzumaki. She was my Kyuubi's previous Jinchuuriki." He was slightly taken aback by the question.

The creature nodded. **_"She was my container in this world too, before someone ripped her seal and mind-controlled me into attacking Konoha."_**

The traveler frowned. "Do you expect me to believe your innocence?"

**_"Believe what you want, it's the truth. The day of Naruko's birth, a man named Madara Uchiha took her hostage and extracted me from Kushina, killing her in the process."_**

The memory of a clone came to Naruto's mind. "The fallen lord of the Uchiha? Wasn't he dead?"

**_"Now, he is, since Naruko's father killed him. Minato Namikaze… arguably the greatest Shinobi to have ever walked the earth._**" The creature eyed him emotionlessly. **_"I can tell you more about him, if you want… but this will hurt you deeply."_**

Naruto stayed silent a few seconds. "Why are you telling me this?"

**_"Because I don't want to antagonize you. You're responsible for my container's safety, and as such I owe you a favor. In fact, I think we can collaborate."_**

"Not to appear impolite, but aren't you a demon wanting to escape this prison? Why should we collaborate?"

**_"Because I don't want to escape this cage."_**

… _What?_

The Kyuubi chuckled at Naruto's surprised expression. **_"I don't want my freedom, because I am intrigued by your ability, and by the existence of different worlds. I find your intention of traveling between universes entertaining and amusing. I can see through my vessel's senses, and I have taken a liking to the tragedy of humans' lives, to your emotions, to your constant struggle to live… it's like a play to me."_**

It smirked. **_"So, bored as I am, I think your travels will amuse me more than rampaging through a random world."_**

That… made some twisted sort of sense. That sadistic creature probably wanted to try something new. And why not beginning by telling Naruto awful truths? "I see… what do you offer?"

**_"My support to you and Naruko, when I want to give it."_**

_So, it is going to do what it wants when it wants… well, at least it is more polite than my own Kyuubi ever was._ "Nothing more?"

**_"My knowledge. So,"_** it narrowed its eyes at Naruto, **_"do you want to know more about your parents?"_**

Naruto hesitated. The Kyuubi was probably the only being able to answer all his questions, but it wasn't the most trustworthy source of information. He would have to confirm what he heard. "I'm all ears."

The creature's grin grew. **_"Minato Namikaze… was also known as the Yondaime Hokage."_**

Horror spread over Naruto's face.

* * *

><p>Naruto could barely restrain the need to laugh at the spectacle.<p>

"I'm not a pervert!"

"Yes you are!" the girl said as she punched him in the jaw. "The doctor told me everything! You peeked under my shirt, you molester!" She started kicking him while he was down, lying on the grass outside the house.

"You're overacting... you're… not even… attractive… you're… flat!"

His suicidal words only made his punishment worse, because the girl then decided to attack a few… sensible… places of his anatomy. The young boy screamed loudly.

Beside Naruto, Sasori was looking at the spectacle with a neutral expression. "I have analyzed your seal; I have an idea on how it works."

Naruto calmed himself. "Can you explain, Sasori-san?" Two days had passed since his visit in his mindscape, and he was still conflicted about what he had heard. If the Kyuubi was right, then the one that sealed the Bijuu inside of him, Naruko, and his counterpart, was their own _father_.

He still didn't know how he would explain that to the two children in front of him.

"The speculations of the two Kyuubi are correct, but not totally. The nine spheres _do_ contain large amounts of chakra, but I don't know what is kept inside of the tenth one," he said. "The seal is linked to your subconscious, and probably activates on its own if you're in a very bad situation. In my opinion, you can use it at will if you visualize a place well enough. If you wish, you can probably take companions for the ride."

Naruto nodded. Sasori glanced at him. "When do you want to leave?"

"Tomorrow." The different universes were slightly similar, so there was a high chance that the people he would meet in the next world were relatively the same as the ones he knew. A meeting with a Sandaime would be an opportunity to verify the knowledge he had gathered.

Sasori stayed silent for a moment. "You don't loose any time. It's a quality. But you will have to take me and Kabuto along for the next ride."

Naruto locked eyes with him, completely surprised. "Why?"

"Because I want to confront my art with my counterparts' work. Exchanging knowledge between puppeteers has always been one of my top priorities. I left my village because they were limiting my potential, and the potential of all puppeteers. Meeting another Sasori, who had decided to take another path in this science than my own, would be a wonderful experience."

Naruto nodded. During these days, he had learned something about Sasori: he was completely obsessed with his art. His job as a spymaster was simply a means for him to improve his work and gather resources, nothing more. "Why not? Having you along with us will certainly help. I'm sure you know how to infiltrate Konoha without attracting attention."

"Yes," he agreed. "I can easily make some forgeries, allowing us to travel incognito."

"And what about you, Kabuto?" Naruto asked the medic, who simply smiled. The memory of the impaled traitor from his world returned, but he repressed it.

"I have to admit that I am fascinated by the existence of alternate universes, Naruto-san," he answered. "How many are there? How have they come into being? What changes from one to another? I intend to find an answer to all these questions."

Naruto nodded, before finally deciding to verify the Kyuubi's words. "Sasori-san, may I ask you a question."

Sasori didn't respond, and the vessel took this as a 'yes'. "Do you know the Yondaime's real name?"

The puppeteer stared at him in the eyes. "Why do you want this information?"

"I want to know if he has descendants."

"Like you?" He smiled at Naruto's obvious surprise. "Don't be taken aback. I have done my research on my student's parentage as well. And yes, the Yondaime, Minato Namikaze, is his, her and your father."

Naruto closed his eyes. It infuriated him to no end, but the source of their shared suffering was their own progenitor. "Does he know?"

"No, he only knows some parts of his family's past, but not much. He's not mature enough to accept such reality without falling into depression. I want him to be fully functional before telling him." Naruto repressed the urge to scold the puppeteer for talking of his student as if he was a machine, but stayed silent. It was simply in the man's nature to act like that. "Once he decides to forge his own destiny, but not before." Sasori sighed. "Do you intend to tell your disciple?"

The wanderer kept his eyes closed. On one hand, it was Naruko's right to know about her parentage. On the other hand, she had only started to enjoy her childhood, she had just learned her first awful truth from Mizuki, and the revelation would probably break her. "No," he decided, hating himself for it. "I want her to heal from her mental scars, to enjoy her new existence. This revelation can wait for a year or two."

Sasori didn't answer for a time. "We are more alike than I thought, Uzumaki Naruto."

* * *

><p>"Really?"<p>

"Yes, Naruko, we are leaving for another universe."

She bit her lower lip. "And Iruka-sensei? And Sandaime-jiji? And Ayame-chan and Teuchi-jiji?"

"I don't know if we will end up in your reality or another," Sai-Naruto-sensei, she remembered, answered. "But we will have to assume that we won't see them again… not the ones you have known. We will probably meet other versions of themselves, but not **_the _**people of your world."

"It's a bit complicated," she stated. Why couldn't things be simpler? "We are going to meet them, but at the same time they won't be them?"

"Pretty much, yes. You will understand when you see them."

"Sure, but I'm still confused, Naruto-sensei." She saw the other Naruto arriving with three scrolls on his back. She glared at the pervert. "What are you doing here with those scrolls? Peeping on our conversation?"

He glared back. "They are the scrolls containing my puppets, you idiot!"

"You're a bit old to play with puppets, child!"

"I'm as old as you! And they are weapons!"

"Are they puppets or are they weapons? You should decide, you psycho!"

"You're the psycho, crazy-girl!"

"Lecherous pervert!"

"Flat-lady!"

Naruko reddened. "Shut up you green eyesore!"

"Says the girl in orange! Attention whore!"

"Green mad-"

"Would you kindly shut up?" Sasori asked, as he arrived in the clearing. "The whole country is listening to you."

Kabuto smiled. "Why did you stop them, Sasori-sama? It was quite the show."

Sasori simply sighed.

* * *

><p>When the sun was about to disappear behind distant mountains, Naruto looked at his team. Sasori had chosen to wear black pants and a vest of the same color, while Kabuto was dressed like Shino. The five were all holding storage scrolls on their back.<p>

_Damn, if I had known I would have to travel with Sasori and Kabuto… _"Everyone ready?" he asked, instinctively touching the Kusanagi sword attached to his belt. Sasori had given it back, and even gave him some pointers on holding it, even if he wasn't a sword master. He hoped to find one soon.

They all nodded.

Naruto closed his eyes. "I will try to teleport us to the forest near Konoha," he announced. The image of the place appeared in his mind.

Channeling his chakra, Naruto sensed the seal burning under his shirt.

* * *

><p>In his mindscape, he looked at the web of mirrors. In one of them, the image of the forest. Naruto touched it.<p>

The nine spheres illuminated everything.

* * *

><p>In a flash of light, the five of them disappeared.<p>

* * *

><p>Carefully hidden behind a tree, Madara Uchiha observed his five prey as they vanished from the face of this Earth. He inwardly cursed. The immortal wasn't proud enough to be blind to the truth: alone, he couldn't defeat three Jinchuuriki, a medic and Sasori at the same time.<p>

He needed help, badly. If the team continued to expand, he would have to find allies. But he had left all of his pawns behind, in his homeworld, and he couldn't access it without his Naruto's power. But who would be willing, on this earth, to help Madara Uchiha?

Wait… there was one person.

The immortal ninja teleported to a graveyard, full of the bones of ancient monsters. He sat on a rock and patiently waited for his 'friend' to manifest.

He didn't wait for long, since a man in purple robes with the Uchiha crest on them, wielding a fan, and wearing a white mask looking like a sharingan on his face, along with a blue bandanna, teleported right in front of him. From two holes, two eyes, one red and the other purple, were carefully studying Madara.

"How is it possible?" the man with both the Sharingan and the Rinnegan asked.

Madara chuckled. "Let me tell you a little story… my other self."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's notes<em>**

The end of this chapter, more focused on the characters. And yes, both heroes and villains are forming their own teams! The hunt has begun!

I intend to have (if I don't die in the meantime) at least fifteen Narutos in the story, though the exact number will depend on the possible length of the story. If you want one in particular to appear, tell it. I might also add other versions of Naruto that I haven't listed there.

Some realities included might not include Naruto at all, but will concentrate on possible alternatives of the canon world, like 'What if Pain had realized his plan?' or 'what if the Sage never taught anyone ninjutsu?'. The possibilities are so numerous that it would be impossible to list them all.

Swampflare suggested that I add the characters of Yet again, with a little extra help. They will have a cameo later on. Thanks Third Fang for the authorization.

Now that everything is clear, I have to leave. Write you soon, and please review.


	4. Chapter 4: Darker Side

I watched the wonderful movie M, by Fritz Lang (a genius), which inspired me so much that I remade the entire chapter as a tribute to the film. Yeah, it is that good. It's old, but really, take a look at it.

Oh, and now it's official, Alpha142 is now my official Beta! Thank you very much for your help. Most of my errors have been corrected by him, so lets cheer him! Big hugs to all the reviewers, by the way.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Chapter Four: Darker Side<em>**

"Sakura, where are you going?" Haruno Mebuki asked her daughter.

Her little girl smiled. "I'm going for a walk."

"You're going to stalk the Uchiha again, aren't you?" Sakura's expression made her mother sigh. "Sometimes, I wonder if your obsession with him isn't pathological. There must be other boys than him at the Academy, no?"

"Yeah, but they're all losers."

"Even the clan heirs? The Inuzuka looks cute."

"Mom!" she whined. "He is always with his dog! Akamaru is adorable, but I don't want to sleep next to him like Kiba does! I would rather date Naruto than him!"

Mebuki's look hardened at this admission. "Sakura, you know that I don't want you near that boy. He's bad news."

"I know, mom!" she rolled her eyes. "I was just joking. That, and I don't think he would take my attempts at scoring with him well. Not after Hinata's death," she added sadly.

Mebuki narrowed his eyes. The tragic fate of the Hyuuga clan was still vivid in her mind. "What does he have to do with the Hyuuga heir?"

The events had happened like the destruction of the Uchiha clan, years ago. One day, Hinata Hyuuga died under mysterious circumstances. The day after her funeral, her whole family had been eradicated. In one night, men, women and children were savagely murdered by an unknown assailant. While traces of a fight and the bodies of everyone were found, the police force found itself unable to identify those responsible for the massacre. This time, the famed clan genius hadn't defected. Neji Hyuuga had been assassinated next to his uncle.

The terrifying event scared the whole village. Had Itachi Uchiha returned? Had a new psychopath emerged? What was the motivation of the killer? Would he strike again? And simply, how could someone wipe out the strongest clan of Konoha in one night, without leaving a single survivor behind? Even the demon couldn't do that!

In fact…

"He was always with her," her daughter said. "They were great friends. In fact, sometimes I wonder if he had a crush on her."

Mebuki repressed a laugh. The demon, in love with the young Hyuuga? "He must have been sad."

"He was completely broken. He hasn't pranked anyone since her death."

Mebuki didn't respond. She knew, unlike her daughter, that the demon couldn't love anyone. He couldn't feel anything but joy at the death of others. He must have faked his sadness to better hide his true nature as a remorseless, selfish and destructive creature. "I see…"

"Anyway, I hope I'm not on his team," Sakura stated. "The assignments have been delayed after Hinata's sudden death, but I will probably be in Sasuke-kun's group!" She smiled. "Believe it!"

Mebuki sighed. "Anyway, come back for lunch."

"Yes, mom!" she shouted as she left the house.

* * *

><p>Hidden in the shadows, he looked at the young girl. She was happy, and he wasn't.<p>

_Kill her._

**_Bleed her dry._**

**_Make her beg for your forgiveness._**

No, he was happy. He was happy. He was happy. He was happy. He was happy. He was happy. He was happy. He was happy. He was happy. He was happy. He was happy. He was happy. He was happy. He was happy. He was happy. He was happy. He was ha…

_No you aren't._

**_She has stolen your sunshine._**

**_She must die for you to feel good._**

No. Oh, no, no, no… The impulse was coming, he tried to repress it. He had to think about something else. Not about killing her, no. He closed his eyes and thought about his last meal, about his successful graduation, about those who had passed too…

And then he thought about Hinata.

_They were all dead. All bleeding, these broken dolls. His senses noticed the little girl hiding behind the door. He turned his head to face her. "**I know you're here.**"She squealed._

_"No…" the dying clan head muttered. "Not… my daughter… please… not Hanabi..."_

_He sneered at him. "**I will make you watch. You will be as helpless as I have been.**"_

_His claws cut through the wooden gate._

He returned to reality, now red. The girl had just entered a street…

_KILL!_

**_TEAR HER APART!_**

**_MAKE HER SCREAM!_**

He didn't resist. He couldn't. The voices were too strong. The bloodlust was too great.

He had lost the battle against himself again.

* * *

><p><em>Where is she?<em> Mebuki questioned herself. _She is an hour late!_

Getting out of her house, the mother looked at the empty street. "Sakura! Where are you!" she shouted.

Nobody answered her.

"Sakura!" she yelled. Silence.

"SAKURA!"

* * *

><p>To Izumo, the group in front of him was a strange one. This merchant caravan was truly atypical. None of its members were older than thirty, and they were a truly disparate ensemble.<p>

Three of them looked like they were brothers and sisters, which they were. All blonde, all with green eyes and all with a pale skin… Izumo briefly mistook the littlest boy for the demon brat, until he noticed his lack of whiskers marks and the different color of his eyes.

The two other members were older, but barely. One was a young man with black hair and glasses, the second a redhead, and the spokesperson of the group. "Here is our identifications, mister guard," he said as he gave him some documents. After having read them, he gave them to Kotetsu. "Is everything in order?"

His friend nodded. "They are perfectly authentic. I recognize the Daimyo's signature."

Izumo returned the identifications. "Then welcome in Konoha, Shinja-san."

Shinja Takano nodded, while Adachi Tojo smiled. The blonde teenager, Kazama Arashi, thanked them, before taking his two siblings, Akane and Chibaku, with him as he crossed the gates, the other two behind them.

As they disappeared, Izumo found himself praying for their safety. With the current murders in town, they would need it.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe it worked."<p>

Kabuto smiled. "But it did. The effectiveness of your Advanced Henge is incredible, Kazama-san."

Naruto Uzumaki, also known as Kazama Arashi, smirked as he continued to walk through the streets. "Thank you, Adachi-san, but you also had a part in its completion." He would never have guessed that his 'Sexy no Jutsu' could be used like this, and he certainly didn't expect the medic to make it hold under force. A true physical transformation that couldn't be dispelled easily was the perfect disguise, as it had shown itself to be.

"Of course Aniki's jutsu is incredible," Akane, or rather Naruko, declared. "He is the best ninja in the world!"

The younger Naruto, Chibaku, snorted. "He is competent, I admit, but Shinja-sensei is the one who holds the title of best ninja in the world. He defeated our counterpart with only one seal."

"That didn't count," she said. "He attacked him from behind and threatened me. In a straight fight-"

"There is no straight fight with ninjas," he pointed out. "There is no such a thing as fighting dirty."

"Then why does the expression exist?" she asked.

"Because it is used by samurai."

She snorted. "Whatever."

The young puppeteer smiled slyly, before eying Sasori. "Why not testing that now?"

"I won't fight Kazama-san," the artist stated. "We all have more important things to do, and such a duel would blow our cover."

Naruto nodded. "We have to find our counterpart and check out if he is abused. If he is, we will help him. If he isn't," _even if I doubt that_, he thought, "then we will simply continue our personal quests for a time. Shinja-san, Adachi-san and my counterpart will try to find this world's Sasori, while I train with Naruk… Akane I mean." He had almost forgotten that they could be heard. Konoha would probably identify them as spies if their real names were revealed to the public.

"Really?" she asked. "Are you going to teach me a kick-ass jutsu?"

"The Kage Bunshin," he confirmed. "One of my best techniques." Now that he didn't have to care about his actions on the long term anymore, since he could jump from one world to another, Naruto could complete his counterpart's training without attracting attention.

"Naru… Kazama-sensei, you're the best!"

"Stop shouting," Sasori warned. "Or I will have to use poison to knock you out."

"Alright, alright…" she said. "Killjoy," she muttered.

"I heard you. I always hear you." Naruko paled, while the younger Naruto fell on the floor laughing.

Kabuto sighed. "Why do I have the feeling this is going to be something usual in this team?"

"Why are we working with them, Kazama-sensei?" Naruko asked angrily to her mentor as they walked past Ino's flower shop, with some distance between the rest of the team. She was disguised, and didn't even take her prized headband, a situation she must have been unhappy with. _At least, nobody is glaring at her anymore_, Naruto thought. "They're all jerks!"

The teenager smiled. "Naruko, in your life, you will have to work with some people that you dislike, and you will have to support them. Some are far worse than our current friends. Simply ignore them: indifference is the greatest contempt."

"But-"

"Naruko." His voice was stern and… sad? He narrowed his eyes at her. "Bickering is funny as long as it is friendly, but don't let it degenerate into animosity. It will end badly, for you and for my counterpart." A smile formed on his face. A hollow one. "I learned this lesson the hard way, believe me."

Naruko eyed him uncomfortably. "I understand," she said.

His smile became real. "I hope you do. I really hope you-" he hit an immobile Kabuto, and barely avoided falling on the ground. "Sorry, Ada-"

"ANOTHER VICTIM!" someone shouted. "THE CHILD KILLER STRIKES AGAIN!"

Naruto frowned, as he eyed the crowd of people in front of him. They were listening to a man, who had just pasted a poster on the wall beside him. It displayed the photo of-

"Chouji?" Naruko asked. Naruto nodded gravely, before motioning her to stay silent.

The Akimichi wasn't the only one shown on the poster. The traveler also saw the photos of Kiba, Ino, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Sakura, and many other children he had known at the Academy. At least twenty kids were pictured there, their names under their faces.

Alongside that, a short message.

**_Twenty-one children methodically murdered! The killer is still on the loose!_**

**_The Council has offered a reward of 100 million Ryo for his capture! Be wary, he is armed and dangerous!_**

**_100,000 Ryo for any information leading to the murderer's identification! Go to the Inuzuka Police Station if you have any information! Even the smallest bit can help catch the monster!_**

"What the fuck is that?" the blonde puppeteer asked.

"Apparently," Sasori stated, "Konoha's children are preyed upon by a serial killer."

"I didn't know, the poster wasn't explicit enough," he deadpanned. "But can't we get more details?"

"Perhaps," the older puppeteer said. "But we shouldn't move. With the current atmosphere, this crowd might not stay calm for long."

"I agree," the traveler said. "Why not go to a hotel? I think there is one near the city center."

* * *

><p>"So it began a week ago?"<p>

The receptionist nodded. "Yes, Shinja-san. The first victim was a girl named Sakura Haruno. Her body was found in an alley… it was a horrendous spectacle. After her, the murders have continued, and now each day we wake up knowing that another child is now dead. The police are powerless and everyone suspects everyone else."

Sasori frowned. "Are you sure it is the same murderer?"

"Oh yes. Each of the corpses looks like they had been the toy of a savage beast, and all have been attacked while they were alone, with no witnesses. In fact, the police think it is the same monster that exterminated the Hyuuga clan some time before."

"The Hyuuga clan has been wiped out?" Sasori's eyes widened, as he heard the rest of the group gasp in horror.

"Down to the last child," the receptionist confirmed. "In one night, everyone in their compound was killed savagely. The clan defended itself, apparently, but it wasn't enough. To destroy a whole clan… some say that it's Itachi again."

"That's crazy…" his apprentice whispered.

"I see… thank you for the information."

"No problem. It's my job to answer questions."

Smiling, Sasori turned toward the rest of the team. "Let us talk in our room."

* * *

><p>"I can't believe it!"<p>

Her sensei winced. "I know, Akane. But we have a killer in Konoha that even the police can't stop. We have to be weary."

"Can't we help?" she asked. "I'm sure that together we can arrest this beast!"

"I doubt that we will succeed where the whole police-force has failed. It's only a matter of time before he is arrested anyway; when all the clans coordinate their efforts… we can't do anything to help them."

"But-"

"We can't watch over all the kids in this city." Technically, he could, with the Kage Bunshin, but doing so would attract the attention of the authorities, which would probably cause more problems than his actions would solve. Heck, the police might mistake him for the killer! "And since we are in another universe, everyone can be the murderer. Everyone. Since it didn't happen back in my, your or Sasori's homeworld, we don't have any relevant information." He gritted his teeth. "It disgusts me, but I don't see what we can do."

Naruko stayed silent. "Maybe our counterpart will help us."

"Maybe," he said as he continued to walk through the streets. Night had fallen on Konoha, so nobody would see them go to the other Naruto's apartment, allowing them to avoid many of the questions that would have soon followed.

"I hope he's nice," Naruko said. "Or at least I hope he's better than this perv-"

**_KILL THEM ALL!_**

She fell on the ground, screaming, the noise resonating in her head.

_She was cutting through the ANBU's body as if it were butter. Eviscerating him, she then looked sideways at the second one, a female with the face of a cat. "**Out of my way**," she told her._

_The ANBU didn't obey. A child and a man were hiding behind her, terrified. "Leave. NOW!" the ANBU shouted as she charged Naruko._

**_Show her our power!_**

_Despite her best effort, she obeyed the command of the voices. She tried to rip the ANBU apart with her claws, but she gracefully avoided the attack, riposting with a swing of her blade. Naruko's hard skin stopped the blade, which broke. "**I apologize for what I must do**," she said to her._

_"Keep your lies for another, demon!" the ANBU shouted. She punched Naruko in the belly before kicking her in the head._

_"**I don't lie**," she told her attacker._

**_No we don't. We are real. You are just a dream, and we will erase your existence from this wretched world. WE WILL NOT BE DENIED OUR SACRIFICE!_**

_"**No, we will not be denied**," Naruko muttered._

**_BEG AND DIE! SCREAM FOR US! HONOR OUR NAME, PITIFUL MORTAL!_**

"**_We are the devil. Dozens have fallen before us. You will die too._**_"_

"Naruko!"

She heard her sensei's voice, and saw him trying to make her return to reality. But then, in an instant, she was in another place.

_"**You cannot escape me**!" she roared as she pursued the man and the child through the forest. She was still covered with the blood of her last prey._

_"Honorable grandson," the man said. "Go to the town! Warn the Hokage that the Kyuubi has awoken again!"_

_"Bu-"_

_"RUN! I will try to give you some time!" he shouted as he turned around, a kunai in hand. "It's up to us now!"_

_Naruko laughed. "**I will flay you alive, and then wear your skin as my new jumpsuit!**"_

"Naruko!"

**_Get up, little girl. You're not him and he isn't you._**

Naruko was now in her sensei's arms. His look was a horrified one. "Yes, Naruto-sensei?"

He relaxed a bit. "You just passed out!"

"I don't know…" she said. "It was so real…"

**_It was._**

She squealed in surprise, much to her sensei's incomprehension. "I'm hearing voices!"

**_A voice. I'm the only one here. Okay, there might be one or two repressed personalities of yours around here, but I really don't want to know them… they're creepy._**

"What the fuck are you?" she asked, before noticing Naruto's expression. She blushed. _Thanks, now Naruto-sensei thinks that I'm crazy…_

**_He didn't need my help to realize that._**

"Shut up!"

"Naruko," her sensei asked. "Is it the Kyuubi?"

"The Kyuubi?" she repeated.

**_Good guess. Yes, I'm the Kyuubi. And the images in your mind came from another me… its mind briefly connected with my own, resulting in your… fainting problems._**

"What did it say?" Naruto asked.

"Apparently, another Kyuubi has squatted in my mind, making me hallucinate."

**_I'm currently communicating with the puppeteer's Kyuubi, and it has had the same problems. We can protect you and your counterpart from its influence, but you must stay away from it._**

_Why?_

**_It is… unstable. Or at least, patently violent and unpredictable. His host is as unbalanced as it is. In fact…_**

_What?_

**_He might be the killer they search for in town._**

"What?" she shouted. "My counterpart is the serial killer?"

Naruto frowned, and the Kyuubi confirmed it. **_He is currently fighting with a man… and winning. The kid you saw is currently fleeing, so you should hurry if you want to save him._**

_Where are they?_

**_In the forest. You can't miss the spot, it's right after the dismembered body of an ANBU._**

"Naruto-sensei, our counterpart is crazy and wants to kill someone in the forest."

The teenager frowned, before making a few hand seals. "Kage Bunshin."

Immediately, twenty clones appeared beside him. "You two, take Naruko with you and bring her to Sasori. The rest of you, you know what to do!"

* * *

><p>He looked at his unconscious prey… and hesitated.<p>

_Go on._

**_Kill him._**

**_Take your price._**

"**_No_**," he said. "**_No, I won't._**"

_Don't be a fool!_

**_It's your right to slaughter the weak!_**

**_Remember what his grandfather has done! You can't let him get away with it!_**

Struggling, he managed to ignore the voices. As he transformed back into his original form, he sat on the ground, beside his victim. As the voices tried to convince him to change his mind, he simply stayed silent. He had to resist.

How long would it take for the Sandaime's forces to find the duo before he felt compelled to kill again?

* * *

><p>The murderer was there, sitting in the shadows. The unconscious boy was lying on the ground, beside him. His orange jumpsuit was torn apart, and his stare was completely hollow.<p>

"I know you're there," the blonde boy said. "Come on, show yourself. Are you afraid?"

Naruto shook his head negatively, eying his counterpart as he approached him. "I am not."

"Wrong," he said, with a sad smile. "I detect a faint, repressed scent of dread in your heart. You're afraid of what I am."

_He's right_, he thought. _I'm scared, because he is what I could have been. This boy is what I would have been if I had snapped. I have always been scared of one day becoming the very kind of monster I was fighting against. _This fear was now incarnated in this boy. "And your scent is strange," the evil counterpart stated. "Just like my own. Who are you exactly?"

Naruto stayed silent, blatantly ignoring the question, before staring at the boy… he immediately recognized him. "Konohamaru has done nothing to you."

"Who cares? His grandfather ruined my life." The statement was cold and harsh. "His incompetence destroyed my childhood." His eyes became red for an instant. "**_Now it's my turn to break him, just as I have broken the parents of Konoha_**." He locked eyes with his older, scared counterpart. The young boy's gaze was now blue. "How did you guess it was me? My werefox form doesn't have a scent nor fingertips, and my pheromones can mask my captives' odors and chakra signatures, so how did you track me down? How did you guess it was I who abducted this kid?"

_So that's how he avoided pursuit for so long… the Inuzuka are too reliant on their dogs to hunt someone without a scent... wait, did he say werefox? _"I know you more than you think, Naruto."

"Then you should know what it is to be like me, don't you?" he asked with a pathetic voice.

The world traveler nodded.

"I… I can't stop myself!"

He… cried. Tears rolled from his eyes. Naruto found himself taken aback by the spectacle. "I know it's wrong, but I can't stop. The voices push me to do it. They are always with me… always. When I walk, when I eat, when I sleep. They goad me into killing, into destroying everything I don't like… I try to resist their call, but sometimes… sometimes I can't."

He fell on the floor holding his head with his hands. "I know it's wrong, but I can't stop myself. When I see people happy, I can't help but give in to my urges for blood. I can't help but find joy in people's misery and despair. And when I realize what I've done, I'm horrified. The voices sing their approval, while I'm consumed with remorse. But then I see another happy couple, and the cycle starts all over again!" He screamed, and the traveler winced.

"I'm a vile, cursed being, but I can't go against my inner nature! I can't help but envy these kids, who have everything I ever wanted but will never have! I can't help but hate these parents who glare and make my life a living hell! I can't help but want to destroy everything they hold dear, so they feel my pain and loneliness! And I can't help but channel my impulses into murder and violence!" He smiled. It was an obvious fake one.

"I tried to do something else. I tried to be happy, I tried to befriend children, I tried to help people… but nothing worked. My smile only met scornful looks, the children bullied me and rejected me, and I failed to help anyone! Hinata… I tried to help her pass. I did _everything _to help her, down to forging her results, so she wouldn't end up with the caged bird seal. But even when she became a genin, it wasn't enough for her clan! **They used the seal on her, so her sister could inherit the rank of heiress. She dreamed of peace, so she did not resist. She did not flee. And she died from the procedure! She died screaming and crying! And the world _rejoiced_!**"

His smile twisted into a despaired, dead face. His eyes were as red as blood, and his voice deeper than normal. "**I'm the only one that came to her funeral, with the Sandaime Hokage. Then when her father finally came, I thought that maybe at least he loved her a little. But then he touched Hanabi's shoulder, and do you know what he told her?**" he asked.

Naruto shook his head.

"**He told her; 'Don't cry for this _failure'_. Right before Hinata's corpse**."His older counterpart paled. "**The Sandaime said nothing. _Nothing_. He only intervened when I tried to attack the Hyuuga bastard for killing his daughter! He went off without any problem, while I got scolded for assaulting a clan head! Can you understand what I felt when the Hokage, my idol, simply told me to act as if _nothing had happened? _Can you imagine what I felt when I saw all of my ideals about justice and morality being trampled on by my hero? _CAN YOU IMAGINE?_**" He yelled, completely incensed. His eyes returned to their blue color, and his voice became normal again.

"So I snapped. I gave up. The voices returned, and this time I accepted the power they offered me. The power to kill anyone, the power to punish every sinner, the power to spread my pain in every heart! One night, I used it to destroy the Hyuuga Clan. Funny, how their unbeatable Juuken proved itself useless against my fur and my claws! I killed everyone, down to the last child, the slaves who knelt before their abusers out of cowardice, and the masters who oppressed for the sake of oppression! _Everyone!_" He slammed his fist on the ground.

"But the nightmare didn't end. The glares continued, the voices' advice became more convincing, and the power tainted my soul more and more, deluding it with promises of revenge. And deep down, I realized that despite everything, I liked the situation. I liked to kill people, to hurt and to destroy. It disgusted me, but deep down I wanted to make others suffer, even when they were innocents. **But there is no such thing as an innocent, no? In this world of hurt without justice, how is it possible to distinguish the pure and the wicked? When good is not rewarded and evil not punished, why do morals exist? To keep the sinless grounded, while the corrupt prospers?"**

His eyes became red, and his face became more animal-like. Naruto immediately took a battle stance. "You don't have to sink to their level!" he shouted. "Murder is not the solution to our problems, it only perpetuates them! Don't listen to the voices, they only want to corrupt you!"

"**_Death is our only escape from this pointless life!_**" the transforming boy stated. Fur and a tail grew, fangs and claws appeared, and his size doubled, an act that opened new holes in his jumpsuit. He now looked like a mix between a fox and a human, neither one nor the other. It wasn't the Kyuubi's chakra that caused this transformation. It was simply natural.

_Has he fused with the Kyuubi to the point of developing a bloodline? Perhaps it is an ability given to him by the demon, like Gaara's sand-control? _"Death doesn't solve anything! It only spreads pain to the living! The pain will become hatred and stoke the fires of revenge! It's a vicious circle that you will begin!"

"**_Without pain, people don't care about consequences for their actions. They continue to make others suffer, until they receive a proper punishment. Only through misery shall the world learn peace._**"

"You will begin a spiral of death! An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind! People will continue to fight their rivals until nothing remains! Is this the future that you want to build? Is this the future that Hinata would have wanted?" he questioned.

He had pressed the right button. The werefox's jaw dropped, and he stayed silent a moment. "**_… she died wishing for peace between the Branch and the Main House. She died wishing for justice. She died for her beliefs, only for her father to trample on them."_**

"Then live by them!" Naruto said. "Realize her dream of peace, and don't give up on it!"

"**_Her ideals cannot be realized_**." His despaired voice made Naruto cringe.

"They are still worth fighting for! Giving up on them is even worse than trying to realize them, even if it's not possible! Do you think she would have wanted you to become the very monster she reviled? Do you want to accept the dark destiny that Konoha wanted you so badly to follow? Are you going to give them the satisfaction of being right? Prove them wrong! You can be better than them all, if you try hard enough! Justice is perhaps a utopia, but you can help her progress wherever you can! Don't waste Hinata's death!"

"**_I can't repress my impulses!_**" he shouted. "**_I can't help but try to hurt people! The voices are goading me into murdering them!_**"

"Then hurt the wicked! If you can't help but kill people, then channel your impulses toward destroying those that deserve their fate! Killing everyone is not necessary! Hinata's father deserved his punishment, but not Hanabi! She couldn't do anything to help her sister! The children that you kill mustn't pay for the crimes of their parents! Justice won't be blind as long as you are its eyes! Eradicate the guilty but protect the innocent, that's what you can do!"

The werefox grabbed his head, before screaming. Naruto winced at the horrible sound. As the shriek resonated in the building, the creature changed appearance. The fox elements of anatomy disappeared, giving way to a twelve years old child in a torn outfit. He locked eyes with his older counterpart. "Who are you? An angel, who has come to show me the right way?"

Naruto smiled. "I'm neither an angel nor a demon. I am simply…" he dissipated the Advanced Henge, revealing his face to the amazed boy.

"You."

* * *

><p>Near the forest's border, Naruto and his clones, each holding a boy on their back, met the rest of the group. They seemed to be waiting for him. All frowned at the view of his sleeping counterpart.<p>

Naruto stayed emotionless. "He has a problem," he stated as he placed him on the ground, his clone imitating him. "He needs help."

"I can't believe I'm a serial killer in this world," the Puppeteer Naruto muttered to himself.

Kabuto knelt beside the two children, before performing a medical diagnostic. "Strange… your counterpart's cellular structure is abnormal."

"He can transform into a werefox at will," he explained. "He doesn't need the Kyuubi's chakra to do so, but it seems to increase the mental hold the Bijuu has over him. It allowed him to avoid capture, but…"

"I see," Kabuto said. "It does explain some things. His cells are acting strangely, as if they had a mind. Perhaps the Kyuubi is controlling them?"

"I don't know, but he is tormented by different voices that compel him to kill."

"The seal should protect him from the Kyuubi's influence," Sasori stated. "Take off his jumpsuit."

Naruto obeyed, revealing the Yondaime's seal to everyone. Sasori frowned. "It is perfectly normal… wait, you said he was hearing voice_s_?" Seeing the blonde's nod, the missing-nin frowned. "I don't know if I'm right, but I think he might have developed some kind of mental illness. With the Kyuubi's influence, anything is possible. It might even be a bloodline… if only we had more time-"

"We don't," the puppeteer Naruto stated, as he observed a number of lights coming toward them. "Konoha has noticed the disappearance of their leader's grandson. The Inuzuka are leading them."

"They must have followed Konohamaru's odor, now that the werefox's pheromones aren't masking his scent," Naruto stated.

Sasori locked eyes with Kabuto. "I have a plan."

* * *

><p>Naruto stayed immobile, even as several ANBU appeared on the scene. He was unfazed by the mob's coming with torches and pitchforks.<p>

"Kill the demon!" Chouza Akimichi ordered.

"Burn him!" a man shouted.

"Execute this child killer!" Sakura's mother yelled.

"He must die for what he did to the Hyuuga clan!"

Finally, the Sandaime Hokage appeared, followed by two ANBU (Naruto identified one of them as Kakashi), eyeing his unconscious grandson. His eyes were radiating with fury. He stared at the unconscious killer. "Naruto Uzumaki…" he declared with a cold tone, "I have overlooked many of your misdeeds, and it has cost Konoha dearly. I won't commit the same mistake again."

"… misdeeds?" Everyone looked at Naruto, who glared at them furiously.

"You DARE you make him the criminal? He is YOUR VICTIM!" he yelled. "You CREATED him! You twisted him, you warped him, until nothing human remained in him! You made his life a living hell, and now you condemn him for lashing out against you?"

"Our children did nothing!" Ino's father said.

"NARUTO NEVER DID ANYTHING!" Years of repressed feelings were now expressing themselves. "YOU TORTURED HIM FOR THE CRIME OF ANOTHER! HE ISN'T THE KYUUBI AND NEVER WAS! YOU MADE HIM A SCAPEGOAT! AND YOU INSULTED THE YONDAIME'S LAST WISH ONLY SO YOU COULD HATE SOMETHING! YOU DISGUST ME!"

"How do you know about that?" the Sandaime narrowed his eyes, and the crowd paled. "This is an S-Rank secret."

Naruto clenched his teeth. "It doesn't matter. What matters is what will happen to him." He glared at them. "I won't let you condemn him. He is ill, and needs to be healed, not executed." He took the young blonde in his arms

"I'm sorry to say this, but he has crossed the line," the Sandaime replied. "We cannot allow this murderer to live anymore."

"We can say the same for you, Sarutobi-dono." Sasori faced the assembled crowd. "You too have blood on your hands, for not so noble reasons. The Uchiha's fate attest it," the Hokage paled, "and the existence of Root even more."

To his credit, Sarutobi quickly corrected his expression, the mob looking at him questioningly. "What's the meaning of this, Hokage-sama?" Shikaku Nara asked.

"This man knows some of Konoha's darkest secrets," he stated. "I want him to be detained and interrogated."

"If you do that, my agents will spill the beans to the four other Kages," Sasori smirked. "You don't want the start of another Shinobi War, do you? Think about it, Hokage-dono."

The Hokage frowned. "What do you want?"

"To talk, in private, and to have Naruto spared."

"But we can't let him-"

"Quiet!" the Sandaime interrupted Chouza's words. "This is a very important matter!"

"But-"

"Naruto will be detained while awaiting my judgment," The Sandaime declared, before gazing at Sasori, then at his three companions, then at the two Naruto. "We will talk in my office. I want to know everything."

Sasori smiled. "You will, Hokage-sama. You will."

As the ANBU escorted them to the Hokage Tower, Naruto sensed his asleep counterpart stiffen. "It will be alright," he muttered to him. The boy instantly relaxed.

_Sandaime-jiji, you will need an explanation for this situation. Badly._

* * *

><p>After receiving Sasori's hidden signal, Kabuto successfully left the mob which he had infiltrated, still under his civilian disguise. Kazama's clone, under an advanced Henge, continued to follow the group.<p>

Kabuto opened the door of the hotel. He had to prepare the group's belongings, since they would probably leave the town within the day. Running for their life, apparently.

The medic noticed something strange. Nobody was there to welcome him. Kabuto looked sideways behind the counter. Perhaps he could find a note or some thing?

He only saw the receptionist's dead body on the floor.

Kabuto only had the time to widen his eyes before he sensed someone grabbing his head. Instantly, his mind blacked out as his memories were brutally extracted form his brain, killing him on the spot.

* * *

><p>Casually, Madara let the corpse of the medic fall on the floor. Processing the information gathered from his mind, the man with the Rinnegan hesitated between waiting for his other self to return and immediately destroying Konoha with a Shinra Tensei. Now that he knew that his actions didn't matter on the long term, since he could jump from one world to another, he didn't fear to attract the attention of the Five Great Nations anymore.<p>

His internal debate ended when he sensed two people materializing behind him. Turning around, Madara stared at the duo. The first Madara who had contacted him had brought another self as reinforcement. This one was wearing his old, red Uchiha armor, had longer hair than them, and was wearing his first mask, the one covered with dark spots. He was carrying a gourd and a mirror on his back, and a strange, green jewel was incrusted inhis mask.

Madara nodded to his other self before shaking hands with him. "Enchanted, my other self."

"The pleasure is all mine, myself," the alternate Madara said. "What happened to the Sharingan on your left?"

"Consumed by the Izanagi, to save myself from Hashirama's blade," Madara stated. "I replaced it with the legendary Rinnegan." He pointed to his other eye with a finger.

The armored Madara nodded. "So you have bred a new Sage of the Six Paths?"

"Yes, but some idiot killed him before his gift could mature." Cursed Hanzo. At the time of his death, Nagato hadn't fully unlocked all the powers contained in this eyes, forcing him to complete the job after implanting it on himself. Worse, without a powerful figurehead, his plans to gather a powerful army while staying in the shadows had been completely ruined, and dozens of years wasted. Madara had been more or less on his own until his counterpart came to his aid. "You, on the other hand, you have apparently gathered a few treasures instead."

His counterpart straightened up. "After my defeat at the Valley, I understood that I could only believe in myself. So I have collected everything that could improve my abilities. The sword of Totsuka, the Kusanagi, the Yata Mirror, the Magatama jewel, the five artifacts of the first Sage… they are all in my possession."

Madara admired his other self's determination. He had never obtained any of these items in his lifetime, only seen them, and obtaining them must have been a long and arduous quest. Mastering their power must have taken a lifetime... and an incredible willpower.

"And you, my dear twin?" the armored Madara asked his last counterpart. "What have you done in your world."

The immortal chuckled, before revealing his arm to the duo. Both awed.

Ten Sharingan were transplanted in his skin.

"You massacred this clan of betrayers?" Madara asked, while his armored counterpart stayed silent. "I am impressed."

"Thank you. What happened to your worlds' Uchiha clan?"

"One of them went rogue and killed them all, because they were unworthy to live," Madara declared. "Itachi Uchiha, I think his name was. He is a true, pure Uchiha, uncorrupted by Konoha's teachings."

"In this world, Itachi massacred his clan under the Hokage's order, as I had predicted it would happen," the armored Madara said. "I killed this fanatic later, for stealing my revenge."

"At least, these backstabbers are dead in all worlds I have visited," the clan killer announced. "Karma does exist, it seems." He eyed Kabuto's cadaver. "What happened here?"

"It appears," Madara said, "that this world's Kyuubi Jinchuuriki is far less weak than his counterparts. He has decided to take revenge on the Leaf, by crippling its next generation of ninjas."

"Has he succeeded?" his armored self asked.

"Unfortunately, our prey has intervened and interrupted the killing spree, much to my disappointment. The Jinchuuriki has been captured, but his counterparts have decided to spare him. They are currently talking with the Sandaime Hokage." He gazed at his two twins questioningly. "What do we do? They won't expect an attack so soon."

The armored Madara seemed to hesitate, but the clan killer shook his head. "We will wait for them to return to the hotel. We are outnumbered, and we will not have a second chance. The world traveler is our only target, the others are just potential hostages. If they want to leave, they will need their equipment. We will attack them by surprise. Mada-" he stopped. "It's going to be confusing during the battle, if we all use 'Madara' to call eachother. Why not finding codenames, just in case?"

The two counterparts thought about it. "Why not using the names of the gods, who have gifted our clan with the three great techniques? Amaterasu, Tsukiyomi and Susanoo? Since many of my items had, according to the legends, belonged to her, I will take the name of Amaterasu."

The clan killer nodded. "Why not? Being the master of deceit and illusion, I will adopt the name of Tsukiyomi."

Madara nodded. "Being the possessor of the strongest power of my world, I will adopt the name of Susanoo."

Tsukiyomi nodded. "And soon, all realities will bow down before us, as the mortals bow down before gods."

God.

The title would suit them well.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's notes:<em>**

Yeah, this Naruto is one of the numerous possibilities of the Multiverse. And many are far, _far_, **_far _**worse.

I originally intended to write a nihilistic, remorseless murderer, but the movie _M _gave me the idea to portray the Evil Naruto as a broken, confused child, victim of his impulses and aware of the wrongness of his acts, more like Tragic/Unstable Evil Naruto. Heck, I even erased a showdown at the Hokage Monument where he should have died instead of Kabuto! The medic's death is definitive, by the way. I want to show that the villains aren't here simply to kill the heroes' mentors and then get pawned by the heroes (like in canon). Death is a real threat to the good guys here.

Anyway, thanks for all the people that read and follow this story!

Write you soon!


	5. Chapter 5: Blaze

Hello everyone! I'm back, with another chapter! Special thanks to Alpha142 for the precious help and suggestions! Hugs to all reviewers.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. One day, one day...

**_Chapter Five_**

**_Blaze_**

The Hokage's office was the same as the one from Naruto's homeworld. Clean. Bright. How nostalgic. He had the feeling he had left his reality years ago.

If only he wasn't under the watch of at least ten ANBU, he might have enjoyed the situation.

"So," the Sandaime Hokage asked as he sat on his chair. "Who are you?" he seemed to be a calm and harmless old man, but everyone in the room was aware it was merely an illusion. The ninja didn't earn the title 'God of the Shinobi' without a reason. He gained it by crushing his rivals and breaking down the enemies of his country.

And technically, by shielding a child murderer and blackmailing the Hokage into submission, Naruto's team could be considered a menace to Konoha's safety. At least, Sasori's threat was keeping them alive for the moment. Naruto would have to question the puppeteer on how he had gained sensitive information on the Village in such a short time…

He had been amazed when the mob didn't attack. Tens of parents, all ready to avenge their child… perhaps they were confident in the Hokage's judgment? His grandson had been almost killed… they must be believing in his willingness to execute the demon child later.

He had almost decided to teleport the group into another world, supplies or not, but Sasori's words had troubled him. What was he talking about? If he had mentioned the seal, then Kabuto would have left his cover to join them, and they would have jumped into another reality… The puppeteer wanted to talk to the Hokage, beside allowing Kabuto to recuperate what they had left at the hotel, that was obvious.

"Some travelers, with different objectives, who banded together for practical reasons," Sasori answered.

The Hokage frowned. "You will have to give me more than that."

"I'm afraid I have to deny your request," the spymaster said. "You see, revealing our identity would, unfortunately, involve some nasty secrets that I don't think you would like to share with your ANBU… since they implicate some of the previous SS-Rank secrets that I evoked previously."

This made Naruto stiffen slightly. He ignored the existence of this level of secrecy. But somehow, it didn't surprise him. If his state as Jinchuuriki was an S-Rank secret and known by every adult in the Village, then it was obvious that the greatest secrets of Konoha were… well, _secret_.

The Sandaime stayed silent a moment.

"ANBU, leave the room."

Everyone looked at the Sandaime in obvious surprise. "But, Hokage-sama-"

"Leave the room," the old man repeated, ignoring a disguised Kakashi's worries. "I don't fear them. Lock the door behind you."

"I… I understand." The Shinobi left the office, the other ANBU behind him. They closed the door behind them.

Sasori smirked. "I must admit it, it takes a lot of balls to lock yourself in a soundproof room with possibly hostile ninjas."

"Kill me, and the whole Village will be after you before you can blink," the Sandaime declared. "Now, let me explain what I want. I want to know who you are, what you're doing in Konoha, how do you know this town's darkest secrets, why do you protect an unstable psychopath," Naruto gritted his teeth at the statement, and he sensed the boy in his arms stiffen, "and especially why one of you looks like an older version of our Jinchuuriki." He locked eyes with Naruto.

Naruto glared at him. "It's because I _am _an older version of Naruto." He turned to face his two other counterparts. "Drop the Henge."

Naruko didn't hesitate, revealing her features instantly. The blonde puppeteer looked at his teacher, before obeying as he saw approval in Sasori's eyes. The clone disguised as Kabuto didn't obey, since he had to cover the model. The Hokage paled.

"What's the meaning of this?" he asked.

Sasori smirked. "Everyone, show your seal."

As the teenager, Naruko and the green Naruto partially took their shirt off, they channeled chakra on their belly, revealing the Yondaime's seal. The Hokage gaped, especially when the blonde puppeteer tapped into the Kyuubi's power for a few seconds. Sasori continued to smirk.

"I am Sasori of the Red Sand, and the man next to me is my subordinate, Adachi Tojo. These three are alternate versions of Naruto, coming from different dimensions, such as the two of us."

The old man's jaw dropped. "Explain," he ordered.

A few explanations later, the Sandaime massaged his temples. "This is insane, but somehow I believe you. It is impossible to duplicate a Bijuu's chakra." He stared at the group. "And now I understand why you want to protect Naruto."

"We could have been like him," the teenager said. "We can heal him."

"I doubt that," the Hokage said. "You have seen what he is capable of."

Naruto gritted his teeth. "Blame Konoha for that. Its citizens' abuse twisted him."

"Hokage-sama," his puppeteer counterpart said. "May I ask how this situation came into being? It didn't happen in our world, so…"

The Hokage's look saddened. "I failed to protect him. Naruto has enemies… from within the village," he said. "You must probably know how Konoha is directed, don't you?"

Sasori nodded. "The Hokage commands the Shinobi forces. The Daimyo gives the funds. The council of Konoha propose laws, or validate the ones proposed by the Hokage."

The Sandaime nodded. "After the Kyuubi's attack, I summoned the council, and made them validate the Law of Silence. While they seemed to approve, it took only a week for everyone in the Village to learn about Naruto's… problem. After dozens of public executions of informants and potential murderers, the citizens of Konoha learned to respect my decree. Unfortunately… some influential people decided to get around it."

"Who?" Naruto asked, as his eyes narrowed. He wouldn't have another chance to learn about these people, and he wanted to confront them. Personally.

"Powerful merchants, clan heads, veterans… the conspiracy is very heteroclite, and very powerful. How many are its members exactly I don't know, but they control a large part of the armed forces of the Village and can affect the whole economy. The Uchiha Clan was its leader, until Itachi removed them for me."

Everyone except Sasori gaped. Naruto couldn't believe his ears. "Itachi was working for you?" he said. "YOU wiped out the Uchiha Clan?"

"For the good of Konoha" the old man responded. "Fugaku had decided to take over the Village, to make it an oligarchy led by his clan. A coup would have been disastrous. It might have started a new Shinobi War! I had no choice but to approve Danzo's proposition to remove them, after discussions failed! So the Root, a secret part of the ANBU, and Itachi, destroyed the whole clan."

"Even the children and the non-combatants!" Naruto shouted. It couldn't be the Sandaime he had known…

"What do you think would have happened if they had discovered what had really happened?" the Hokage snarled. "The revelation of our implication would have been disastrous for our image, and the children would have grown with only one thing in mind: avenging their parents! Konoha would have been threatened again!"

Naruto grit his teeth. "Then why did you leave Sasuke alive?"

"We needed a witness to make our cover story more believable," the Sandaime said. "Itachi wanted his brother to survive. When he awoke from a genjutsu-inflicted coma, he 'revealed' to everyone that the beloved prodigy was the one, and only, responsible for the massacre."

"You framed your own agent?" Naruto couldn't believe that the man in front of him was the person he had admired in his childhood. His idealized view of him had been shattered by the hammer of truth.

"It was his idea." Sarutobi closed his eyes. "Itachi loved Konoha, and sacrificed his life for it."

"Sacrificed?" Sasori asked.

"Someone murdered him for his implication in the massacre. The Root has recently found his dead body in an old Uchiha fortress, his eyes plucked out of his skull. There was a note with him. _Rewarded as traitors deserve._" The old man opened his eyes again. "Anyway, after their destruction, the conspiracy continued to exist, but this time under the Hyuuga clan's command. They wanted to make the demon pay… and to refine him into the perfect weapon in the process."

_They wanted to make me like Gaara… and almost succeeded. _"And you did nothing? While they were making his life a living hell? Heck, you stopped him from killing the man responsible for his suffering!"

The old man sighed. "I feared to weaken Konoha again. I wanted to avoid a civil war. As for Hiashi, what do you think the attempted, or actual, murder of a clan head would have caused? I would have been forced to execute him. I simply wanted to protect him."

"Like you protected Hinata?" the blonde puppeteer snarled. The insane Naruto's body tensed.

"Her death was an accident. I couldn't do anything about it. I am not almighty, you know."

"But you're the Hokage!" Naruko shouted. "You could have helped _us _more! You could have given us a tutor, or something!"

"You could have asked Jiraiya or Kakashi to adopt us!" Naruto yelled.

"I did."

Silence.

"Jiraiya and Kakashi refused to take Naruto under their wing," the old man said, with a saddened voice. "I suppose it's because looking at a carbon copy of Minato was too much for them, whatever the reasons they gave me. After their refusal, I tried to have him adopted, but some… _accidents_… convinced me to give him to an orphanage under close surveillance. They kicked him out when he was six. I gave him an apartment, and he seemed to be able to live on his own. With all the problems of ruling Konoha, he simply drifted out of my mind… until Hinata's funeral, and tonight." He sighed. "I lacked strength."

"Yes," Naruto said harshly. "Yes you did. And we all paid the price of your weakness." The kind old man of his memories was no more. An indifferent Hokage had replaced him in his mind. "I want to know the names of the conspiracy members."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," he said. "Konoha is weaker than ever before, and I can't allow you to avenge yourself. I don't trust you."

Naruto glared at the old man, leaking killing intent. The Sandaime stayed unfazed. The old man locked eyes with Sasori. "How did you learn about the Root and the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre? If you come from another world, then events might have happened differently in your reality. Respond honestly. Your public blackmail attempt will cause me enough problems in time, and since now I know it's a load of bullshit, as there is no way you could have informed anyone in such a short time between your arrival and tonight, I want the whole truth. I have to gain something out of this or you're going to be executed."

"Events did happen differently," the puppeteer said, while the three Naruto glared at the old man. "In my homeworld, Itachi acted alone, and truly was a madman. The source of my information is one of your advisors."

The Sandaime frowned. "I figured that. Only them and Danzo are aware of these two secrets."

"Homura Mitokado is a mole," he declared bluntly. "He has been one since before the beginning of the Third Shinobi War."

"Impossible," the Hokage countered. "He is one of the oldest and most loyal ninja of Konoha. My own teammate."

"Loyalty has nothing to do with it. While he was still in Sunagakure, my counterpart had secretly installed a mind-control seal on him. You probably remember the mission when he had returned alone, pretending to be the only survivor?"

Sarutobi paled. "Is it possible?"

"Yes. In fact, I did the same thing back in my homeworld. So when I arrived in town, I immediately went to talk to Homura-san, if only to test if he was a spy in this world too… and he was. A hand-seal later, he answered all the questions I posed… including the ones on Root and the Uchiha Massacre." Sasori smirked. "Pretty impressive, isn't it?"

"Yes," the Sandaime said, while gritting his teeth. "Pretty impressive indeed. Now everything is clear. The leaks that started the Third World War… and I thought it was Kagami. How could I have been such a fool?" He locked eyes with Sasori. "How can I remove the mind-control seal?"

"Ask Jiraiya. I don't have the time for the procedure," the puppeteer claimed. "After tonight's events, this world isn't safe for us anymore. We will leave as soon as possible."

"And we are taking Naruto with us," the teenager said, glaring at the Hokage, daring him to do anything about it. "He will be executed if he stays here."

"Of course he will," the Hokage said. "He will be judged and hanged… or at least a copy of him will. The Kyuubi is too important for the Village to be destroyed."

Naruto's gritted his teeth. "He won't be Konoha's weapon. Ever."

Sarutobi locked eyes with him. "Thousands of people are living in this town. My duty is to protect them… no matter what the cost."

As it seemed the argument would soon degenerate into a brawl, Sasori defused the situation. "And if I give you another weapon of equal power, will you let this kid leave?"

The Sandaime immediately stared at him, frowning. "There is nothing stronger than a Bijuu."

"Except another Bijuu," Sasori smirked. "Homura-san has informed me of the Sanbi's escape in this world too. I know where the beast is hiding." The Hokage's eyes widened. "In exchange of the information, let us take Naruto with us."

"How can I test the validity of your claim? The Sanbi could have acted differently in this reality."

"If not, then this scroll will interest you." The puppeteer touched his torso. A huge scroll appeared in a puff of smoke. Sasori gave it to the aging man. "Would you kindly read it?"

The old man carefully opened it, apparently ready for anything… and then paled. "This…"

"This is the result of my years as spymaster. Countless data on jutsu, future plans, Bijuu and Jinchuuriki locations, spies, corrupt agents, undiscovered mines, puppet designs… I was keeping this copy of my journal just in case." Sasori smiled. "With this, Konoha can stay at the top of the Shinobi world for more than three decades. This scroll is priceless."

The Sandaime appeared to think about accepting. Naruto decided to test if there was still something left of his idol in this man. "Old man," he said, and the Hokage stiffened at the nickname. "It isn't about the Village, nor power. It's about what is the right thing to do."

The old man stayed silent. "Naruto, do you want to leave with them? I know you're awake."

The boy opened his eyes. "Yes… I want to leave this place."

The Hokage closed his eyes. "Vanish before dawn. I will have one of my scientists create false corpses to simulate your death."

Sasori smirked. "Kabuto Yakushi is indeed very competent at this… a pity he is another mole for my other self."

"Again?" Sarutobi sighed. "Jiraiya will have a lot of work it seems. Does your other you have other agents in Konoha, Sasori-san?"

"No. When you control the head, why control the rest?"

"Touché."

As the team prepared to leave, Naruko looked sadly at the Sandaime. The teenager realized that one of her idols had died in this room. Locking eyes with him, she followed Naruto as he left the office, under the gaze of the ANBU.

"Take care of him," the Hokage muttered.

Naruto didn't respond.

* * *

><p>Naruto looked at the hotel's door. "Where is Kabuto?"<p>

**_Killing time waiting for us, probably,_** the Kyuubi said in a bored tone.

Ignoring his tenant, the puppeteer observed his newest counterpart. The boy was pale, and seemed sick. "Are you alright?" he asked him. It was strange to talk to a mad version of himself… but was he even insane, or simply possessed by the Kyuubi?

"Yes," he lied.

"You don't look so good," Naruko stated as she joined the conversation.

"For once, the crazy-girl is right," the puppeteer said, ignoring his female self's glare. "You can tell us anything, you know. We are more or less brothers and sisters now."

The former serial killer stared at them. "The voices in my head are… confused. They don't know how to react toward you."

_That's creepy._

**_But he is right. I never know if I should kill or devour you. So hard to choose…_**

"What do they say?" Naruko asked. The puppeteer admired her calm. It took a lot of nerve not to be disturbed by the guy's comments.

"One wants me to kill you all," he stated, and the two others paled. "The second thinks I should join your pack, and the third simply asks to wait for what will come next."

"Do they disagree often?" Naruko asked.

"No. It's rare. Most of the time they simply want to attack someone in particular."

_So the Kyuubi isn't the only one inside of this head… perhaps he has split personalities? _"And the Kyuubi?"

"The Kyuubi?" he asked, confused.

Naruto frowned. "You know, the demon inside of you."

"Ah, yes," he said. "It wants to kill you."

"What a surprise," the puppeteer deadpanned. "It must be our outfits."

**_Of course it's your outfit, eyesore!_**

_Jerk._ He decided to drop the subject. "Hey, Sasori," he asked his teacher. "Why did you organize this charade?"

His teenage counterpart nodded. "Yes, blackmailing the Hokage in front of the populace was a very risky gambit. Why did you do that?"

Sasori smiled. "But for you, my friends. For you all."

They all looked up at him. "Care to explain?" Naruto asked. He knew Sasori was one hell of a manipulative bastard, and that his vision of help was… skewed.

"I wanted you to confront the Hokage," he said. "Not the old man, not the kind grandfather, not the enemy… the Hokage. I showed you the ruthless ninja ready to do _everything _for his village, the man you had never encountered. I wanted you to see what it was to be him."

"I… I see…" the blonde puppeteer muttered, while the rest of the group stayed silent.

"Plus, now we know that there is a conspiracy behind our suffering," his teenage counterpart said. "And we will find them… to make them pay." The voice was cold and harsh.

Naruto nodded. "Sounds good to me."

"The voices agree," the insane himself declared. "They are beginning to like you."

Naruto smirked, before eying the silent Naruko. "And you, flat-lady?"

"Oh. Sounds fine."

Naruto frowned. "You don't seem excited by the idea." His older self was looking at the scene sideways.

She gave him a dry look. "I am a bit confused you know. The man I admired turned out to be everything _but _kind behind his mask of civility."

Naruto understood her. He had been through the same thing before. "I see."

"You need time to deal with it," his older counterpart said. "If you need to talk about it…"

She smiled. "Thanks, sensei. I'm fine."

"I'm glad to hear that," he said as he opened the door.

Naruto followed him and Sasori as they entered the hotel. "Hey, Kabuto, where are you?"

"Here!" the medic said, as he took a step from the shadows, holding a lot of scrolls in his arms. "I have your supplies."

Naruto immediately took his own, followed by the rest of the group. The blonde puppeteer immediately rejoiced at having Jiraiya with him again. He did have the two others, but he was the one he liked the most.

"Also, I have met someone that will interest you, Sasori," the Medic said.

"Who?"

"An associate of your other self," he turned his head to face the shadow. "He's right there."

"Hello, my friends!" a masked man announced as he appeared from nowhere. "I am Tsukiyomi, and I have a proposition for yo-"

**_Uchiha Madara!_**

Immediately, a red and corrupted chakra raced through Naruto's veins, and the boy found himself trying to punch the man in the face. In a blink, Kabuto's hand connected with his belly, reinforcing the seal and sending himto the ground. The medic's eyes became white. Naruto blinked. _It's Kabuto's dead reanimation technique!_

"You know what I think, little spawn? I think I will just kill you here and now!" His medical palm was stopped by Sasori's hand.

"I see my agent is now an animated dead corpse. Where is the murderer?"

"Here I am!" a man said. Sideways, Naruto saw two masked men stepping out of the shadows. As Sasori engaged the flesh puppet, the blonde puppeteer got up, and the rest of the team charged at the masked trio. The one with two mismatched eyes put his hands together.

"You know what? Fuck the negotiations! Shinra Tensei!"

* * *

><p>In an instant, everything went straight to hell.<p>

Sasori jumped on the side, avoiding the mind-controlled Kabuto's attempt at beheading him. _Sorry, Kabuto, but I don't have any other choice. _With a hand-seal, Sasori activated the hidden explosive seal in his agent's forehead (he had installed it after Naruto informed him of the medic's counterpart's treachery; it was just in case). The corpse's head popped, spilling his blood and liquefied brain on the ground.

"Shinra Tensei!"

Then, an invisible force sent Sasori flying backward. He went through the door, before hitting something. His puppet body, much more resilient than flesh, resisted the shock. Landing back on his feet, the puppeteer unsealed the Sandaime Kazekage. His opponent, Tsukiyomi, got out of the hotel, his only eye, a Sharingan, eying Sasori's best weapon with interest.

"Impressive," he said. "The Sandaime Kazekage was probably one of the best ninjas of his generation. It must have been a chore to kill him."

Sasori didn't respond, instead analyzing his surroundings. The hotel was encircled by a purple, circular barrier, emitting a faint light. The puppeteer couldn't see anything through it.

"We don't have to try to kill each other," Tsukiyomi said. "Our allies have panicked, but surely we can resolve the situation peacefully like civilized people, no?"

The Sandaime Kazekage immediately opened his mouth, and breathed iron sand.

"I will take that as a 'no'." The masked man sighed, before putting his hands together. "I wanted to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, but if you want a fight, you will have it. Blaze release!" he put two of his finger together, with both his hands, and pointed them at Sasori. Black fire formed from them, projected at the puppeteer.

A shield of metal saved the spymaster from death by burning… but then began to _melt_. Reacting quickly, Sasori transformed some of the sand into pikes and sent them flying at the masked man. He stopped his technique, before disappearing.

Unfortunately, the black fire continued to melt his sand. Sasori separated the liquid part from the solid, before avoiding a kunai from below him. Tsukiyomi erupted from the ground, trying to punch the puppeteer, who jumped backward. Spikes of iron impaled the man… before flying through him and hitting the barrier.

Sasori had seen many things in his lifetime, and fought many powerful adversaries. He had defeated the Sandaime Kazekage, he had survived a world war, he had brought down a country… and he would crush this opponent too.

There were three secrets to win a battle: being able to adapt to any situation, knowing your adversary's tricks, and being ready to go at any length to beat him. Sasori knew how to exploit any situation, and he could fight very dirty if he wanted to. He only needed to discover how this guy's powers worked.

As a rain of iron blades fell on Tsukiyomi, Sasori closely observed his movements. He didn't move, not even bothering to avoid the attack. The weapon went through him, as if he were an illusion, which he wasn't. One of the advantages of Sasori's puppet body was its total invulnerability to genjutsu. _He can make his body intangible. But since he doesn't disappear within the earth, then it means that at least a part of his feet is solid. But the iron sand has been drenched in poison too… he must have been touched… perhaps he is immune to it? _Moving the melting metal, Sasori spilled it on the masked man.

He still didn't move, but this time his only visible eye transformed into a vortex, which absorbed the deadly liquid and made it disappear into nothingness. Cursing, Sasori opted for a different strategy, resealing the Sandaime Kazekage and its sand before they were consumed too. Since his puppets could be devoured, that projectiles were useless, and that his poison didn't seem to have any effect, he would have to outlast his opponent, since his techniques probably needed a lot of chakra…

With a Shunshin, he was suddenly at the top of the hotel. Opening one of his palms, he tried to decapitate the masked man with a high-pressure water-shot. Tsukiyomi teleported to his left, a kunai in hand. Sasori's blade-wings tore his robes apart, and almost shredded the masked man's arm.

Unfortunately, he simply jumped backward, eying Sasori carefully. "I should have known… that's how you look so young." He chuckled. "So the artist has become his own masterpiece. How fitting."

Sasori's response was the use of his flamethrower.

* * *

><p>"Shinra Tensei!"<p>

As an invisible force sent him crashing into a wall, Naruto straight upwards, he watched helplessly as his mentally ill counterpart was impaled through the belly by a Kusanagi blade. His wounds regenerated fast, but then a second sword appeared in the armored man's hand in place of the Kusanagi… Samehada.

"Oh crap," Naruto said.

"Indeed," a voice responded.

A punch hit his jaw with enough strength to shatter a rock. Blood filled his mouth as a second attack broke his nose, and a third some of his ribs. Naruto tried to defend himself, but the masked man was incredibly fast and strong. The taijutsu battle was purely one-sided, and in less than a minute, Naruto hit a wall again. But this time, he went through it.

"I am disappointed," the man said in a bored voice. "I expected more talent from an Uzumaki… but it seems that your blood has weakened over time." He stood over Naruto, lying on the ground. "Or maybe Konoha has truly succeeded at crippling your abilities. A shame."

"Gloat, go on," Naruto declared. "I receive a 'you suck' speech in all my fights… and guess what?" He smiled. "I'm still here."

Immediately, the clone disguised as Kabuto tried to ram a rasengan in the man's back. However, the masked attacker stayed unfazed… and both the jutsu and the clone went through him. With only one finger, the man dispelled the clone. His two mismatched eyes seemed to smile at Naruto's shock… even as he went through him with another rasengan.

"I am, like you, able to bend space to my will. I can't open the way to another world, but I can follow you." He turned around, locking eyes with the obviously surprised boy. "Yes, I come from another world, like you. My teammates are alternate versions of me, like your little gang of copies."

Naruto paled. _Shit!_

"Interesting, isn't it? This power…" the masked man trailed of, before opening his palm. "I want to witness it!"

Once again, an invisible force manifested itself, pulling Naruto into the masked man direction. Creating a dozen of clones, the teenager used them to shield himself from the impact. The masked man punched through them, but missed the original, who immediately tried to kick the ninja in the face. This time, however, his opponent simply parried with his arm. Grabbing Naruto's limb, he sent him flying backward.

Landing on his feet, the vessel took the Kusanagi in his hands and made it grow. The blade cut through his adversary's body, but no blood splattered on the floor. In an instant, the ninja disappeared. Sensing something behind him, Naruto quickly used a Shunshin, avoiding a blow coming from behind.

"You're fast to react, I give you that," the masked man said. "But if you want to face me, speed is not enough. Only power can save you from my wrath… Susanoo's wrath."

"You use the name of a god?" Naruto's eyes narrowed. "You're a bit arrogant, aren't you?"

The man chuckled. "When I have the strength of a god and the will to match, who's to say that I'm not? I think that I'm the closest thing this world has to a deity." He put his hands together. "And I have the power to back up my claim."

Immediately, a rain of kunai passed through him. Susanoo turned his head to face his new assailant. "Little girl," he told Naruko, "it's impolite to interrupt a duel. And useless."

The genin smirked. "I don't think so." The explosive notes on the kunais detonated, demolishing a large part of the room. Naruko jumped next to her older counterpart. "Who are these guys?"

"I don't know," he answered honestly, "but apparently, they come from different worlds than this one."

"They followed us? How?" she asked, as shock spread over her face. "And why?"

"Why?" a voice said. The masked man was still there, in the same position as before. "Because the power to travel between realities must be our own. Because with it, we will be almighty."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "And you really think I will help you?"

The man chuckled. "It's funny… because you don't have a choice." He finished his hand-seal sequence. "Summoning Technique!" he slammed his hand on the ground.

Nothing happened.

For a moment, there was only silence. Then Susanoo slammed the ground again. And again. And again.

"Wow," Naruto muttered. "At least now I know that I'm not the only one unable to summon."

Susanoo glared at him. "What is the meaning of this?"

The vessel smirked. "Crossing worlds makes us unable to bring our summons to help us. I don't know why, but…"

"Hey, 'God', it seems that you aren't so almighty after all!" Naruko mocked him. "You're just a scam!"

An insane amount of killing intent paralyzed her with dread. Susanoo's eyes were full of hatred and scorn. A shadowy cloak of blue chakra enveloped him, before transforming into a colossal, humanoid monster. It was an armored knight, without weapons. His body was covered by spikes, and one of his eyes was glowing with a red light.

"You will know pain," Susanoo said. "I will break you down… slowly."

Naruto cursed. "Naruko, next time keep your remarks to yourself."

"I couldn't resist."

* * *

><p>Naruto screamed as he felt his flesh being shredded apart by hungry scales.<p>

_KILL!_

**_LETS MAKE HIM SUFFER!_**

**_HE'S NOTHING NEXT TO US!_**

The impulse came, and the power invaded him. As he transformed into a werefox, his wounds closed themselves at a blinding speed. Roaring, he riposted by grabbing his opponent's head… only to see him fall through the ground.

Naruto's enhanced senses detected the man, who was now behind him. Twisting his body, the vessel avoided being beheaded by his attacker's new, massive sword. The werefox's tail tried to crush the insect with one deadly swing, but it instead hit an invisible shield. The jewel on the man's mask was glittering

"**_Who are you?_**" the vessel roared as he punched the man, hitting the shield instead. "**_What do you want?_**"

"I am Amaterasu," he answered. "And I only want you to test my limits against you," he said as his sword swung, barely missing the fast werefox. "I will defeat you."

_YOU? Defeat US?_

**_We will punish you for your arrogance!_**

**_We are the strongest! We will survive!_**

"**_I am stronger!_**" he roared. "**_You will not beat me!_**" He punched the invisible shield again with all his might, lightly damaging it.

Amaterasu seemed slightly surprised. "Shattering the Magatama's protection, with brute force only… apparently, I will have to fight you seriously." The jewel stopped shining, and his sword was instantly replaced by another looking like a needle. Faster than the wind, he began a series of fencing attacks.

Despite his incredible reflexes and speed, Naruto couldn't avoid the majority of the blows. The blade was simply too insanely fast and precise. However, his advanced regeneration healed the damage faster than Amaterasu could inflict more.

"You have quite the healing factor." Amaterasu took a step back. "But what are its limits? Why not test them?"

Instantly, an almost invisible wire tightened around the werefox's limbs, trapping his body and transforming it into a compact mass of flesh. Looking sideway, Naruto noticed that the wire was attached to the needle itself. Struggling to free himself, the werefox found himself unable to do so.

"Your strength, as impressive as it is, won't save you from these restraints," Amaterasu said as a second sword appeared in his other hand. It was a big blue blade, covered by a layer of chakra, which took the form of a hammer. "And I don't think any healing factor will suffice to save you from a blow coming from this thing." He raised his sword.

But then he teleported away, just as a little missile almost hit him. The restraints on Naruto vanished as the projectile pulverized a large part of a wall.

Getting up, Naruto noticed his green counterpart, standing behind him. A monstrous, mechanical red toad was waiting with his mouth open at his left, connected to the boy's fingers by strings of chakra. The two twins locked eyes. "Why not try working together? He is strong, but if we gang-up on him…"

_I agree. The enemy of my enemy is my friend._

**_We don't need him! We should kill him too!_**

**_I will compromise: we kill the masked worm first, then we tear apart that green eyesore next._**

"**_Okay,_**" the werefox said. "**_What do you suggest?_**"

"Engage him in close-combat. I will be your long-range cover."

"I don't think so," a voice said, coming from the mechanical toad. "I have just decided to simply beat the two of you at the same time."

The red machine immediately exploded, and Amaterasu emerged from the remains. Reacting faster than his counterpart, the werefox charged at the masked man, ready to eviscerate him. He simply passed through the ground.

"Ji… Jiraiya…" the green eyesore muttered, completely pale. The werefox ignored him, more focused on detecting his hidden opponent. Then, he sensed something touching the area below his tail.

"Uchiha Secret Jutsu: One Thousand Years of Pain."

The voices in his head cringed.

_It's going to suck._

**_Hard._**

**_Indeed._**

* * *

><p>As his counterpart was sent flying by an explosion, going through the ceiling in the process, Naruto's sadness at the destruction of Jiraiya turned into insane hatred. "YOU!" he yelled as he unsealed Tsunade. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"<p>

"I would like to see you try," the masked man responded calmly as he gazed at the monstrous, mechanical white slug. Two identical blades materialized in his hands. "Show me what you can do."

With his chakra strings, Naruto activated Tsunade's needle launcher. The man advanced slowly, parrying the attacks with his twin swords. They shined with lightning chakra, and then an electric arc connected them to Tsunade. Its ocular tentacles channeled the energy, before dissipating it within the earth.

"Strange…" Amaterasu said. "I was targeting the puppeteer, not its toy."

Naruto smirked. Tsunade was the perfect counter to ninjutsu. Its tentacles could attract the chakra of attacks and then redirect it where its master wanted. If only his opponent would approach more…

"It doesn't matter," the masked ninja declared, as his blades vanished. He was now carrying another weapon, a big sword covered with explosive tags. "I have the means to adapt myself."

"Fuck!" Naruto shouted as he activated Tsunade's explosive Kunai launcher. "How many swords do you have?"

"Hundreds," he said as he gracefully avoided the thrown weapons. In one swing, his blade touched the puppet's left side… and exploded. The machine was immediately pulverized.

Unsealing Orochimaru, Naruto backed off as the purple snake skirted Amaterasu and tried to bite him in the back. The masked man vanished, and the snake circled Naruto in a protective manner. _Where is he?_

"Die, little puppeteer," a voice behind him whispered. Turning his head, Naruto could only watch helplessly as the ninja's kunai descended toward his heart.

But a claw pushed the weapon away.

The werefox Naruto was biting Amaterasu's shoulder, spilling white blood on him and on the floor. "**_BLEED!_**"

"You… you rabid animal!" the masked ninja roared as Naruto's surroundings transformed. A second later, the three were falling from the sky, above the hotel's roof. He sensed Amaterasu's punch connect with his jaw, sending him flying toward the ground along with Orochimaru. To make things worse, the enraged man then threw the werefox on him.

Before they could crash to the earth below, two hands grabbed them by the shirt. Orochimaru, however, landed… badly. While gritting his teeth at the spectacle, Naruto stared at his savior.

"Thanks, Sasori."

The puppeteer stayed emotionless. "Sorry for your puppet," he said as continued to fly, his blade-wings spinning at high-speed. He was struggling to avoid a series of fireballs coming at him. The source? Another masked man who was apparently running on the wind. They were the prisoners of a circular purple barrier around the hotel. Amaterasu was standing on a huge fan, floating in the air.

"Problem?" Naruto asked.

"I can't hit him," Sasori stated. "He can turn intangible at will. My attacks are almost useless against him, so I'm trying to outlast him."

"It's the same deal with the second one, but apparently he can be hurt if taken by surprise."

"**_An arrogant bastard, that's what he is_**," the werefox muttered.

"Naruto," Sasori asked, "how many puppets do you still have in stock?"

"None," he responded with anger and shame. "That guy… Amaterasu destroyed them all. I still have a dozen explosive tags on me, a flash-bomb and basic stuff like kunai, but…"

The redhead frowned. "We can't win."

"**_We can_**!" the werefox roared. "**_If we attack together, surely we-_**"

"Our abilities are useless against them," Sasori stated. "They can easily destroy puppets, which compose most of my student's arsenal, and my own. You're only good at close-combat: against an intangible opponent, you're nothing. I suppose that your female and older counterparts are also struggling with the third member of this trio. We don't know how their abilities work and we are trapped with them. I tried to break the barrier, but nothing worked. We need to reunite and leave this world. I don't know who they are, but-"

Suddenly, the whole hotel's façade crumbled, as a monstrous, armored blue arm punched through it. Avoiding the projected debris, Sasori soon found himself in front of Tsukiyomi, who punched him in the head. The puppeteer dropped Naruto and his werefox counterpart in the air.

Fortunately, the beast caught him with his tail before grabbing a part of the hotel still standing. Amaterasu was flying at them on his fan.

Naruto cursed. "It's officially the worst day in my short life."

"**_Mine too_**," his companion said, before avoiding a kunai thrown at them.

* * *

><p>Spitting blood, Naruko tried to stand, and succeeded with a lot of effort. Naruto-sensei was unconscious next to her, and a purple barrier was right behind them.<p>

"Why am I so weak?" she muttered to herself.

A sinister chuckle answered her question. A blue giant slowly advanced toward the duo. Naruko put herself before her teacher in a protective manner.

Attaching her last explosive tags to two kunai, the young girl threw them at Susanoo. They exploded on his strange armor, but it didn't even slow the masked man down.

With a sense of despair, the demon container started throwing everything she had. Kunai, shuriken, smoke bombs… the armor stopped everything. Susanoo continued his advance.

In an insane show of courage, Naruko picked up a kunai lying on the ground and charged at the masked man, who didn't stop moving. The blue giant's palm, however, slapped the girl at full speed and sent her crashing into the barrier.

As her vision blurred, she tried to stand once more, but failed. Her limbs weren't responding to her command anymore. She cried. _I… I must move…_

**_And you will,_** the Kyuubi's voice whispered in her head.

Suddenly, as a feeling of omnipotence filled her mind, Naruko's limbs moved once more. A cloak of red chakra covered her body, and one long tail formed on her back.

**_Go on!_**

Charging at a blinding speed, the Jinchuuriki punched the blue giant's belly, right before Susanoo's face. The immense armor stopped advancing, and the masked man eyed her with scorn. "Congratulation. I'm pissed now."

The azure creature tried to squash her like a bug, but she avoided the attack and ran behind the armor, clawing his back, without much effect. Susanoo stopped walking, before swirling. The blue monster followed his movements, and his balancing hands almost hit Naruko, who jumped. Twisting her body, the young girl sent her tail to smash the armor's helmet. It went backward…

Before headbutting her.

The shock sent her crashing into the purple barrier again. Then the monster's hand caught her out of the air and slammed her to the ground. Releasing her, the monster then squashed her body with his two fists, one after the other, again and again. The blows shattered the earth, and her bones along the way.

As she sensed her body being broken faster than being healed by the Kyuubi's chakra, Naruko heard the Kyuubi screaming in the back of her mind. The Bijuu's voice ceased to resonate in her mind, the red chakra disappeared, and a huge hand grabbed her bruised, bleeding carcass.

"The Kyuubi won't help you," her opponent declared. "A brutal enough beating, and it backs down to its foxhouse. It will be stunned for hours, if not days." He locked eyes with Naruko. "You _do_ realize you're a dead child, of course?"

Naruko didn't respond. Her broken jaw didn't make it possible for her to answer.

"I can see your whole life in your eyes," Susanoo declared. "You were born with nothing, and you worked all of your life to earn what little power you have. But no matter how much to you try to claw your way to greatness, true talent will never be within your reach. And do you know why?" he asked, as the blue hand brought her uncomfortably close to his face.

"Because true power is earned at birth. It's a divine right, given by blood," he touched his mask with his fingers. "I was born with a great destiny. I was born with my clan's legacy, and the duty to destroy its enemies. You were born with the curse of the Uzumaki in your veins, with the fate of being Konoha's sacrifice. Your struggle to escape this reality is as meaningless as trying to defy the Sun. Don't you understand? Your clan might have been strong, but it fell. The Senju, your cousins, were strong, but they died, while I survived. Uchiha and Senju were destined to fight until one bloodline died… and yours will."

Naruko screamed as the chakra hand started to crush her bones. Susanoo's eyes were completely emotionless. "Sleep now. Accept the inevitable." Her vision blurred again.

"You talk too much."

She heard an explosion, and the monster's hand released her. Before falling unconscious, she sensed a pair of arms rescuing her.

* * *

><p>As Naruto retreated with Naruko in his arms, the rest of his clones rammed another dozen rasengan into Susanoo's blue monster. The creature trembled, but seemed unhurt. Its master glared at the vessel. "I can't be stopped! I cannot be slowed down! Not by you, not by anyone!"<p>

The creature swung its arms, wiping out the clones. Barely avoiding a punch, Naruto ran around, putting as much distance as possible between Susanoo and him. The man pursued him, and the monster followed. But with the added weight of Naruko and his broken ribs, Naruto couldn't distance the masked man, who caught up with him. "You cannot escape me!"

A projectile hit the monster in the head, before exploding. Both the creature and its master stopped moving, and Susanoo raised his head.

Then a flash-bomb exploded.

"Arg!" Susanoo roared as he shielded his eyes with his hand, damaged by the light.

"Yeah!" a blonde puppeteer shouted as he landed on the ground, his werefox mount very much wounded and bleeding. "I knew it! Basic stuff is the best!"

"Naruto-san," a Sasori without his blade-wings said as he jumped beside them, avoiding a fireball. "Perhaps it is time to leave this world."

Naruto nodded. "For where?"

"Anywhere but here!" his puppeteer counterpart yelled as Susanoo's teammates flew toward them.

Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated. In a flash of light, the five of them vanished.

* * *

><p>"NO!" Tsukiyomi roared as his preys disappeared. "NO! NO! NO!" He landed on the ground, his armored counterpart behind him. "It can't be possible!"<p>

"This hellion…" Susanoo muttered as his eyes flared with fury. "I will skin him alive."

The deceiver glared at his twin. "Why did you attack? We could have made them our allies!"

"The little boy attacked you first!" Susanoo replied. "It was self-defense! And when the puppeteer realized I was controlling Kabuto's corpse, I thought they wouldn't listen to your propositions anymore!"

"He was just a tool for the puppeteer, and betrayed him in his homeworld! I could have invented a story to explain his actions!"

"Well, I have learned from my failure at trying to manipulate Nagato that subtlety doesn't always pay off!" he said. "Sometimes, myself, we must take actions instead of hiding! Why offer a partnership when we can simply force him to obey us?"

"Please, you two, calm down," Amaterasu interrupted the argument. "Each minute spent bickering is one they use to distance us. Our travel already takes more time than their own, since we have to manually navigate through the way the traveler creates between worlds. We need to hurry if we want to keep our advantage."

Tsukiyomi calmed down, and Susanoo too. The third member of the trio was right. "Yes… we mustn't attack each other. We don't have anything to gain by doing so."

"You're right," the man with the Rinnegan said. "But I want you to know that I'm not your subordinate, but your associate. As long as that is clear between us, I have no problem with working alongside you."

Tsukiyomi locked eyes with his other self. "I guess we're going to be friends after all."

* * *

><p>On a sea covered by mist, a bruised group of ninjas were walking. They had been defeated, they had fled, and one was between life and death, in the arms of a world wanderer. They had walked on the water for hours, and now an island was in view.<p>

"Do you know which isle it is?" a blonde puppeteer asked his teacher.

"No," he answered.

"I do," a teenager said.

"Where are we then?" a boy with three voices inside of his head asked.

His older twin looked at an unfinished bridge on the horizon.

"It's the Land of Waves."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's notes:<em>**

The introduction Arc is finished, and the Alternate Waves Arc has begun. It's one of my favorites Arcs of the manga, so I couldn't resist the urge to write it.

Well, thanks for the support of the people following this story, please review, and write you soon.


	6. Chapter 6: First Wave

Hello! Here is the new chapter of Echoes, and the beginning of the Alternate Waves Arc.

Also, special thanks to GhostSN, who more or less created the Naruto Universe's history/timeline, which greatly facilitated the realism of this story. Thanks, Alpha142, for correcting my work full of errors. Big hugs to reviewers.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, and honestly I would like to. Maybe one day...

**_Chapter Six: First Wave_**

Once upon a time, Tsunami had seen the Land of Waves as a peaceful island, a little paradise near the Land of Fire. She had walked in streets with healthy and happy people, and seen life in this village.

But instead of a heaven, this Land of Waves was now a hell.

Its citizens were miserable, crime was rampant and the streets were dirty. It was an all around foxhole, the playground of Gato's goons. Poverty was everywhere, people were despaired, and the economy was crumbling.

As long as the bridge wasn't finished, things would stay like that. Her father had left for Konoha, in hope of receiving the Village's help, but she didn't know if they would accept.

Walking through the streets, she stopped when she noticed a strange group talking to the village's innkeeper in front of his public house. Tsunami never saw them around, and they were… well, bruised, like they had been on the bad end of a thrashing. They were five (four seemed to be of the same family, in fact), and very young. Three were simply children, the two others were teenagers. The only girl of the group was in the worst shape of all, and sleeping in the blonde teenager's arms.

From the corner of the street, Tsunami could hear their conversation with the doctor… since there was much shouting involved. "Why not?" the teenager yelled, his blue eyes flaring with fury.

"I can't!" the doctor said. "Gato's men are already living here, and I'm more or less forbidden to help anyone who doesn't work for him!"

"We understand," the redhead said emotionlessly. "But you _do _realize that the girl in my friend's arms is in a critical state, don't you?"

The man looked at her, and the redhead continued talking. "We have a lot of money… we can pay you a lot, enough to leave this island and buy a house in another land…"

"Lot of money?" a voice interrupted them. Three men opened the inn's house, before closing it. Tsunami recognized some of Gato's thugs. One of them smirked and showed the group his sword. "I don't know you, kids, but since you're here, you must pay some tolls… to finance law enforcement, you see."

The youngsters stayed silent a moment. "Shinja-san," the blonde teenager asked the redhead. "Can you keep Akane for a second, so I can give these people their due?"

The other took the younger in his arms. "Make it quick."

"Of course."

The thug smiled. "I see tha-"

A punch in the face sent him fly through the door. _Through_. His two companions' jaw dropped, and Tsunami watched mesmerized as two swirling spheres appeared in the teenager's palms, who rammed them in the belly of the two goons, who quickly followed their ally. The innkeeper stared at the blonde in shock, who stayed emotionless. "How many goons are currently in your establishment?"

"Ab-About thirty…"

The blonde frowned. "I will be back in a minute," he said before entering the inn.

"YES!" the boy in green shouted as he followed. "BAR BRAWL!"

"Too much, that's too much," the other boy muttered, holding his head as he entered the inn too. "No… I… I must…"

The redhead sighed, and eyed the innkeeper. "Mister, if I can give you some advice: close you eyes."

"What do-" A window shattered, as a man went through it. Tsunami gaped as she heard screams coming from the inside… and her blood froze when a deep voice began a chilling song.

"**_And it's so easy when you're crazy,_**

**_This is the life, you see,_**

**_The Kyuubi tips his hat to me,_**

**_I do it all because I'm crazy,_**

**_And I do it all for free,_**

**_Your tears are all the pay I'll ever need!_**"

Five thugs got out of the inn, pushing the proprietor out of the way. "RUN THE FUCK AWAY!" they yelled, as the boy in green exited the establishment, a lot of knives in his hands.

"Target practice!" he shouted as he threw his weapons at the fleeing men, hitting four of them in the legs, while the fifth managed to escape. The boy seemed disappointed. "Damn, get back here! I'm just trying to cripple you!"

The teenager, Shinja, locked eyes with the petrified innkeeper. "We're all tired, bruised, and our friend is between life and death, so you must understand that we are rather… jumpy. And not particularly patient. Now that Gato's men won't bother you anymore, I assume there is a few rooms left for us, am I wrong?"

The man got the hint. "O-Okay, we're all friends here!"

The child in green smiled. "Thank you for your help, mister."

As the redhead entered the inn, followed by the man and the child, Tsunami thought about her next course of action. These persons were strong, very much skilled, and unaffiliated with Gato. She didn't know what they wanted, but perhaps she had something that would interest them…

Even if they didn't look at all like heroes, they might be the saviors the Land of Waves was waiting for.

* * *

><p>Naruto sat on a chair, next to the bed on which Naruko was sleeping. His puppeteer-self was treating her wounds with his medical skills, learnt from Kabuto. His mentally unstable counterpart, his torn orange jumpsuit covered in blood, was looking through the room's (intact) pane, watching for any sign of potential enemies. Sasori was simply repairing his blade-wings in a corner.<p>

His puppeteer-self sighed. "You weren't joking when you said this place sucked," he said to his older-counterpart. "It sucks _hard_."

"So much pain, in the heart of men…" the werefox in human form trailed off. "**We should free them from their misery**."

Naruto paled when he saw the boy's blue eyes becoming red and his voice deepening. The teenager left his chair and put a hand on his shoulder. "We will, by striking down the people responsible for this, but not by murdering them all."

"I agree," his puppeteer-self said. "After we recover from our wounds, we will teach Gato a lesson. Firstly because he's a tyrant, secondly because I have to work out my nerves on something, and thirdly because his men tried to racket us. In public."

The child's features became normal again. "Sorry… the voices are angry at what happened with the masked men," he massaged his temples, "and want to wash away their humiliation with rivers of blood."

Naruto clenched his fists, as he reviewed the images of Naruko's thrashing in his mind. "When is she going to wake?" the teenager asked his puppeteer-self, as he sat again.

"I don't know," he answered. "I'm not Kabuto, and my knowledge of medical jutsu is average. Without the Kyuubi's help, she won't regain consciousness for a while… if ever."

The teenager closed his eyes. "I was too weak to protect her," he stated.

"You couldn't have done anything for her," Sasori's apprentice said. "If this guy was as strong as his two teammates, then he was probably impervious to any attack you could throw at him. Don't beat yourself up over that."

"It doesn't change the fact that they outclass us," the teenager responded, as he opened his eyes. _I can't open the way to another world, but I can follow you._ "And they will probably come after us again."

An uneasy silence filled the room. Sasori broke it. "Probably not immediately. If they really followed us through the different realities we have visited, then why did they attack at the hostel, in the center of Konoha? Only one of them is a match for our whole group. Two of them were enough to beat us, way before we reached Konoha, where nobody could have helped us. It's merely a supposition, but it's probable that their travel time is longer than our own. They don't have the Kyuubi's chakra to help them, so they must have arrived much later than we did."

"This way of thinking would explain why they didn't attack sooner," his apprentice said. "But even if we have some time, we are still outmatched. I mean, I have lost all my puppets, Kabuto is dead, Naruko is in a coma, your body is damaged, I still can't contact the Kyuubi, we are all tired, bruised, and our stock of basic stuff like kunai and explosive tags is low." He sighed. "If we're attacked by these guys now, we won't last more than five minutes."

"It pains me to say so, but you're right," Sasori declared. "But we're on an island so small that it doesn't figure on most maps, and we arrived here by accident. It will take them days to find our exact location. We have to heal our wounds and prepare for another attack in the near future. Fortunately, there is plenty of wood around to repair myself, and I have some ideas on new puppets to use against this trio."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Does anyone have an idea on who they are exactly, or how their powers work? I know they have the Sharingan, but I don't know what that Susanoo's second eye is."

"In fact, when the Kyuubi took over my body," his puppeteer self muttered, "it roared the real name of Uchiha Madara…"

"The fallen lord of the Uchiha?" Sasori frowned. "It would explain some of their abilities. The man had obtained a rare and unique version of the Sharingan, through terrible deeds. Some of the powers this trio has displayed must come from it. The second eye, however, is completely new to me, a fact that disturbs me greatly. It might be a whole new bloodline."

"It's obvious we need to improve if we want to fight them," Naruto stated. He remembered the Kyuubi's words about Madara, who had fought evenly against the strongest Kage in existence. The man and his counterparts were way out of Naruto's league for the time.

Sasori nodded, before eying his apprentice. "After I repair myself and you recreate your own puppets, we will continue your lessons. You need to know how to use heavily armored machines as soon as possible." He locked eyes with Naruto. "I have something that might help you develop your skills."

The teenager raised his eyebrows, interested. "What is it?"

"I collected… interesting… scrolls while I was traveling around the world. A few of them contain techniques which you can learn."

"And me?" his insane-self asked.

"I will be your tutor," Naruto answered. Being the only one there with some basic experiences at how using the Kyuubi's chakra, he was the best suited for the job.

The werefox in human form nodded approvingly. "The voices agree. You're strong, and they respect strength."

"You know, it's quite creepy," Naruto's puppeteer-self muttered. "But I'm so tired I won't bother to remark on it."

"You've been called creepy too, once upon a time," Sasori pointed out.

"Yes, that's why I'm refraining myself from saying it out loud!" he declared. "You guys are the closest thing I have to a family, so I don't want to hurt you."

"I have heard things far worse than 'creepy'," the human werefox responded. "Plus it's the truth… I am a monster…"

"Never say that." Naruto's puppeteer-self glared at him. "You're not a monster, and you will never be. You're a person, not a beast. I have listened to enough stupid people in Konoha, so I'm not going to let their words affect you either."

The boy stayed silent. "Thank you."

"It's a pleasure."

_Yes_, the world-traveler thought. _We have all suffered the same treatment, even I. _He still remembered clearly the many times he had been ignored and insulted by people from his village. _Never again_, he promised. _I won't let anyone go through this ordeal alone ever again._

The insane Naruto frowned. "A woman has entered the hostel."

Everyone stared at him. "How does she look?" Naruto asked.

"She will knock on the door of our room soon," the boy said. "**She's unarmed, weak and fragile, and we are hungry…**" his eyes became red again. A look from his teenage-self made him return to a normal state. "Sorry."

"It's nothing," Naruto said as someone did knock at the door. Naruto went to open the it, and found himself face to face with a figure of his past.

While it had been three years since he had seen Tsunami for the last time, she was still the same woman he had known, appearance-wise. She had the same long dark hair, the same black eyes, and the same outfit. She seemed slightly tense.

Naruto smiled. "Hello, miss…" he trailed off.

"Tsunami." Sideways, he saw his puppeteer-self frowning slightly, before correcting his expression. He had already narrated to the group his adventures in the Land of Waves, and of Inari's mother.

"Kazama Arashi," he said, using his previous alias. "What can I do for you?" he asked, even if he had a vague idea of what she wanted.

"Well, I saw you fight Gato's thugs," Tsunami stated, briefly paling when she noticed his insane-self's bloodstained clothes, "and I was wondering if you were ninjas. The strange orbs you used were jutsu, weren't they?"

Naruto nodded approvingly. "We are indeed ninjas, miss Tsunami, and not on Gato's payroll. I assume you aren't yourself too?"

"No," she said. "In fact, my family is opposed to him. May I come in?"

"Of course," Naruto moved out of the way. "Take a chair."

"Thank you," Tsunami said as she sat next to Naruko's bed. "What happened to her?"

The world traveler frowned. "We fought against another ninja team. One of them gave her a sound beating."

"I see. Excuse me for asking."

"Don't worry about it," he said. "Who are you exactly, and what do you want?"

"Well," she started, "I am the daughter of a man named Tazuna…"

"The bridge builder?" Sasori asked. "I see. You want us to protect him from the assassins Gato will send after him, since the project makes his shipping monopoly useless."

"Yes," she said. "My father has gone to the mainland to recruit ninjas from Konoha, but since their prices are generally high, he will probably have to trick them, or end up with a team probably not strong enough to fight the missing-nins working for Gato. I will pay you all I have… " she closed her eyes, "even myself, if I have to."

"You won't need to pay us, since your father's protection won't matter in the end," Sasori said. "You realize its only a temporary solution, don't you? If the bridge is still in place and Gato alive, then he will make it explode or something. At best he will try to find another country to oppress, and at worse everything you have done will be crushed."

"Perhaps, but Gato is one of the most powerful men in the world. He can't be killed so easily."

"I disagree," Naruto's puppeteer-self cut in. "He is one of the most powerful _civilians_ in the world, but in terms of international politics, he's nothing. Nobody interrupts his operations because they don't affect any of the ninja villages, and because they have things more important to do than killing such a small fish. We can kill him, if you want."

"Really?" she asked, amazed.

"Yes, and for free," Naruto said. "Host us for the time of our stay on this island, and we will kill Gato for you."

Tsunami's expression was a mix of disbelief and hope. The woman looked as if she wanted to believe their words, while at the same time years of despair had made her distrusting of them. "Why?" she asked.

"Why?" he repeated. "Gato is a tyrant, and your island is decaying. It's a sufficiently important reason to topple him."

"Yep," his puppeteer-self agreed.

"That, and I doubt he will leave us alone after we massacred dozens of his men," Sasori added, cynical as ever.

"**As long as I get to kill someone, I'm okay with it.**" Naruto repressed the urge to glare at the possessed boy, even if he knew he couldn't control himself. Tsunami paled and locked eyes with the werefox in human form, but his traits had become normal again.

"However," Naruto said, "if you're going to enlist us, I would like you to make sure that word of our staying on this island doesn't spread. We have attracted the attention of worse individuals than Gato, and they will probably attack the Land of Waves if they learn we're here."

"I'm willing to take the risk," she declared. "And honestly, no info ever gets out of Waves. Gato has made it clear that anyone speaking about the situation would end up at the bottom of the sea."

Naruto nodded. "We have a deal then?"

"Yes," she confirmed, before eying his comrades. "What are your names?" the woman asked.

"Chibaku Arashi," his puppeteer-self responded. "The girl is my sister, Akane Arashi."

"Shinja Takano," Sasori said.

"…Kitsune Arashi," the boy muttered, after a short silence. Somehow, Naruto had the feeling that the Kyuubi had whispered this alias in its vessel's mind.

Tsunami smiled. "Well, welcome to the Land of Waves."

* * *

><p>Naruto had to admit, their host had a beautiful little house, in an idyllic setting, far away from the wretched town. It looked like Sasori's old house, back in his homeworld. The memories made him sigh. He kind of missed the old, creepy laboratory.<p>

At least, the hostess was pretty. Naruto, despite his age, was a growing man, and he could appreciate beauty when he saw it. Even if she was too old for him, Tsunami was a good-looking woman, and if her hidden looks at his teenage counterpart were of any indication, she was interested in younger men…

The scene of the two in a bed formed in his mind, and he slightly blushed. Gritting his teeth, the boy in green forced himself to think about something else. _Must not think like a pervert. Naruko will kill me if she learns about that._

**_Yeah, it would be fun to watch._**

Naruto stopped walking a few seconds, before continuing to advance toward Tsunami's house. _Kyuubi! You're back! I missed you a lot… well, I think I will miss your absence even more!_

**_Impudent child,_** the creature whispered. **_You should treat your betters with respect, especially when you have seen how much weaker you are when I'm not here to save you._**

_You're talking about my battle with Amaterasu? Well, I think I put up a good fight against a guy probably as strong as Sasori. Also, you're the one that got sent back to your foxhouse, not me._

**_It won't happen again, I can promise you. These men will pay for defying me… and you will be the instrument of my holy revenge._**

_Okay. Sounds good to me._

…**_You are actually accepting my help? Without distrust?_**

_Well, I will need your strength against these guys, and I too have to avenge myself… and Naruko along the way. They broke my three puppets and put her in a coma, and for that, they're going to pay._

The Kyuubi chuckled in his mind. **_You know what, you will make a fine demon someday._**

_Somehow, your compliment fills me with shame._

**_For now, monkey. For now._**

"Inari!" Tsunami shouted. "Come! We have some guests!"

A little boy exited the house, looking at the group with hollow eyes. He didn't say anything.

"Inari, don't be impolite. They're here to help your grandfather, you know."

He stayed unfazed. "Why bother? They are all going to die."

Naruto grit his teeth. But before he could snarl at the boy, he had returned to his home faster than the wind.

Tsunami sighed. "Excuse my son. Some events have disturbed him recently."

_She's a mom? _Naruto wondered. _Damn, she's a babe and a mommy… how did she look when she was younger?_

**_Can you please stop with the mental images? They are disgusting!_**

_Sorry. Mustn't be a pervert, mustn't be a pervert, mustn't be a pervert…_

**_Much better. I fear the day you fall in love. I really do… Oh crap, now I'm the one creating the mental images. Thanks a lot, pervert monkey!_**

"I'm not a pervert!" he shouted… before realizing that everyone was looking at him with strange looks. He broke the awkward silence. "Sorry."

They continued to stare at him.

_Jerk._

**_Idiot._**

"Well, Naruko certainly needs a bed and a medical examination!" he said with a cheerful smile. "Why not give them to her, instead of talking?"

His older self frowned. "Yes, of course. Kitsune, can you carry her to a bedroom? Watch her closely." He looked sideways at Naruto.

_Asshole!_

**_I like you too, my pet._**

As they entered the house, Naruto noticed Sasori taking his older-self to another room. What kind of sick plan were they going to think up?

* * *

><p>"What do you want to talk about, Sasori-san?" Naruto asked the redhead. They were alone in a room.<p>

"Strategy," the puppeteer stated. "As we have discussed before, we will have to prepare for a future battle. I had thought about finding another me, to help as reinforcement, but since we are on an island in the middle of nowhere, and that he can be on the other side of the continent, it's pretty much a lost cause. So we will not have any help."

"Perhaps we will," Naruto countered. "My genin team protected Tazuna in my homeworld, against the ninjas in his employ, Zabuza and his team."

"The former swordsman of the Mist?"

"Yes," Naruto confirmed. "Gato betrayed him and his acolyte Haku, leading to their death."

"I see. Maybe we can recruit them as additional muscle, yes, once Gato betrays them… your team is also going to show up?"

"If events happen the same way, then I should be in Hatake Kakashi's team, alongside Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. Another team might replace them, but if they do come…"

"Then we could recruit your counterpart, and maybe the rest of his team," Sasori finished. "Interesting. But since we're in another universe, things might take a different turn. We must be ready to fight without any help. And I have something that could help you increase your abilities."

Touching his heart with his fingers, Sasori materialized something in his hands in a puff of smoke.

"Here are the scrolls I was talking about," the puppeteer said, as he showed Naruto a red box, before opening it. Five scrolls were inside, each a different color and a different seal keeping them wrapped up, each taking the form of an animal.

The first was blue, with a horned dragon seal. The second was red, with a bird seal. The third was white, with a tiger seal. The fourth was black, with a tortoise seal. The final one was golden, with a horned horse seal.

"They are beautiful," Naruto stated, as he took the blue one, and opened it. However, the content was all white. He locked eyes with Sasori. "Why are they blank?"

"They are sealed," the puppeteer answered. "Gather your chakra in your fingers, and touch the dragon."

Obeying, Naruto watched mesmerized as ink appeared from nowhere, writing scriptures and words on the paper. While he didn't know the language, the world-traveler could read it, instinctively. He gaped. "They are techniques!"

"Not any techniques," Sasori smirked. "They are the Uzumaki clan's secret arts, the leftover legacy of Uzushiogakure."

Naruto's eyes widened. "My clan's secret techniques? Like the Nara's shadow techniques?"

"Not only," the missing-nin answered. "They contain the knowledge the clan gathered during its long existence. Jutsu, genjutsu… and how to use their bloodline."

The blonde's jaw dropped. "My clan has a bloodline?"

"Yes… or more precisely, a unique chakra, that all Uzumaki have. I will explain that later. Anyway, these five scrolls are unique and are a miniature library. You should find many ways to fight this Uchiha trio in the future."

"Yes," Naruto agreed, as he read a portion of text explaining how to use genjutsu using the voice as a vector. "But how did you get your hands on these?"

"That, my friend, is a long story. But since we have some time before us, why not telling it in its entirety?" he sat on the ground.

Naruto nodded, imitating the puppeteer. "It's linked to the story of my clan isn't it?"

"Yes, though since you come from a different world, it might be different."

Naruto though about that. "You know, Sasori, I was thinking about something about the different universes I have traveled in."

The man observed him, silently demanding him to continue.

"All the worlds I have seen more or less look the same, on a global scale," he explained. "I mean, the major events had happened, if slightly differently. Konoha had the same Hokages, the Uchiha Clan has been massacred, the Hyuuga used the caged bird seal, the Kyuubi attacked the Village, Orochimaru left, your other self more or less acted like you… the changes are details."

"The details are somewhat important," Sasori said. "The reasons behind the destruction of the Uchiha Clan vary widely. Even if Itachi is still the main architect of the massacre, Konoha's help is an important factor."

"Yes, but the details snowball," Naruto responded. "A drunk's shouting led to your meeting with one of my counterpart, while my insane-self attempt at befriending Hinata led to a tragedy. A few choices and decisions have changed the face of the world. Perhaps it is how the worlds are created?"

Sasori nodded. "If each choice, each possibility shapes a new universe, then even the decision of lifting a finger creates a new one. If different choices collide, then history can barely change, or take new path. If Naruko's parents decided to… conceive her… at another time than you, then it explains the sex difference. Or a little kunai, thrown seconds before another, might explain why Akatsuki evolved differently, if the one destined to corrupt the organization had been removed accidentally… the possibilities are endless. Perhaps a slight change in behavior saved your teammates from Orochimaru in another universe, or led to your death…"

Naruto though about that. "Then what am I? If I can travel between the realities…"

Sasori frowned. "You were not meant to exist. It's only a supposition, but we are an alien presence in a universe where we shouldn't be. We are a paradox, the citizens of an alternate universe influencing another, screwing around with fate itself. I don't know what are the possible consequences of our staying, but we should be wary. If there is some kind of force behind the creation of new universes, perhaps we will attract its attention… and I honestly don't know what will happen then."

Naruto closed his eyes. "Anyway, it's merrily a supposition. Perhaps there isn't an endless number of universes, simply a finite number created by gods or forming accidentally… but it doesn't change the fact that many things do not differ from one world to another, so can you explain the history behind these scrolls? Events might have happened the same way in my homeworld, since I never heard anything about my clan, or about Uzushiogakure for the matter."

Sasori nodded. "It doesn't surprise me, since they have been eradicated to near extinction. The Uzumaki clan was a distant relative of the Senju, who founded Konoha alongside the Uchiha. After Konoha's construction, they created their own village, Uzushiogakure, on an island near the coast, today at the bottom of the sea. The Uzumaki clan was rather small, less that 300 members at their prime, but they were known for two things: their extensive knowledge of Sealing techniques and their extremely potent chakra. The second gave them an important longevity and a incredible constitution, and the first allowed them to create the first Jinchuuriki."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "What?"

"The original demon vessel was Mito Uzumaki, the Shodaime's wife. She used her clans' techniques to trap the Kyuubi within herself after her husband's duel with Uchiha Madara, to prevent the use of the Bijuu by another traitor. After her husband's assassination, she refused to give up the knowledge of Jinchuuriki creation, honoring the Shodaime's last wish, but fought for Konoha when the other ninja villages banded together against it, starting the First Shinobi World War. She stayed the only Jinchuuriki alive… until the Second Shinobi World War."

Sasori locked eyes with Naruto. "You must understand that the Uzumaki had gone to great lengths to preserve their potent chakra. They practiced inbreeding, and the only marriages outside of the clan were with the Senju, who were distant relatives. While their chakra preserved them from most of the problems caused by inbreeding, like mental instability, it didn't help their fertility. The clan was small, and isolationist. So when Kiri attacked them at the beginning of the Second World War, they were grossly outnumbered. One to twenty, in fact.

"Uzushiogakure was the Land of Fire's coastal defense, in exchange for material," Sasori explained. "They were the perfect buffer to stop Kiri, so it attacked them with the intent of destroying that nuisance… permanently. A vast fleet invaded the village by surprise, while Suna attacked Konoha on the mainland. An organization now known as the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist was created at that time to exterminate the Uzumaki clan, and its potent chakra. They almost succeeded. Assassins hunted down the survivors, until the last members could be counted on the fingers of one hand."

"I suppose Mito was less than pleased," Naruto guessed.

"She was furious," Sasori confirmed the probable understatement of the century. "She went berserk with the Kyuubi's power and destroyed the fleet, before sinking her island to prevent it from falling into Kiri's possession. Unfortunately, the invaders had stolen some parts of the village's knowledge on Sealing… which spread to the whole ninja world, giving birth to modern Sealing and to new types of Jinchuuriki. The new seals were original creations, however, adapted from incomplete arrays. The new Jinchuuriki were far more… unstable, than Mito."

A few stray memories rushed through Naruto's mind, as he remembered his battle with Gaara during the Chuunin Exam. The Kyuubi's vessel had thought himself as the norm, while it seemed he was instead the exception to the rule.

"Despite everything," Sasori continued, "Mito refused to reveal her knowledge. She instead taught her arts to a survivor saved by Konoha, your mother, Kushina Uzumaki, before transferring the Kyuubi to her. Kushina taught Sealing to Minato, while the Sandaime, Jiraiya and Orochimaru reached their level by studying extensively the field and the theory behind it. However, modern Sealing is simply the shadow of the Uzumaki's art."

Naruto nodded. "I assume these scrolls had been stolen during Kiri's attack?"

"Yes," the puppeteer confirmed. "But unlike the rest, they were useless. Only the chakra of an Uzumaki clansman can make the words appear on the paper, and only an Uzumaki clansman can read the language. Kiri kept their existence a secret, but I successfully stole them in the wake of the Mist's civil war."

He posed the five scrolls on the floor. "From what I know, each one contains unique techniques created by the Village as a whole, like Konoha's Forbidden Scroll. The creatures on the seal represent the element the techniques are linked to." He pointed to them with his index finger.

"Fire," he said as he pointed to the red scroll with the bird seal.

"Wind," he pointed to the white scroll with the tiger seal.

"Lightning," he pointed to the blue scroll with the dragon seal.

"Earth," he pointed to the golden scroll with the horned horse seal.

"Water," he pointed to the black scroll with the tortoise seal.

"Also, they contain other unique styles of taijutsu, genjutsu, sealing… they are Uzumaki's most precious treasure, and your legacy. I intended to offer them to my disciple once he had finished his apprenticeship as a puppeteer, but with a group of Kage-level enemies after us, I think it is the perfect time to use them. Since Kabuto's diagnostic had identified you as oriented toward Wind, I think you should begin with the white scroll, but you should also look into the others, if some techniques suit your needs."

Naruto nodded. "Thanks, Sasori. It's a precious gift."

"Explain to me how to use the Kage Bunshin and the Rasengan, and we're even."

The vessel smiled. "Of course," he said as he took the scrolls and hide them under his cape. "Can you elaborate on the part about my clan's bloodline?"

"It's an exceptionally potent chakra, so potent it can be used in its natural form without hand seals or nature manipulation. You must know how normal chakra works, no?" he asked rhetorically.

"It's the combination of physical and mental energy," he stated.

"Basically yes," Sasori agreed, "but chakra is also a genetic trait, to a degree. Elemental affinities are transmitted trough generations, and affect the body slowly. Shinobi reach physical maturity faster than civilian children, and then age slower. Look at the Sandaime Hokage. A civilian of the same age would look fifteen years older, even with exercise and a life devoid of excess. Look at you: you're fifteen and look like a young adult. Look at the Kunoichi of Konoha: a thirty year old woman would seem to be in her twenties. I can continue with the examples, but I assume you have understood."

Naruto nodded. It effectively explained many things…

"Well, the Uzumaki's chakra is so potent that the normal effects are much more exceptional, and make it possible to learn all elemental affinities. Also, it gives an instinctive knowledge of shape and chakra manipulation, the reason why Uzushiogakure was so efficient at creating powerful seals."

Naruto felt like he had been struck by a lightning bolt. If he had such a knowledge, then it might explain how he had succeeded in mastering the Kage Bunshin so quickly, or how he had managed to use the Rasengan in less than three weeks, while it had taken more than three years for the _Yondaime _to create it.

Sasori smirked. Naruto's astonishment must have shown on his face. "Yes, it's probably why you're so efficient at ninjutsu. And yes, you inherited this powerful chakra… but some elements made it impossible for you to develop it properly."

The teenager frowned.

"The Kyuubi interfered with your chakra system since your birth. It probably slowed down its maturation, and the lack of decent training probably crippled it. But now that your beast does not affect you anymore, and that you have pointers, I'm confident in your ability to develop this gift to a better extent than my own disciple."

"It's strange, however," Naruto said. "How could I have inherited this power, if my father didn't have it?"

Sasori smirked. "It will take some time to answer this question."

"Go on."

"Have you heard the legend of the Sage of the Six Paths?" Sasori asked.

Naruto nodded. "He's the creator of ninjutsu."

"Not only. While he lived a millennium ago, the Sage probably existed," Sasori stated. "Kabuto's research has shown that many people with Kekkei Genkai have a common ancestor, who was… active… in his time, if you know what I mean."

The teenager's jaw dropped. "The Sage was a Casanova?"

"Probably. He left dozens of children behind him, all normal people. However, when they married accidentally, or their descendants did, they gave birth to modern bloodlines. Kekkai Genkai are not a dominant trait, and only appear if the parents have a dormant or active bloodline. It explains why Tsunade-hime never showed any predilection to trees, since her father was a normal Shinobi. Same deal with the Nidaime: his parents each had a dormant Kekkai Genkai, but the power stayed dormant within him."

_It also explain why Haku was born with the Hyoton. Her father must have had a dormant bloodline… the bastard was the very thing he hated. How ironic._ "You imply that my father was a descendant of the Sage?"

"I don't imply anything, I affirm it. The Yondaime had a dormant bloodline, which made you inherit your mother's chakra, like your other-selves. It generally happens like that. A 'dominant' bloodline is expressed, while the other stays dormant. There are cases where a child is born with multiple bloodlines, when both are dominants, but they are rare and avoided."

"Why?" he asked. "It would be a formidable asset."

"People with multiple Kekkei Genkai tend to be… insane. There are some sane ones, but they are the exceptions to the rule. Mentally unstable ninjas with multiple bloodlines have caused many tragedies in the past. One, in fact, tried to exterminate anyone without a bloodline during the clan era," Sasori stated. "As a result, most of the children showing more than one ability are killed at birth, and those who survive are heavily discriminated against, like a Jinchuuriki. Generally, they have the same problems as them: they crack under the pressure one day. Some successfully triumph over prejudice, like the Godaime Mizukage, born with two gifts, but most end up as missing-nins or as monsters."

"I see…" Naruto said. "The guy that thrashed Naruko… Susanoo… has two bloodlines. If his god-complex is of any indication, he's an example of this category."

"Maybe. Or he is sane, but just has an ego bigger than the Hokage Monument. Probably the second possibility," Sasori deadpanned.

The teenager smiled. "I have one last question. Do you know what happened to my parents' belongings? I mean, a Hokage and a master of sealing must have left something behind for their child, no?"

"Officially, the Yondaime died without an heir," Sasori explained. "It was to protect you, of course. The Yondaime had many enemies, and if they could, they would have probably tried to take revenge against him through his living legacy. His possessions were nationalized by the Village. About Kushina… well, you used her apartment, and the rest of her belongings had been stolen by various people, in case she had hidden anything about Sealing in them."

Naruto frowned. "I see… you know, I think that our quest through the universes is perhaps my chance at recreating the Uzumaki clan, or at finding possible relatives."

Sasori smirked. "Maybe, one day, we will arrive in a world where Uzushiogakure is still standing. It's a good thing to think beyond jumping through universes with only one goal in mind. Your power can lead you to discover many things. Beside evading the men after us and killing Gato, I assume that you have other objectives in mind?"

The vessel nodded. "I have to return to my homeworld, and see if my friends are all right. I want to discover the names of the men behind the conspiracy the Sandaime was talking about. One of my counterparts needs help to heal from his madness, Naruko has to be sheltered, and Kabuto has to be avenged. Believe me, Sasori, I have a lot of goals beyond helping my other selves. In Uzushiogakure's case, since I still don't know in what universe I'm jumping into… it might take some time before we find it."

"Some practice may help you improve your power. This trio has already proven they can affect space, so you must b-"

The door suddenly opened, interrupting Sasori. The duo turned to face Naruto's werefox-self. "Hurry up! Naruko-chan has a problem!"

The two immediately rose up, and followed the child through the house, before reaching Naruko's bedroom. A blonde puppeteer was practicing medical jutsu on her. He looked sideways at them. "Her heartbeat is slowing down! I'm trying to stabilize it, but…"

"Naruko…" Naruto reached out to her, and took her hand in his own. "Please don't die…" they were all gazing at her with fearful stares. "We're all waiting for you to wake up…"

Tears began to roll from his eyes as he sensed her fingers move.

* * *

><p>Naruko was alone in a dark sewer.<p>

She was lying on rippling water, her eyes closed, before a giant cage. Two gigantic eyes were gazing at her, like two red moons in a black night. All around them, the walls were damaged, broken.

"**_When are you going to awaken?_**" the Kyuubi asked her.

The girl didn't respond, but opened her eyes.

"**_They are all waiting for you to return to consciousness_**," the Bijuu declared as images formed in the darkness. She saw her sensei watching over her, her insane-self and Sasori beside him. Her puppeteer-self was treating her with medical chakra, with obvious worry in his eyes. "**_You can, if you have the will to do so._**"

Her surroundings twisted, and the sewer transformed into a black, angry sea. She saw Susanoo rising from the dark water, laughing at her. "You? Waking up? You weren't able to protect your twin from me… you weren't even able to protect yourself!" The apparition narrowed his eyes. "You're just a pathetic excuse of a warrior."

Naruko stayed silent and closed her eyes. "You are NOTHING!" the masked man shouted. "Do you hear me? NOTHING!"

His voice began to gloat. "You're a whelp, trying to fight against what is beyond your skills! You are an ant in a cruel world! Wallow in your misery and abandon hope! Stay asleep, in the eternal darkness, where you will always be lonely!"

_"Naruko…"_

"Stay alone in your dreams, forever!"

_"Please don't die…"_

"Sleep now, as your end cannot, and will never, be stopped!"

_"We're all waiting for you to awake…"_

Opening her eyes, Naruko rose up, and stood over the water facing the illusion. "I am not afraid of you."

The man's mask cracked slightly, and his mismatched eyes became two red lights. "You are! Don't you remember the pain and the despair? DON'T YOU REMEMBER? I AM YOUR FEAR! I AM YOUR DEATH!"

"I remember," she said. "But it doesn't matter."

"IT DOES!" the mirage cracked even more. "WHY ARE YOU RESISTING? WHY ARE YOU STANDING? WHY DO YOU PERSIST?"

Images of her friends appeared beside her, glaring at the illusion. "Because they are counting on me. Because they love me. And because I will protect them from you, even at the cost of my life."

"NO!" the illusion screamed as he began to shatter more and more. "NO!"

Naruko glared at the image. "Disappear!" she ordered.

"NO!" the illusion screamed as it exploded in a flash of light.

A second later, she opened her eyes. "Hello, everyone," she muttered.

They all stared at her. Naruto-sensei was crying out of joy, her insane-self's face beamed, her puppeteer-counterpart smiled, and Sasori smirked. And then…

She almost squealed when her sensei hugged her, quickly imitated by his two younger copies. Sasori simply put his hand on her head.

"Hello, Naruko," her teacher muttered. "Welcome back."

"Don't even dare to do that to us again, Flat-Lady!"

"Naruko-chan… I'm glad you're alive… **we all are…**"

"You made us quite nervous, Naruko-san."

She smiled at her family. "Sorry, sorry. I won't worry you again, I promise…" But then, she realized something. "Flat-Lady?"

Her other self cringed. "This is going to suck, isn't it?"

"Yes," she said. "I will give you a ten second head start."

He fled immediately.

* * *

><p>Naruto's eyes widened. "What?"<p>

"Train me!" Naruko repeated, as they were standing in front of the house, before the mesmerized stares of the world-traveler's group, and of Tsunami. She was still wrapped in bandages, but active and standing, unlike another blonde covered with bruises and carried on Sasori's back.

"No!" he said. "You're still recovering from your wounds!"

"It doesn't matter," she responded, grinning. "As long as I can stay on my feet, I want to train and to struggle! I want to kick the ass of that Susanoo asshole, and of that Gato jerk too!"

The vessel massaged his temples. "I've got the feeling I'm going to accept, much to my dismay." He simply couldn't refuse her anything, not after she had just woken up.

"Yes!" she jumped in place. "Thanks Boss! I won't disappoint you, I promise!"

"That's stupid!"

The duo, and everyone present, looked at the source of the outburst: Inari, who had left the house. Naruto cringed inwardly, as he realized the boy was going to give them the same lecture about not fighting against Gato that his other self had said to the world-traveler.

"It doesn't matter how much you train!" Inari yelled. "It's useless to struggle, since nobody can beat Gato! He has an army of mercenaries, and he's going to kill you all!"

Naruko sneered. "I have fought death once, kid. I can do it again."

"Why do you fight then?" he screamed. "Gato is too strong, he's going to kill you all! Everyone who goes against him is doomed to die! You're all g-"

A punch in the jaw interrupted his rant, making him fall on the floor. Naruko's fist was still clenched, and an emotionless Sasori prevented Tsunami from coming to her son's rescue, by putting his hand on her shoulder. "Do not intervene."

"But-"

"You won't always be there to protect him," the puppeteer cut in. "He has to learn to stand for himself." The woman grit her teeth, but did not move, even as her son looked up, shocked, at his female aggressor.

"Little boy," Naruko began, "while I dislike many things, your kind really takes the cake. I just can't stand cowards like you! You dare to tell us not to fight, when we're trying to help your mother? To say that everyone that goes against the tyrant that's abusing your country is doomed to die? Good news, genius, your mother is opposing him! Is she doomed to die too?" she asked, looking down at the boy.

"Don't fight if you want, but then don't whine if the situation is terrible, since you aren't trying to change it!"

"You know nothing!" the child shouted, slightly crying. "You act cheerfully because you don't know how life really is!"

"I do!" she snarled. "And better than you! I don't know your story, but at least you have a mother and a grandfather that love you, and aren't hated by every single human in your hometown! I had been alone and distrusted, until I met my friends! I have fought a man that could shatter walls with his bare hands! So I won't back down against a crime lord who hides behind his men and money! As long as I have a chance to win, I will continue to fight, even against someone out of my league!"

She locked eyes with Naruto. "I don't want to talk to this whiner anymore, sensei. Please, can we leave?"

The vessel nodded. "We will go near the coast. Kitsune, come with us."

"You're going to train with us?" she asked the troubled child, who nodded. She hopped in place. "Awesome!"

As the trio left, Naruto looked sideways at a crying Inari. He hoped the young boy would learn the same lesson about hope that his other self had.

* * *

><p>Five solid clones of Naruko materialized next to the original, while only three Werefox-Naruto appeared. The vessel clapped his hands. "Congratulation. It's quite impressive for your first try." They were in a clearing, training at using the Kage Bunshin. He had decided to teach them the jutsu, which would help them a lot once they began to read the scrolls.<p>

"Thanks, Naruto-sensei!" the six Naruko shouted together. "Team Naruko is now at your service!"

Naruto smiled, and the memories of one of his clones appeared in his head. They had opened the tiger scroll, and had begun to practice some new techniques. Really, the Kage Bunshin training method truly was efficient.

"It is… **too hard…**" his insane-self rasped, as his eyes became red. The clones twisted into red masses of flesh and fur, before vanishing in a puff of smoke. "**Too hard… to maintain control…**" he began to transform.

"Myself, please calm yourself…" Naruto trailed off. "Do not listen to the voices… you're stronger than them…"

"**I… **I…" he returned to normal. "It's hard," he began to cry. "It's too hard! Why can't they leave me alone? WHY?" he screamed, holding his head.

Naruto walked next to him, before putting his hands on the boy's shoulders. "It's in their nature to torment you, that's why… but you don't have to fear them…"

"Yeah," Naruko said, as her clones vanished. "You're the best! You can dominate them!"

He looked sideways at her. "You're sure?"

"Yeah! I mean, they are the ones squatting your mind! They are your tenants, not your masters! You're the guy in charge in your head!"

"I…" he trailed off. "I see… yes, they are not stronger than me… but sometimes… sometimes they are… and I can't stop my bloodlust…"

Naruto locked eyes with the younger boy. "I promise you that anytime they try to take control, we will be here to prevent you from hurting an innocent. One day, you will be able to live without struggling all the time. And we will make sure it arrives."

He looked up at him. "You promise?"

"I promise," he smiled.

"I promise too!" Naruko affirmed. "And I never break my word!"

He stayed silent a few seconds. "Thanks. You're my dearest people."

Naruto nodded. He would make sure this boy could grow up as a stable man, and not as a second Gaara.

He frowned. He sensed some chakra nearby. A strange and thick mist arrived… and Naruto recognized the technique. _Zabuza is nearby,_ he thought. "Naruto, Naruko, prepare yourselves. This is not a natural phenomenon."

The two children straightened up. "Is it an ambush?" Naruko asked.

"Not for us, I think." The epicenter of the jutsu was located farther inland of the Island. Precisely at the place where his team had met Zabuza for the first time…

"I think that Tsunami's father has returned, and is threatened by someone. That technique is used for assassinations," he stated. "Follow me, and be ready to fight. We're going to rescue him."

The two children obeyed, and the trio ran through the woods, reaching a small lake near the town. Hiding behind the trees, they observed carefully the scene unfolding before them.

Kakashi and his team were protecting Tazuna, shielding him with their bodies. A gigantic blade was embedded in a tree, and Zabuza was standing on it. Below him, Kisame Hoshigake was smiling, swinging Samehada cheerfully.

_Oh crap._

But the most disturbing thing wasn't the presence of an S-Rank missing-nin alongside Zabuza, but Team 7. Sasuke and Kakashi were the same as always, but Sakura was wearing orange robes, while Naruto was wearing a green outfit.

The Kyuubi's chakra wasn't emanating from Naruto. He wasn't the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki in this universe.

Sakura was.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's notes:<em>**

Yeah, sorry everyone, but nobody guessed correctly about the new Naruto's identity (though Lander Blazer got the closest in his PM).

If you have some questions or critics, post them on the reviews or send them through the PM.

Please review, and write you soon!


	7. Chapter 7: Brutal Reunions

Hello! Here is the new chapter of Echoes. Be wary, the mist swordsmen in it are armed and dangerous!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Special thanks to Alpha142, for correcting my work, and to all the people that follow, review, and like this story.

* * *

><p>Since I've got complains about confusion between characters, I'm now using their aliases to design them.<p>

Traveler/Original Naruto: Kazama Arashi.

Female Naruto: Naruko Arashi.

Puppeteer Naruto: Chibaku Arashi.

Werefox Naruto: Kitsune Arashi.

Deceiver/Original Madara: Tsukiyomi.

Destroyer/Rinnegan Madara: Susanoo.

Warrior/Collector Madara: Amaterasu.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Seven: Brutal Reunions<strong>_

Kakashi Hatake wasn't a happy jounin.

First of all, he had gotten the worst team _ever_.

The last Uchiha, his sensei's son, and the Kyuubi's vessel. The first was acting like Kakashi himself at the same age: by being a total, self-centered asshole, that needed to be handled with care. The second was a carbon copy of the Yondaime, in body _and _mind. He couldn't stop himself from seeing the boy as his old teacher, nor stop remembering the day of his death.

Finally, there was Sakura Haruno… her class' dead last, clown, and most unsettling student ever. While Kakashi was aware that the Kyuubi wasn't controlling her, no matter what the Village was saying, he still knew she was dangerous… but mainly, her constant creepy smile was beginning to annoy him.

Secondly, Kakashi was in a very bad situation.

Years of working as ninja had immediately made the jounin notice Tazuna's lies. Despite his official story, the bridge-builder was obviously fearing an attack. And the awaited ambush finally came… in the form of two chuunin, the Demon Brothers, a duo of small fries he had quickly defeated.

After requiring an explanation from Tazuna, who had explained them the situation in the Land of Waves, Kakashi had thought about coming back to Konoha, to protect his students. However, the rest of Team 7 had decided to continue the mission: Sasuke, to prove his worth, Naruto, to help the citizens of Waves, and Sakura, because she didn't want to hinder her teammates. They had convinced him to finish the mission… and now he was regretting his decision.

While the Demon brothers were small fries, Zabuza Momochi and Kisame Hoshigake were two of the deadliest ninjas Kiri had ever produced. And, they were Suiton specialist, and near a lake. And Kakashi's backup was a team of three genin.

Yeah, the situation was bad.

"Hello, copycat Kakashi," the demon of the Mist declared. "Honored to meet you. Give us the bridge builder, and we will leave you and your brats alive… we have orders, you see."

Kakashi scowled. "Two famous ninjas like you, working for someone like Gato? I would have never expected that from you. Let me guess, you're trying to gather funds for another coup?"

"Of course," Kisame smirked. "That, and it gives us the opportunity to fight powerful opponents like yourself. But we are open to diplomacy…"

"Like we're going to let you touch Tazuna-san!" Naruto snarled.

Kisame chuckled. "You know little boy, it's impolite to interrupt a conversation between adults. They could take it badly." His hold on Samehada tightened.

Zabuza snorted. "Especially when you haven't killed anyone, unlike us. Yeah, I know from your stance that you're just a bunch of fresh meat, clean and ready to be eaten."

Kakashi frowned. "As soon as I create an opening, take Tazuna with you and flee," he ordered his genin. "They are way out of your league."

"And you, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, eying him, like Sasuke and Sakura.

He smiled. "Don't worry, everything will be fine," he lied, taking a battle stance, ready to reveal his Sharingan. "I can defeat them, but I will need some space. Kisame is known for his destructive way of fighting, and I don't want you nearby."

Zabuza laughed. "What, are they too weak to fight? They shouldn't be ninjas if they aren't ready to risk their life and go for the kill."

The trio stiffened, and especially Sasuke.

"Oh, I hit a sensitive point?" the swordsman asked. "You are just fresh meat, aren't you? Clean, untainted by blood… and weak. At your age, we already had blood on our hands."

"You talk too much, Zabuza," Kisame said. "We should attack them now, instead of talking about the past."

Zabuza seemed to smirk. "Well, you're right. Hidden Mist Jut-"

Kakashi blinked. Kisame blinked. Everyone blinked, as a long sword almost impaled the swordsman, in the middle of his jutsu. He barely avoided the fatal blow, which pierced the tree he was standing on, grazing the man's skin below his shoulder in the process, before retracting behind the fences.

At the same time, someone threw a kunai at Kisame's head. While the man avoided it easily, the weapon exploded in a puff of smoke… and the treacherous ninja ended up getting clawed in the face by an orange creature.

_What the fuck is that? _Kakashi wondered as he saw Zabuza leaping to the ground, Kisame flying onto the lake, and a blonde teenager wearing an orange cape coming out from the fences and attacking the demon of the Mist with… _the Rasengan?_

"**_Yes! Blood, sweet, red nectar… we want to taste it! More screams! More pain!_**" the… orange _creature _roared, before staring at Team 7. It looked like a monstrous mix between a fox and a man. "**_New preys, awaiting death. And we want them to die…_**"

"No!" a bandaged blonde girl shouted as she emerged from the fences and put herself between the fox and Kakashi's group, who was watching the situation without really understanding what was happening. "They are the client's bodyguards! They are the team that Konoha has sent to protect the bridge-builder! They are our allies! The enemies are the swordsmen!"

"**_Yes… they have the same blades as that Amaterasu bastard…_**" the creature muttered. "**_We will take out our nerves on them, and wear their heads as trophies..._**"

"Good," the blonde girl replied, before staring at Kakashi's team, especially at the bridge builder. "Tazuna-san, I presume?"

"Y-Yes?"

"Your daughter, Tsunami, has enlisted us to protect you," she declared, smiling. "We are the Arashi family, at your service! Pleased to meet you all!"

_The Arashi family? Never heard of them_, Kakashi though. _However, they do seem to have huge reserves of chakra… on par with Sakura, which is disturbing. Kids of their age shouldn't have as much chakra as the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki. _"Who are you exactly?"

"Mercenaries," the blonde girl said. "We are here to protect Tazuna-san. I'm Akane, he's Kazama-nii-chan," she said as she pointed to the teenager fighting Zabuza with her finger, "and the big fox is my brother Kitsune. Forgive his attitude, he's rather excited when a battle begins. We're to help you."

"How can you prove it?" Naruto asked. "It's strange, you come at the perfect time, at the perfect place…"

She scowled. "If you aren't happy, we can leave you to die against two dangerous missing-nin each as strong as your sensei."

"Well, it would be a shame," Kakashi said, as the introduced Kazama parried Zabuza's blade with his own. The jounin vaguely found it familiar, but he quickly looked sideways at the lake when he sensed a huge pulse of chakra nearby. "Since you seem wounded, can you take my genin away? I have the feeling Kisame hasn't loved your entry."

And effectively, dozens of blue sharks of chakra emerged from the water, flying into the air, and began to fall toward the ground. Revealing his Sharingan, much to his team's surprise, Kakashi made a few hand-seals, before breathing a stream of fireballs, which collided with the shark-missiles. The resulting explosions illuminated the sky.

"I ordered you to leave," the jounin said. "I need space, and you're occupying it."

He didn't have to repeat himself. Naruto nodded, and touched Tazuna's shoulder. "Let's go, mister."

The bridge builder nodded, before eying Akane. "Why not run toward my house?"

"Excellent idea," she said, as she took him through the forest nearby, the rest of team 7 after her. Sakura briefly looked at her sensei before leaving. "Good luck, sensei."

"Yeah, please don't die!" Naruto shouted as he fled too.

The man smirked. "I don't intend too!" Then, he locked eyes with the… man-fox. "Why not gang-up on Kisame? Of the two, he's the strongest."

"**_Yes_**," the creature whispered. "**_This battle will make us happy…_**"

_Damn, he's more creepy than Gai! _Kakashi thought, as the lake's water transformed into a tsunami, advancing toward them, Kisame surfing atop it. _But if he's as strong as my 'esteemed rival', then I won't bother telling him that out loud._

* * *

><p><strong><em>Kazama (the original)<em>**

Kazama, acting quickly, jumped on the top of a nearest tree, avoiding the wave created by Kisame. Zabuza followed him and tried to behead him with his sword. Bowing slightly, the vessel saved his life, and then tried to ram a Rasengan into the man's chest, who backed down and landed gracefully on the lake's water, which was now covering a large part of the area.

"Who the fuck are you?" the swordsman snarled as he finished a hand-seal sequence. "Water Dragon."

A snake of liquid formed from the lake and attacked Kazama. Forming ten clones, the teenager switched places with one of them, leaving him to be crushed while the rest attacked Zabuza hand-to-hand. The man destroyed six of them with a blindingly fast swing of his massive blade. However, he didn't regain his equilibrium before the survivors' feet and fists connected with his body, sending him flying backward.

"Kazama Arashi," they all said. "Nice to meet you."

"Never heard of you. You aren't in my Bingo Book," Zabuza stated, as he landed on his legs, glaring furiously at the four teens before him. "If you want to play with doubles…" he muttered as he created ten water clones. "I can play as well."

"That's good," Kazama smirked as he formed two dozen new Kage Bunshin, much to the swordsman's amazement. "But I'm better at this game than you."

The man scowled. "We shall see," he said as he charged alongside his copies, beginning a clone battle, which soon devolved into a chaotic melee. But while the ten Zabuza were outnumbered, their superior skill made them an even match to their enemies. And then…

"Hidden Mist Technique."

The water clones suddenly transformed into a thick fog, obscuring Kazama's sight. Zabuza's voice resonated in the air. "Now, let me show you the power of the Silent Killing art of Kirigakure."

One after the other, the teenager's clones were beheaded, and their memories rushed through Kazama's mind. Closing his eyes, taking a kunai in his right hand, the young vessel concentrated. Noticing the slight sound of rippling water behind him, he avoided Zabuza's surprise attack, and tried to stab the man, but failed. An instant later, a chuckle reached his ears.

"If your superior address and survival instincts are of any indication, I assume you are the original, am I wrong? I will keep you for the end."

Inwardly cursing, Kazama began to work up a plan as his last clones were murdered by the man's blade. Forming ten new clones around him and ignoring the fatigue he felt, Kazama made them disperse. _Now, everything is going as planned._

When Zabuza's blade came for his neck, the vessel switched places with the nearest clone, who popped into smoke. As the memories rushed through all the clones, they received the location where he had been killed, and in which direction Zabuza was advancing. Converging toward it, the clones circled the man and attacked him with their kunai.

The swordsman continued his charge, leaped back to avoid four stabs… and got two in the back. Growling, the demon of the Mist swung his blade, dissipating the clones, before fleeing. Opening his eyes, Kazama followed the slight trace left by the man's dropping blood, emerging from the fog in the process. The vessel, upon noticing a fleeing Zabuza, threw a kunai at his legs, to prevent him from escaping.

The water clone exploded.

Recognizing the trick, Kazama moved to the side, avoiding the swordsman's water prison jutsu, much to its user's displeasure. "What the hell?" he asked. "Do you have eyes in the back of your skull?" He attacked with his sword again, but Kazama jumped, avoiding the attack, and kicked him in the face, making the swordsman loose his balance.

"Maybe I do," the vessel smirked.

"What have you done to me?" Zabuza asked. "I'm not as fast as normal, I feel sick and weak, and I've missed your neck too many times. That's the blade isn't it? You poisoned it!"

"Yes," the world-traveler answered. The poison on the Kusanagi was an invention of Sasori. The poison wasn't lethal (at least if the victim wasn't physically sick), but the toxin slowly paralyzed the muscles and slowed down the organs' functioning, progressively weakening the opponent. The puppeteer had tried to convince Naruto to make it more potent, but he had refused. The use of his blade was too hazardous in battle for now. What if he cut himself, or a friend, accidentally?

_It's easier than I thought. Of course, the fact that I took him by surprise certainly help, _Kazama wondered as he continued to attack a dizzy Zabuza with kicks and punches, even if his opponent parried most of his blows. _And I have recuperated from my injuries, thanks to my puppeteer-self's help. AND, I know ALL his tricks._

But then…

The water's level rose suddenly, and the lake swallowed Kazama and Zabuza both, like a hungry ogre. As Kazama struggled to keep his breath, his enemy disappeared within abyssal darkness. Swimming toward the surface, the vessel emerged, standing up upon the water.

And saw the forest… from the sky.

The lake had been transformed into a large sphere of turbulent water, of the size of a mountain. The vessel couldn't see anything within it, only a deep blackness.

And two pair of hands reaching his ankles.

An instant later, Kazama was pulled inside the sphere.

Zabuza's uncovered face smirked at him, grinning.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Kitsune (the werefox)<em>**

The world was black, and Kitsune couldn't see. The swordsman had used some kind of technique to transform his surroundings into the realm of the abysses.

Well, it wasn't exact. While his eyes were blind, he wasn't helpless. He could sense the chakra, movement, and the sounds coming from the swimmers. The voices were whispering to him, helping him, guiding him.

_The dark will always show us the way._

**_We weren't born in the darkness._**

**_We _are _the darkness._**

A hybrid creature, looking like a fusion between a shark and a man, swam toward him at an incredible speed, its mouth opened. Reacting quickly, the werefox twisted his body, avoiding the monster's jaws. Instead, he used the opportunity to claw through its skin. Blood mixed with the water, tainting it with red.

The shark-man disappeared, but his crimson trail didn't. Following it, Kitsune felt alive. His hunger had been awakened by the prospect of taking a life, of fighting for his very survival. It was his whole purpose: to hunt, or be hunted.

His mind, shrouded by an insane bloodlust, noticed the creature returning, charging once again. Kitsune did the same, and collided with his opponent, ready for a brawl. The shark-man- Kisame, he suddenly remembered- was stronger, and bit the demonic boy. The madness, stronger than pain, pushed him to try to eviscerate the monster.

The deadly embrace lasted for a time, and then they separated, as Kisame ceased his biting in favor of a punch in the ribs, pushing the werefox deeper in the abyssal darkness.

From the side, the jounin Naruto's counterpart wanted him to spare created a tornado inside of the water. The whirlpool captured Kisame and sent him away. The silver-haired man used another wind technique to propel himself through the liquid, reaching the werefox, grabbing him, and moved alongside him toward the surface.

A dozen sharks circled them, preventing them from escaping the sphere. Kitsune wasn't bothered. He could breathe in the water, the voices assured him. However, he was slower, and Kisame was faster…

As the duo began to kill the fishes with kunai and claws, the pressure suddenly increased, crushing everyone in the vicinity. As he sensed his bones cracking, the werefox tried to scream, but found that, well he couldn't. The sharks died, and Kakashi vanished into nothing. The creature recognized him as a shadow clone.

Flashes of light illuminated the darkness for a brief period, showing Kitsune a ninja creating sparks into the water, slightly burning the skin of the shark-man. The pressure returned to normal, and the werefox struggled to return to the surface.

Breathing air, standing over the sphere, the werefox sensed waves of pleasure racing through his body as a red chakra came to heal his wounds, covering his body with a crimson cloak.

_We will not be defeated a second time._

**_No restraints anymore._**

**_We are unstoppable._**

Feeling something moving under him, Kitsune began to run on the water. Projectiles of chakra erupted from it, and the werefox tried his best to avoid them. After short seconds of such a course, one took him by surprise. He didn't avoid it, because, well, it wasn't a normal projectile. It was the jounin fighting alongside him.

They were both propelled into the air, and the shark-man emerged, jumping out of the sphere, ready to devour them. Kitsune's chakra tail acted on its own and smashed him, sending him fly to the side. Hitting the water, the shark-man regained his equilibrium and stood still, while the werefox adopted a bestial stance and Kakashi sank, unable to grab the surface to walk on it.

Roaring, Kitsune charged at his enemy at an insane speed. A second tail of chakra formed behind his back as he became faster and stronger. Grinning, the shark-man adopted a defensive posture, ready for the attack, not even trying to avoid it.

The collision's shock shook the whole sphere, making it ripple slightly. The shark-man, however, flinched a bit, but resisted the charge, grabbing the werefox with his arms and gripping him with an irresistible strength.

Kitsune didn't know how, but Kisame's skin began to absorb the red chakra like a sponge, healing its bruises and wounds in the process. In less than a few seconds, the cloak had vanished and the shark-man smirked, increasing his grasp on the werefox and breaking his bones.

"I can absorb chakra, little beast. You cannot defeat me," he opened his mouth. "Still, it was a good fight. Good jo-ARGH!"

Kisame screamed, as a ball of lightning went through his lungs, barely missing Kitsune himself. Kakashi was behind the shark-man, standing with his arm trans-piercing the man's body. The monster flailed brutally, sending the werefox and Kakashi flying away. The sphere began to twist and crumble into wild waves, as the three men fell from it.

As the sphere imploded, Kitsune crashed onto a tree, and lost consciousness.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Kazama<em>**

Using two rasengan to propel himself through the water, Kazama tried desperately to distance himself from Zabuza. The mist-nin, despite being weakened by poison, was still faster than him in the water. And he didn't know how, but he could swim with his blade in hand. _Perhaps a jutsu?_

Escaping from the water, on some part of the sphere's surface, Kazama stood still, observing his surroundings, awaiting the inevitable attack. He jumped to the side, avoiding a blade's swing meant to cut him in half.

Thinking of a solution, Kazama began to run on the water, as a submerged Zabuza pursued him with his blade out of the water, like a shark's aileron. Despite the vessel's best efforts, the missing-nin was closing the distance.

_With the poison in his body, he most likely isn't able to change his course easily… _Turning around, Kazama formed a rasengan in his right hand. As the sword approached, the vessel avoided it by moving to its left, before ramming the ball into the sword. The resulting explosion sent it flying away, and expulsed Zabuza from the water violently. The man successfully landed on his limbs, and countered with a jutsu. "Water Release: Shark Missile."

The sphere's surface transformed into many projectiles, taking the form of carnivorous fishes. They missed, however, as Kazama ran on the side, circling Zabuza and attacking on his side.

The missing-nin frowned, and engaged him in a taijutsu battle. This time, however, he parried all the blows, and returned with punches and kicks of his own. Kazama cursed as he saw each of his attacks getting countered.

"Not so easy anymore, no, mister poison?" Zabuza chuckled as he stopped Kazama's punch, before giving him a head butt in the face. "Now, I know your attack pattern," he declared as he punched him in the jaw.

The dizzied teenager regained his equilibrium, and quickly parried Zabuza's fist. However, the man then opted for a kick to the limbs, which Kazama couldn't avoid. Falling on the water, he felt Zabuza immediately kick him again with full force. "Your style is full of flaws! You're like a toad trying to stand on his legs! It's surprising at first, but once you take the time to observe it…"

He grabbed Kazama, and lifted him above his head, before facing the landscape below the sphere. "You know the eight sensible points?" he asked rhetorically. "The liver, the lungs, the spine, the clavicle vein, the jugular artery, the brain, the kidney and the heart? Well, I think they're all going to get hit once you will crash on the earth from this hei-"

Suddenly, the sphere shifted uncontrollably. The missing-nin lost his balance, and fell, releasing his grasp on Kazama at the same time. Exploiting this unexpected turn of events, Kazama created a few shadow clones. Reaching one, he used it at a platform to propel himself toward Zabuza. After repeating the same maneuver twice, he finally reached the swordsman, formed a rasengan and rammed it into the man's chest, who roared out of pain. The two landed on a remnant of the sphere, which was beginning to implode.

In less than a second later, they were propelled toward the forest, and crashed violently onto the trees.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Kakashi<em>**

Kakashi finished his jutsu. "Fire Release: the Great Fireball!"

The fire touched Kisame, burning his skin away. The monstrous shark-man roared, before returning to his original form, Samehada in hand. _So he can fuse with his sword… _Kakashi thought, as he copied the man's new water projectile with his Sharingan, before using it himself to counter the shark missiles, damaging the trees nearby.

They were in the forest, now looking like a bayou, flooded by water and full of mud. Kakashi had difficulty moving quickly, but his enemy was in the same situation. That, and his wounded lungs were crippling his abilities.

Kakashi didn't know how someone could survive the Chidori, but Kisame had. His fusion with Samehada was the probable cause of this, but the damage had been done, and he was breathing heavily. The jounin only had to continue to attack, until the missing-nin's wounds got the better of him. That was, if he could survive the monster's attacks.

Suddenly, two things hit a tree nearby, pulverizing it. Kisame exploited Kakashi's surprise to try to dismember him with a swing of his sword. A quick kawarimi with a nearby branch saved his life, and allowed the man to observe the two newcomers, an unconscious Zabuza and a badly wounded Kazama.

"You beat my partner?" Kisame asked. "I can't believe it!"

"I did," the blonde teenager said, as Kakashi helped him stand.

He grit his teeth. "Then I guess I will have to go all out!" He put his hands together. "Water Release: Thousand Shar-"

A breath of flames burned Kisame's back, along with a rain of kunai and shuriken, interrupting the man's attack and making him scream. A redhead teenager he had never seen and a boy in green were standing behind the missing-nin. "Sorry for the wait, mister Kakashi," he said, "but the Arashi family has come to help."

"It's over, Kisame," Kakashi said, as he prepared a new jutsu, rather happy to have more back-up.

"No… no, it's not…" the wounded man muttered… right before two needles connected with his neck. Kakashi watched the man fall, mesmerized, and two people wearing hunter-nin masks with black kimonos appeared out of nowhere. The Samehada disappeared within the water.

"Sorry to have stolen your kill," the one with white hair said. "We were tracking this one for a while."

"Thanks for having weakened him and his partner," the hunter-nin with dark hair said as he put two needles in Zabuza's neck and lifted him. "You have Kiri's gratitude."

Kakashi frowned. Taking Kisame's pulse, he found it inexistent. "He's dead."

The redhead scowled, and imitated him, before giving the corpse to the second hunter-nin. "Thank you for your help, Hunter-san."

The man with white hair bowed politely. "Goodbye." He disappeared with his partner.

Sighing, Kakashi looked at the Arashi… and fainted out of chakra depletion.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chibaku (the puppeteer)<strong>_

"So, what are you planning?" Chibaku asked his older counterpart and Sasori.

"I don't know what you're talking about," the teenager answered. He was carrying the grey-haired jounin on his back, and the puppeteer beside him was doing the same with Naruto's insane-self.

"Oh, come on!" he yelled. "You can't have been blind to that act! True hunter-nins would have destroyed Kisame and Zabuza's bodies on the spot, instead of taking them away! They're probably still alive!"

"Of course they are," Sasori stated. "I can recognize a false death when I see one."

"So you _did _organize this masquerade!" the blonde puppeteer shouted accusingly. His teacher had ordered him to do nothing unless he ordered to, and didn't look really surprised when Naruko had come to Tsunami's house with their hostess' father, Sasuke, Sakura and another counterpart. In fact, he seemed to expect her words about Zabuza's attack.

**_Of course he wasn't! His face is made of wood and he transforms people into puppets! Do you really think a surprise attack is going to faze him?_**

"Not really," his master replied. "We didn't expect Kisame's presence, nor the coming of a second hunter-nin, but I… improvised."

Chibaku frowned. "What do we have to gain in keeping these two alive?"

"Allies," Sasori stated. "We have good reasons to think that Gato is going to betray them, and we have a lot of funds. We can hire them, and they will be useful once our pursuers inevitably track us down."

Chibaku thought about it. It was perhaps worth a shot… "Do you really think they are a match for those three monsters?"

"If they work with us, yes," his older-self stated. "And maybe we can recruit Kakashi and his team too."

"How?" the blonde puppeteer asked. "They might be different from those we had known. Heck, if Sakura really is the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki in this reality then she certainly isn't like the one you've known!"

His counterpart smiled. "Don't worry, I will take charge of convincing them to follow us. Even if they're only slightly like my homeworld's counterparts, then I know what to say. If not… well, maybe they will hear us out anyway." He eyed Chibaku. "But as I asked Naruko, we won't reveal our true identities for a while. We are simply a clan with huge chakra reserves, and our whiskers are simply tattoos. Our werefox-self's abilities are the result of our bloodline."

"And about the Rasengan and the Kage Bunshin? Or the Kusanagi?" he asked. "If Kakashi had seen you using them…"

"I have a believable explanation," Sasori said. "The toad Sannin, Jiraiya, is our boss. He taught us a few tricks, and sent us here once he had learnt about Zabuza and Kisame's involvement. We stole Orochimaru's sword in a precedent mission, which convinced our commander we were fit for this mission."

Well… it was a good cover-up. But for how long? "And if the missing-nins aren't convinced by our propositions, and attack anyway?"

Sasori smirked. "I have taken some… precautions, when I examined Kisame."

Chibaku's eyes widened. He knew what the puppeteer had done. "You magnificent bastard!" he shouted. "You've put a seal on him!"

**_Sneaky and underhanded... I like that._**

"Yes," he confirmed. "Naruto, remember this lesson: always be prepared for everything. _Everything_."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Kazama (the traveler)<em>**

"Thank you for protecting my father," Tsunami said, bowing slightly. "You have my eternal gratitude."

Kazama smiled. "It's nothing," he assured her. "We were simply doing our job."

"Even then, you risked your life for me," Tazuna declared. "Really, thank you."

Kazama was slightly uncomfortable with their thanks. While he took them as a sign of a job well done, he didn't think it was so extraordinary to risk his life for others. It was simply his way of doing things.

They had returned to Tsunami's household after their destructive battle with Zabuza and Kisame. They had badly damaged the landscape, and he doubted their presence would be kept a secret for long, but at least Tazuna was safe, like Kakashi. The jounin was currently talking with his genin team, inside of the house, and Kazama intended to speak with him. In private.

After explaining to Naruko the 'plan', Kazama had, with Sasori's help, discreetly infiltrated Kakashi's bedroom. A potent genjutsu cast by the puppeteer, followed by a Henge, allowed the vessel to hide in the room, taking the form of the wall.

Kakashi was still in bed, his Sharingan covered, which decreased his chances of discovering Kazama. His new counterpart was wearing a green outfit, composed of a shirt and pants. He looked like a younger Yondaime. Sasuke was the exact replica of the one Kazama had known, but Sakura…

Her robes were orange, and she had cut her hair to medium-length. She was skinny, pale, and had the creepiest smile imaginable. Kazama recognized that expression, this mask, which he had worn all his life: fake-happiness.

And she was the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. Even if the seal was keeping the Bijuu in check, Kazama recognized its dark power in her veins. Which was strange, since he couldn't sense it in his counterparts until they used it. Was her seal weaker? Was her body too weak to hold off the demonic chakra completely? Kazama didn't know, but he hoped Kakashi would answer his question.

"What do you mean, sensei?" Naruto's normal-self asked his teacher. "You said Hunter-nins killed them?"

"I thought so," the jounin replied. "But after a careful reexamination of Kisame's death, I find it impossible to believe. Senbon aren't generally used for killing, and the hunter-nins should have destroyed the body on sight and kept the head, instead of transporting it elsewhere. And they didn't try to capture the Samehada, one of the most precious swords of all time. No, there's something wrong with them, and we must be careful. And who know if Gato hasn't contracted stronger killers, beside these two?"

The trio remained silent, frowning and scowling. Only Sakura's expression didn't change. Kazama was now sure that something was very wrong with her. Kakashi closed his eyes. "I'm not in good shape, and honestly, I don't trust our helpers, so-"

The vessel's eyes flickered, as his counterpart interrupted the jounin by asking the question Kazama wanted to pose. "Why don't you trust them, sensei? They saved our lives and helped us fight the missing-nins."

"Yes," Sakura said, her smile breaking a bit. "They're obviously our allies, why distrust them?"

"Because, firstly," Kakashi explained, "one is crazy and almost attacked us. Secondly, they are able to fight S-Rank and A-Rank missing-nins, while I've never heard of them. Once you reach A-Rank, you are considered a big fish in the ninja world, and it's almost impossible to be an unknown, even more so within the mercenary underworld. Thirdly, no mercenary group ever helps for free. If they protect Tazuna from Gato, then it's obvious they're planning something big, and that their boss is a lot more influential than Waves' local tyrant. Such a high-class band of warriors generally work for Ninja Villages that don't want to have their fingerprints all over the place. And, unfortunately, I have a theory about their employer… one which isn't pleasant."

"Who?" Naruto's counterpart asked.

"A powerful rogue ninja known as Orochimaru," Kakashi stated. The trio paled, and the hidden vessel inwardly cursed. He should have talked to the jounin as soon as he had awoken from his slumber. "You see, I think that the weapon this Kazama used was the Kusanagi, Orochimaru's most prized blade. Even if it's probably only a copy, that man would never give it to someone he doesn't completely trust. You must all be wary when he's nearby. The snake Sannin always had a disturbing interest in talented youngsters."

"But what can we do?" the green genin muttered. "We aren't a match for them now."

"We'll do as if this conversation had never happened," the jounin answered. "It's merely a hypothesis. It might have been another weapon, since I only saw it briefly. However, stay on your guard. And that's not the strangest thing about them. During the battle, I noticed certain bizarre events."

"Like?" Sakura asked.

"Kazama Arashi knows of techniques exclusive to the Leaf. The first is an A-Rank ninjutsu known as the Rasengan, and its users can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The second is the Kage Bunshin." Sakura's eyes widened at that. "Yes, he can create shadow clones, and only the ninjas of Konoha know it. Which meant he obtained the secret of these techniques somehow… through spying, or by betraying the Village. In all cases, he is implicated in treachery."

Kazama cursed the man's analytic mind. He had forgotten the jounin hadn't been in the ANBU for nothing. "Also," Kakashi continued, "their incredible chakra reserves are completely abnormal. It might be a bloodline, whichI was not aware even existed. And finally, while I was preparing myself to attack Kisame, I noticed that the… fox-boy… was covered by a cloak of sinister, almost demonical chakra. I only saw a glimpse of it, but I'm sure that at least that one is extremely dangerous."

"But what can we do then?" Naruto's normal-self asked. "They're stronger than us, and probably our only chance at fighting Gato."

"We train," Kakashi stated. "I hope the Hokage will understand that something is wrong with this mission, once his men discover the two missing-nins we defeated along the road, but in the worst case scenario, we are alone. I intended to teach you tree-walking-"

Kazama frowned at that. He had almost forgotten this passage of his life. One of the things he would have to question Kakashi about. It was completely abnormal that Team 7 didn't know this exercise after weeks of activity. Apparently, this Kakashi was as lazy as the one in his homeworld. And if the new Naruto's formal demeanor around him was of any indication, he hadn't adopted him either…

"-but with so many powerful opponents in the field, we will ignore that exercise. You will learn a few useful techniques before Kisame and his team attack again. Being put in a near-death state is dangerous for the body, and he and his partner will need some time to recover their full strength. We've some time before us."

Obvious relief and excitement spread over the genin's faces. They politely asked their teacher to rest a bit, before leaving, closing the door behind them.

If Sasori had done his job (and Kazama didn't doubt he had), the room was now soundproofed. Dissipating the Henge, the vessel appeared beside the jounin. "Hello, Kakashi-san," he smirked, "pleased to meet you."

The man's face jerked to face him, and his body tensed. Kazama knew he was ready to attack at the slightest provocation. The vessel wavered his hand in a peaceful gesture. "I'm only here to talk, not to kill you."

"You have a strange way of beginning a conversation," Kakashi deadpanned, still on his guard. "You've heard our conversation, I suppose, Kazama-_san_."

Ignoring the blatant sarcasm in the man's tone, Kazama simply smiled and sat on the floor. This conversation would take some time, but he hoped to get important answers out of it. "Yes. I must say that it's hurt me to hear you think we're working for Orochimaru, or that we're traitors. We are Konoha's most loyal servants, as Jiraiya-sama knows…"

Kakashi's eyes widened. "You work for him?"

"We all do," he lied shamelessly. "The boss ordered us to help your team, after he had learnt of Gato's involvement. How do you think I learned the rasengan and the Kage Bunshin, except from him?"

"And your sword?" the jounin asked, narrowing his eyes.

Kazama smiled, showing it to the man. "It's the real one. We stole it from the snake."

"You stole Orochimaru's sword?"

"Yes," he confirmed, even if he hadn't 'stolen' it, but earned. "That's what convinced Jiraiya to send us for this mission." The vessel decided to deviate the conversation on the truly important matters. "He didn't want his godson to be in danger."

Hook, line, and sinker. And it worked. Kakashi glared. "How do you know that?"

"Is it really important to know that this Naruto Uzumaki is in reality Naruto Namikaze, son of the Yondaime Hokage and of Kushina Uzumaki?" he asked rhetorically.

"It's an S-Rank secret!" he declared. "You can't talk about that casually."

"Your civilians talk casually about the Kyuubi being contained within your female student," the vessel pointed out. "Your secrets aren't the safest of the Ninja World."

"Perhaps," the man agreed. "It's a situation I'm uncomfortable with. If anybody knows about our Jinchuuriki, and about my sensei's son…"

"Not everybody is aware of his parentage," Kazama stated, "but I must admit I'm interested on who adopted him."

"Nobody did," Kakashi replied. "You already know Jiraiya didn't, so he stayed an orphan."

"The son of our village's greatest hero, an orphan?" he narrowed his eyes. "Except Jiraiya, you were the most fit to adopt him. Why didn't you?"

Kakashi chuckled sadly. "I was a dysfunctional adolescent that killed people all the time for the village, and that collected porn during his spare time. You really think I would have been a good role model?"

_It would have been better to have a bad role model than none at all!_ Kazama yelled inwardly. The rage accumulated over a lifetime of loneliness filled his mind, but he managed to hide it. "It would have been better than facing the ordeals of being an orphan alone."

Kakashi closed his only eye. "Yes," he admitted. "I couldn't support the idea to adopt a carbon copy of my dear sensei, not when his disappearance had left a huge hole in my heart."

Kazama's face twisted into a terrifying display of anger and hatred. "That's your excuse? You left him to suffer all his childhood because he looked like the Yondaime?" he yelled. Fortunately, the soundproof jutsu prevented anyone from hearing him shout. _That's the reason I suffered all my life? Because you couldn't stop thinking about my father? _He narrowed his eyes.

"You disgust me," he said. "You sicken me. You shouldn't be their teacher."

The man didn't react. "You're right," he agreed, with an emotionless voice. Kazama was completely taken aback by this statement. He had expected him to deny that, or to find an excuse, but…

"Each time I see him, I beat myself over this situation. Now, when I see him, I realize that I have failed Minato, and ignored my duty. I'm fully aware I don't deserve to even teach him, and it's agonizing."

Kazama eyed him, the rage vanishing. Well… not totally. Yes, he was still angry at him, but… he didn't know how to react at that display of regret.

"I've made mistakes all my life, and I know I will have to pay for them one day, in this world or the next," he stated. "I know I'm beyond forgiveness, and seriously, I don't know how to atone for my failures."

The rage returned. "Then begin by teaching them correctly!" he snarled. "They don't even know tree-walking after weeks! They're a bunch of untrained rookies! With their potential, they could reach true greatness if you had taken the time to-"

Insane amount of killing intent interrupted his rant. Kakashi glared at Kazama. "You think it's my choice?" he replied with a harsh tone. "You really think I want them to be so outmatched? To be killed by a monster like Kisame?"

Kazama faced the glare, even if he flinched slightly. "Then who is responsible?"

"Konoha's high-command," he answered. "You really think my superiors want the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki to be strong on her own?"

The sentence silenced Kazama, who widened his eyes. _The conspiracy, again?_ "Sakura perhaps, but why not the two others?"

Kakashi frowned. "Because Team 7 won't exist beyond the Chuunin Exams. It isn't meant to."

Kazama frowned. What was he talking about? "Explain."

"Team 7 mustn't pass the new Chuunin Exams," he declared. "They must _fail_. That's why I'm not authorized to teach them anything beyond the basics."

Kazama's jaw dropped. "But that doesn't have any advantage!"

"I'm afraid, but there is a few. The next Exam will be within Konoha, where Team 7 will be completely protected and out of danger. If they fail during the parts that aren't shown to the public, Konoha's high command will use that as an excuse to remove Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura from the normal Shinobi program. You know what happened to Sasuke's family?"

Kazama nodded.

"He's obsessed after killing Itachi, which is a lost cause for the higher-ups. Sasuke possesses the last Sharingan, and is the last hope the village has to resurrect the Uchiha Clan. They won't risk him for the sake of his revenge, especially since Sasuke doesn't hold a candle to Itachi, who was an ANBU captain at the same age. After his defeat, Konoha will 'convince' him, I don't want to know how, to stay in the village, where he would be used to breed a new generation of Uchiha."

"He would never let his revenge go," Kazama pointed out. "No words will ever convince him to let Itachi escape his grasp."

"You think he will have a choice?" Kakashi asked. "And I doubt our leaders are above brainwashing people. We have already seen that with Root."

The mere idea of seeing Sasuke acting like Sai was sickening. He was a human, not an emotionless machine, who could never disobey. "That's insane."

"I know, but I can't do a damn thing about it," the jounin said. "I have briefly thought about deserting, but Konoha would never leave us alone. And the other villages would probably be even more ruthless in dealing with us."

"And if, by some miracle, he succeeded in participating in the public ordeals?" Kazama asked, remembering the Exams of his homeworld.

"Then I will probably be ordered to train him," Kakashi declared. "The Sharingan can allow anyone to make huge progresses in a very short amount of time. In this case, Sasuke will probably become a Chuunin… and the only missions he will receive will be in Konoha itself. I think that Konoha will have Itachi killed, even if I seriously doubt it's possible, and announce it to him. Without his revenge, he will have no other goal but to restore his clan. It's a win-win situation, unless he were to die, but the proctors will probably protect him from anything."

_Except Orochimaru_, he wanted to add. The snake had been the wrench in Konoha's plan, the only variable they hadn't thought of… with disastrous results. "And about Sakura?" he asked.

"I don't know," Kakashi said. "If the team doesn't pass, then either she'll be removed from the Shinobi program, if the Hokage has his way, or else she will be trained as Konoha's weapon. If she overcomes the public ordeals, then I will probably be forbidden from teaching her. She will either loose handily, or pass with the Kyuubi's help. My superiors want to witness the power of the Bijuu in its full glory."

_That explain many things_, Kazama realized. _Why I haven't been trained very much, among other things_. "And if she does become a Chuunin?"

"It's the best scenario," Kakashi said. "She will continue her career, unless the most extremists of Konoha's rulers convince the Hokage to make her a weapon, which I doubt they will. Once a ninja becomes a Chuunin, only the Hokage can decide their fate, and he always had a soft spot for her. In all cases, Naruto will leave Team 7 for an apprenticeship, either as a genin or a chuunin, probably under me or another person." He sighed. "That is, if we survive our next battle with Kisame's team. Your help will be critical."

Kazama thought about the whole situation. While he now knew that Orochimaru was telling the truth, a fact he hated to the very bone, he was presented with the possibility of preventing future tragedies. He could reveal the truth to Kakashi, and offer Team 7 the opportunity of leaving this world for another, thus saving their existence. But then Sasuke wouldn't be able to kill Itachi… but if he was innocent, like in Kazama's homeworld, then it was for the best.

It would also protect Konoha from Akatsuki. They were after the Bijuu, and with the Kyuubi missing, whatever plan they had would crumble…

"Kakashi-san," he said, after reaching a decision. "I have something to confess."

"What?" the man asked, eying the teenager, who smiled.

"You see, I have lied about my identity. In reality, I'm…"

Shock spread across Kakashi's face.

* * *

><p>"Do you really need to use your senbon that way?" Zabuza growled to his two disciples, as he was lying on a bed. Kisame was in the same position next to him, and the two fake hunter-nins were standing in front of them.<p>

"I had to, Zabuza-sama," Haku said as she caressed a sleepy Samehada, who barked happily. "We were outmatched and outnumbered. I had no choice but to fake your death, just in case."

"It was the only thing to do," Kimimaro declared. "The bridge-builder had escaped and Kakashi's reinforcements had arrived. Fighting them would have been hazardous, while staying low for a while will give us the time to regain our strength and attack again. And this time we'll fight at your side, Zabuza-sama."

The swordsman frowned, but stayed silent. He could see the wisdom in his apprentice's words, as always. Kimimaro had been the voice of reason of the group, ever since Zabuza had adopted him after his clan's destruction.

He and Haku were the children he had never given birth to. They were his greatest achievements, his most loyal followers. They were strong… strong enough to kill the Konoha-nins and their helpers.

Speaking of them… "Does anybody know anything about our surprise opponents?" he asked.

"No," Kimimaro said. "And it bothers me. I have searched in the data we've collected, but this Arashi family is totally unknown, which shouldn't be the case since they're powerful and organized enough to attack you and Kisame-senpai."

The swordsman squinted. "ANBU?"

"Perhaps," Kisame muttered. He was still weak and suffering from his lungs' injuries. "It might explain something about that fox creature."

"What do you mean, Kisame-sama?" Haku questioned him.

"During our battle, the creature had been briefly covered with a cloak of chakra… an inhuman chakra, like Yagura's. He might be a Jinchuuriki."

Zabuza's face twisted into a stupor. "You're implying the others were his handlers?"

"Yes," the missing-nin confirmed. "He's crazy, so they must be with him to keep him on a leash."

Kimimaro frowned. "Then a Ninja Village is probably implicated. Since Kakashi didn't expect their arrival, they mustn't be working for Konoha."

"But which Hidden Village would have an interest in protecting the bridge-builder?" Haku wondered. "I mean, to the point of sending a Jinchuuriki, a weapon of mass destruction, to accomplish this task?"

Zabuza frowned. "I don't know. Maybe they were aware of our involvement. Kisame is on the level of a Bijuu, so they must have sent this beast to kill him."

"Perhaps," Kisame conceded. "But it doesn't change the fact we'll have to fight them again, if we want to kill the bridge-builder. I don't know if fighting a Jinchuuriki is worth what Gato is currently paying us."

"But if we break the contract, it'll be hard to find another job," Kimimaro stated. "However, we can sell this Jinchuuriki to another Village…"

"That's a good idea, boy," Kisame smirked. "Right after Zabuza and I have recuperated, we will attack them. And this time, we'll crush them all."

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Normal<em>**

"Okay," Naruto began. "Who wants to play ninja-poker?"

Everyone looked at him, and he smiled. He was sitting near a table, with cards in his hand. He stared at the kids present. "You know, I'm pretty bored right now, and Kakashi-sensei won't teach us anything for awhile. Why not amuse ourselves?"

They stayed silent, before the boy in green, Chibaku, sat too. "You've got a player." He locked eyes with the girl, Akane. "Want to play?"

"Of course!" she said, as she imitated him. The duo looked at their brother, Kitsune, who sighed. "Why not? It might be amusing."

Naruto looked at Sakura and Sasuke. "And you?"

"Sure!" the girl shouted.

The Uchiha only shrugged. "I've no time for games."

"Ninja-poker is a special game," Chibaku said. "It's also an exercise to gather information."

The prodigy raised his eyebrows, and Naruto sighed. "The rules are simple: it's like normal poker, except that cheating is allowed and encouraged."

"The goal is to know what the others have in their hands, and protect what you have," Chibaku explained. "Everything short of outright violence or physical extortion is allowed, even theft. It increase your awareness and your ability to notice traps."

Sasuke was many things, but an idiot he wasn't. He could recognize the value in such a game, and a thoughtful look formed on his face. "Why not?" he decided, as he sat.

Naruto smirked, and he began to distribute the cards… and noticed Chibaku replacing his own with those he had hidden within his sleeves. _So there is at least one professional amongst my enemies. But so am I_, Naruto thought as did the same trick.

_I've the feeling this stay is going to be fun._

* * *

><p>Somewhere in the ocean, air twisted. A tempest formed from nowhere, amongst flashes of lights.<p>

Three men were standing on the water.

_We are coming for you, world wanderers,_ Madara thought. _Just wait for us._

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's notes:<em>**

Yeah, I tried to explain some of the things in canon that really ticked me off, and to fill some plot holes in canon. How much I have succeeded is to my readers' guess.

The next chapter, _Bonds_, is under construction.


	8. Chapter 8: Bonds

Here is the new chapter of Echoes. Once again, I have to thank my Betas for their precious help. This chapter is the longest to date, because I'm trying to condense the Waves Arc within six chapters.

Also, I have found a way to avoid confusion. Each Naruto will use his alias name to design himself and the others.

Traveler/Original Naruto: Kazama Arashi.

Female Naruto: Naruko Arashi.

Puppeteer Naruto: Chibaku Arashi.

Werefox Naruto: Kitsune Arashi.

Deceiver/Original Madara: Tsukiyomi.

Destroyer/Rinnegan Madara: Susanoo.

Warrior/Collector Madara: Amaterasu.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! Thanks my betas and all reviewers.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Eight: Bonds<strong>_

"Royal Flush!" Naruko shouted, much to the horror of the other players, especially Sasuke, whose jaw dropped when his all-in failed, busting him out of the game. He was following Sakura and Kitsune, leaving only three players around the table, all expert players.

Well… not really. While Chibaku was an experienced cheater, having learned all the tricks from Sasori, and his newest counterpart was apparently good at the game too, if the slight alteration of his cards was of any indication, Naruko was simply lucky.

_Insanely _lucky.

"I fold," he said.

"I fold too," his other-self imitated him.

"What? Again?" Naruko questioned. "That's the third consecutive time!"

_And that's the third time you can do a Royal Flush. _"Well, I don't have a good hand," Chibaku lied through his teeth. In reality, he had four of a kind.

"I only have two pairs," the 'normal' Naruto smiled. "And I have the feeling you are on a lucky streak."

_No, it's not merely luck, _the blonde puppeteer thought. _Three Royal Flushes, two four of a kind, one Straight Flush… that's beyond chance. Either she's a better cheater than the two of us, which I doubt, or fate has decided to screw with me today._

_**Somehow, I have the feeling it is the second possibility, **_the Kyuubi whispered. _**It is so hard to resist making you cry…**_

After receiving a new hand, Chibaku immediately knew he would have to back down. "I fold."

"AGAIN?" Naruko yelled. "What's the problem? Are you a coward?"

"I'm a survivalist," he replied. "It's not cowardice, it's strategy."

She snorted. "Yeah, I believe you."

"All-in."

Chibaku, and the more cunning members of the audience, stared at the boy in green, as if he had lost his mind… which he probably had. "Are you suicidal?"

The genin smiled at the young puppeteer. "What can I say, I'm a gambler."

"Ah, now there is someone courageous among us!" Naruko smirked.

Chibaku face palmed, and closed his eyes. "I don't want to see that."

_**But it's going to be funny! He's going to be humiliated, like the Uchiha! Don't be an idiot!**_

_Sorry, but since it's me who will loose after him, it will be like watching at a picture of my future._

_**That's the point, moron! I will not see your face, but I want to see his!**_

Commanded by a demonic will, Chibaku opened his eyelids, just in time for the showdown.

His other-self had a Straight Flush.

Naruko had a Royal Flush, _again_.

Chibaku had to admit that the face of the blonde genin was indeed priceless… but then the puppeteer noticed the flat-lady's evil smirk, as she locked eyes with him. "Now, it's between you and me…"

_It's going to suck._

_**Hard,**_ the Kyuubi confirmed, laughing.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Traveler, Kazama<em>**

"Let me get this straight," Kakashi demanded. "You're all alternate versions of Naruto and of a powerful missing-nin, who jump through different realities where history changed."

"Yes."

"Somehow, three alternate versions of Madara Uchiha followed you, and beat the crap out of you, before you successfully teleported away. So you're hiding on this island, training and preparing for them to attack you again?"

"Yes."

"And you want to recruit Team 7, and Kisame's group to face them?"

"Yes."

"And you seriously expect them and my group to accept?"

"Yes."

There was a long silence.

"I cannot believe it," Kakashi finally declared. "It can't be possible."

Kazama smiled. "And yet, you do know I'm telling you the truth."

"Yes," the jounin confirmed, massaging his temples. "It explains all the strange crap about your group, and especially the demonic chakra I noticed during our fight against Kisame." He sighed. "This is crazy."

"I know. I scarcely believe it myself," he admitted. "But things happened so fast I didn't have much time to think about it."

Kakashi stared at him with a strange expression. It was a mix of astonishment, compassion and… sadness? "You have my congratulations. I would have gone mad if I had been in your place."

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei," Kazama said reflexively, which made the man flinch. The world wanderer inwardly cursed himself. _I really have to keep my mouth shut._

"Was I a good teacher?" he asked, with a pained look.

The vessel hesitated to reveal the truth, but then Kakashi closed his eyes. "Your silence tells everything," he stated. "How bad was I?"

"As incompetent as you are now," the teenager said bluntly, which made the man's facial expression worsen. "But since Kisame wasn't working with Zabuza in my homeworld, you only taught us tree-climbing. Or at least you only taught me this, since you personally trained Sasuke."

The jounin looked as if he was facing death. "I never wanted this."

Kazama inwardly cringed. He had the feeling one more bad word would send the man into depression. It was time to cheer him up a bit. "I know, and you're not fully responsible for what happened. The people who forced you to act like that were and still are."

"But if I had been more courageous, or more inventive…" he trailed off.

"We would have been removed from your care, and things might have been even worse," the vessel countered. "As much as I loath to admit it, events couldn't have happened otherwise."

The jounin chuckled. "Perhaps in another universe, then."

"Maybe," the vessel agreed. "Why not witness it together?"

Kakashi didn't answer the question immediately, and stayed immobile, probably considering the proposition. Then, he seemed to reach a decision. "After we put an end to Gato's tyranny, I will explain the situation to my team. Team 7 will come to an agreement as a group. If we accept, we will solve some of the still existing problems, like Itachi."

"About it," Kazama said, "I would want you to give me some precise facts…"

"I don't know anything beyond the fact that he butchered his clan, if it is what you desire to know," the jounin cut in. "If you want explanations, you will have to meet the Sandaime."

The vessel nodded. "Perhaps we will." He locked eyes with Kakashi. "Now, a more pressing subject. How did Sakura end up with the Kyuubi?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at him. "I have no idea about what to say. The Kyuubi attacked our Konoha, like in your world. Why the Yondaime sealed it within Sakura, and not inside your belly? Many answers are possible to this question. Perhaps she was the closest child, perhaps the beast fought differently… I can't answer your interrogations."

Kazama sighed. The man wasn't very helpful… for now, at least. "Is my counterpart aware of his origins?"

"He hasn't learned about the Yondaime yet, but he does know he is related to the Uzumaki Clan." Kakashi chuckled. "It was hard to hide it, once his special chakra began to manifest itself."

_This _caught the demon container's full attention. "He has the special chakra?"

"It's in its early stages of development, but yeah, he has it."

_It was to be expected, _Kazama thought_. Without a demon sealed within his belly, screwing around with his chakra, his gift must have formed naturally. _"I'm happy for him," the teenager declared. "Can he learn ninjutsu quickly?"

"Yes," Kakashi nodded. "Intensive training should awaken Sasuke's sharingan, and Sakura's shadow clones are an incredible learning tool. With a few team sessions, the trio should be of low-chuunin level within the next three days. Not enough to fight neither Zabuza nor Kisame, but my students should be able to defend themselves against their apprentices."

"If everything goes along with our plan, then there won't be a fight at all, in the best case," the vessel said reassuringly. "But better to be prepared than to be killed. The negotiations might end badly."

"You have no idea of how many times I've seen an advantageous situation going straight to hell," the jounin stated. "No plan survives its contact with the enemy."

Kazama nodded in agreement, before locking eyes with the man. "I have one last question."

"Please, tell it."

"How were… how were my parents?"

Silence installed itself within the room, and Kakashi did not move for a moment.

"They were the greatest people I have ever known," the man declared. "Your mother, Kushina, was very beautiful. She had long red hair and purple eyes. She was very kind, if a bit hyperactive. Loyal to her friends, and ready to sacrifice her life for her loved ones. She was one of the strongest kunoichi I have ever seen, and probably the greatest seal master of all times. She was feared as the 'red menace' of Konoha."

He smiled. "Your father, Minato, was my teacher. He was a charismatic and level-headed leader, and a good man. He was feared at the 'yellow flash' of Konoha, and the strongest ninja to have ever lived. You look a lot like him, but you have your mother's face. He was handsome, with a lot of fan-girls. Dozens of women cried when he began to date Kushina." His expression was nostalgic. "They were heroes, in all the senses of the term. I can tell you a thousand stories about them, but none is as glorious as they were. You can be proud of your parentage."

The demon vessel closed his eyes, imagining himself in their arms. "Thank for your answers," Kazama said, before rising up. "Our teammates are probably wondering what the hell we're doing." He gave his old teacher a hand. "Want to come?"

"With joy," the man replied as he shook hand with the vessel, like two accomplices formalizing their alliance.

Once the duo reached the salon, they found a very strange scene. Five children were pale, and looking at five cards on a table. Naruko was grinning widely, and maliciously touching a large sum of money, much to the despair of the others. Chibaku especially looked downright depressed.

"Okay," Kakashi muttered. "What happened?"

"Nothing," five of them answered, while Naruko's smile only widened. "Nothing at all."

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Ice Princess, Haku<em>**

"What do you mean, your masters aren't ready to receive me?" Gato snarled. "I am your boss!"

"Zabuza-sama's orders are clear," Haku said to the little businessman and his bodyguards. "He is occupied, and Kisame-sama too." They were resting behind the door, and did not want to be disturbed. Especially by an arrogant dwarf and his cronies.

The man frowned. "I don't give a damn about their wishes! I'm their boss!"

Kimimaro shook his head. "You are our employer, nothing more. We will accomplish the task you paid us for, but that is all."

Gato glared at them. "You didn't! The bridge-builder is still alive, and the trashes you call masters have fled with their tail bet-"

A strong hand interrupted the midget's rant, by grabbing his throat. Kimimaro effortlessly lifted him in the air, with an emotionless look on his face. It had happened so fast that the two thugs behind the businessman were still under the effect of surprise.

"I won't let an inferior vermin like you insult our teachers," the Kaguya declared. "Have I made myself clear?"

Waves' tyrant was pissing himself. "Kill th-"

A second later, his bodyguards were transformed into two statues of ice by a quick jutsu from Haku. Gato paled even more.

"If you do not want to be transformed into a snowman," she declared with a cold tone, "you will have to apologize."

The dwarf locked eyes with her, his rage overwhelming his fear. "My men will inform Kiri of your location if I'm not back to my base within the hour!"

"And?" Haku asked, completely unfazed. "The Village is in the middle of a civil war, right now. Our presence here is the last thing they care about. You will have to find a better threat."

Kimimaro smirked. "You know, an hour is enough to make you loose a few limbs… a minute will suffice, in fact." Four horns of bones formed on his head, giving him a demonic look. "So apologize."

"I'm sorry!" the coward shouted. "I'm truly sorry!"

The Kaguya dropped him on the floor. "Much better." The businessman got up and escaped at full speed.

"He runs rather fast for his height," Haku noticed.

Kimimaro chuckled. "If he tries to menace us again, his speed won't matter at all."

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Traveler, Kazama<em>**

In the forest near Tsunami's home, Kazama eyed his gathered counterparts, minus Kakashi's student, who had left to train with his teacher, much to the teenager's pleasure. Sasori was with them, standing under a tree, and his werefox-self had new, clean clothes, offered by Tazuna. It was only a white shirt and black boxers, but the boy had been happy to receive a gift.

"Before we begin this lesson," the oldest Naruto announced, "I want to know what you know about your family."

The crowd did not respond immediately. The teenager sighed. _Just as I expected, they are still in the dark._

"My parents were two ninjas whom I do not know anything about, beyond that they sacrificed themselves during the Kyuubi's attack," Naruko answered, breaking the awkward silence. "At least, that's what Sandaime-jiji told me when I tried to learn who they were."

"My parents were a beggar and a whore, who got rid of me at the first chance they had," Kitsune said, scowling. "That's the response I have always got when I asked the question."

Kazama eyed him with seriousness. What kind of sick people had been vicious enough to tell that to a child? "It's completely wrong."

"Yeah!" Naruko cheered him up. "Don't believe these lies! I'm sure they loved you, but died during the Kyuubi's attack, like mine!"

The boy seemed relieved, as if he had been freed of chains he had thought unbreakable. "Thanks."

"Don't!" she shouted. "After all the horrors you suffered in your life, you deserve to feel happy."

He reddened a bit. "Well, let me thank you anyway."

"Anyway," Chibaku cut in. "My parents, too, were ninjas who died during the Kyuubi's attack, so it might be an universal fact. I don't know about my dad, but mom's name was Kushina Uzumaki, and she was related to the famous Uzumaki clan."

Kazama nodded. "Kushina Uzumaki was our mother, to us all. She was effectively a member of the Uzumaki clan, the rulers of the Land of Whirlpool. Unfortunately, another nation destroyed them, and most of their knowledge."

"During my travels," Sasori continued the explanation, "I recuperated some of the last scrolls created by this clan, containing information on their techniques. I intended to keep them for later, but…"

"The Uchiha Trio came," his apprentice guessed.

"Yes," Kazama nodded. "They're far too strong for us as we are now. They underestimated us last time, they allowed their pride to take over their reason, but I doubt they will make the same mistake next time." He showed them the scrolls, and put them on the ground. The group gathered around them to observe these artifacts more closely. "So we're going to train. Intensively."

"How can we surpass three Kage-level ninjas within a few days?" his puppeteer-counterpart asked. "Not to sound pessimistic, but we have a lot to learn in a very short time."

"You're right," the teenager conceded. "But we have the Kage Bunshin to correct that. Naruko and your other counterpart already know it, and I have explained the technique to Sasori a short while ago. He will teach it to you, my puppeteer-me."

"But why will it help us?" Naruko asked. "Solid clones are helpful, and they make good adversaries for spars, but beyond that…"

Kazama smiled. "The Kage Bunshin was originally a spying tool, because of one of its main features. Each time a shadow clone is dissipated, its memories return to the original. If a thousand clones practice a hundred jutsu during a whole week, you will absorb all their knowledge and experience."

"This is fantastic!" his female-self jumped on place. "With our chakra reserves, just imagine how many clones we can make!"

Chibaku nodded in understanding. "It will be an amazing shortcut."

The teenager nodded, before locking eyes with Kitsune. "Since you have some difficulties with the technique, I will teach you first some exercises to increase your chakra control." The boy nodded silently.

"And now, let's open the scrolls," Kazama declared. "I only read a small part of the White Tiger, and only about some wind techniques."

They all focused on the paper, once the vessel's chakra revealed the words on the paper. Kazama began to read out loud the beginning of the blue one.

"_The Azure Dragon is the bringer of the spring, that ends the winter to give life to the flowers. It is the one that protects the East, the keeper of the forests._

_To follow the Azure Dragon, is to follow the path of precision. He who commands the lightning must be fast and deadly, and strike to kill. The thunder doesn't announce where it will attack, but its judgment is absolute, and death always the punishment of he who defies the storm._

_The Azure Dragon is the master of energy. The Azure Dragon is powerful, but its judgment extreme. It kills but does not spare. The Azure Dragon mustn't use its power until its opponent is beyond salvation. If it wants to let its enemy lives for another day, the Azure Dragon redirects the energy of the adversary against him, preserving its own forces for the killing blow._

_The Azure Dragon believes in power above all else. It is the king of all kings, the one that no one should defy without being prepared to pay the ultimate price. Only those who are ready to be killed should have the right to take a life. Power is the essence of lightning, the sword of heaven. The Azure Dragon knows power is ephemeral and respects those who want to use it to achieve their vision, but loathes those who seek it for its own sake._

_He who follows the Azure Dragon seeks to live through fear, fear of its power and its judgment. He who follows the Azure Dragon knows the terror of the people is what keep their greed in check, and they act only when their pride overrules their prudence. He whose rages are rare but deadly will prevent a thousand battles, because his enemies will not attack him, and leave him in peace._"

"What is this gibberish?" Naruko asked. "I don't understand how this crap is supposed to help us train."

"On the contrary, I think it is important to listen," the blonde puppeteer said. "This prologue gives us a philosophy and wisdom."

"Exactly," Sasori stated. "The Uzumaki had five different schools of warriors, five branches, that each followed a particular way of life. They conceived things like war, peace, and power differently. Also, I noticed the premises of a fighting style within this text."

"A style that redirects the opponent's energy against him, and that is focused on precise, deadly blows?" Kitsune asked.

"Yes," he confirmed, before facing the teenager. "Please, continue to read, Kazama-san."

He obeyed, and took the red scroll.

"_The Vermillion Bird is the bringer of the summer, that ends the spring to make the flowers grow beyond birth. It is the one that protects the South, the keeper of the skies._

_To follow the Vermillion Bird is to follow the path of destruction. He who commands the fire must be powerful and remorseless, and hit to wound. The blaze doesn't fight, it consumes everything on its path, and its hunger is only satisfied once the whole world is devoured._

_The Vermillion Bird is the master of strength. The Vermillion Bird strikes to harm, and its advance cannot be stopped. The Vermillion Bird must break its opponent with strong and vicious blows. If it wants to protect itself, the Vermilion Bird counters strength with strength, and transforms the offense into defense, making attack the best of all shields._

_The Vermillion Bird believes in will above all else. It is the determined ruler, the one that no one should try to stop. Only those who are ready to fail in their goal should have the right to hinder the dreams of others. Will is the essence of fire, the drive of the inferno. The Vermillion Bird knows will is precious and respects those who struggle to achieve their goal, but loathes those who back down before the unknown and cower in fear of the obstacles._

_He who follows the Vermillion Bird seeks to live through war, a war that will allow him to gain the resources he needs. He who follows the Vermillion Bird knows that peace weaken the warriors, and that only his strength keeps his opponents from increasing their own. He who fights a hundred battles will win a thousand wars, because he will learn from his mistakes and keep his edge._"

He posed the scroll on the ground and took the white one.

"_The White Tiger is the bringer of the autumn, that ends the summer to leave life the time to prepare for colder days. It is the one that protects the West, the keeper of the plains._

_To follow the White Tiger is to follow the path of speed. He who commands the wind must be evasive and unrelenting, and attack all the time. The gust is always blowing, and its constant assault can make even the greatest mountain bow before the skies._

_The White Tiger is the master of breath. The White Tiger always surprise, and its blows are numerous. The White Tiger must use its power to continue to strike, until its enemy falls. If it wants to protect himself, the White Tiger avoids and evades, staying untouchable but never backing down, even before stronger than itself._

_The White Tiger believes in freedom above all else. It is the lone beast, the one that no one should try to restrain. Only those who are ready to be stripped of their freewill should have the right to enslave others. Freedom is the essence of the wind, the state of the skies. The White Tiger knows freedom is a constant fight and respects those who try to preserve their own, but loathes those who let their captors rule with impunity._

_He who follows the White Tiger seeks to live through trickery, a trickery that will allow him to redirect his enemy's efforts toward another menace. He who follows the White Tiger knows that peace never lasts, and that cunning is what protects him from destruction. He who manipulates his adversaries into infighting will be left alone forever, as ruinous wars will happen between others._"

Then, it was the turn of the black scroll.

"_The Black Tortoise is the bringer of the winter, that ends the autumn to make all creatures rest before the awakening. It is the one that protects the North, the keeper of the seas._

_To follow the Black Tortoise is to follow the path of resistance. He who commands the water must be swift and enduring, and counter all strikes. The waves face all obstacles and survive to all attacks, changing form to continue advancing._

_The Black Tortoise is the master of adaptation. The Black Tortoise waits for the opponent to come, to better counter his blows. The Black Tortoise must always pare, to better outlast. If it wants to attack, the Black Tortoise prepares and traps, being as patient as a calm river and as treacherous as a tempest, to exploit all weaknesses._

_The Black Tortoise believes in change above all else. It is the moving animal, the one that no one should try to immobilize. Only those who have achieved perfection should have the right to halt evolution. Change is the essence of the water, the drive of the sea. The Black Tortoise knows change is important and respects those who try to reshape the world, but loathes those who hinder transformations out of fear of what they do not control._

_He who follows the Black Tortoise seeks to rule through preparation, as preparations will make him foresee and prevent all problems. He who follows the Black Tortoise knows that dangers are always present, and that anticipation will preserve him from everything. He who is always on the defensive will survive until the twilight of the world, as his shield refines itself as time will pass._"

Finally, he read the prologue of the golden scroll.

"_The Golden Unicorn is the foundation of all seasons, that maintains the universal order by existing and nurturing life. It is the one that protects the Center, the keeper of the mountains._

_To follow the Golden Unicorn is to follow the path of survival. He who commands the earth must be determined and stubborn, and endure all blows. The land resists all assaults and stays still, healing from its wounds over the years._

_The Golden Unicorn is the master of stance. The Golden Unicorn is slow, taking its time to inflict crushing damages upon he who defies the rock. The Golden Unicorn must not avoid and must not flinch, to better prepare. If it wants to attack, the Golden Unicorn waits before striking, like a landslide tearing down everything in its path._

_The Golden Unicorn believes in stability above all else. It is the eternal pillar, the one that no ones should try to break. Only those who do not want to rule should have to right to take down the natural order. Stability is the essence of earth, the foundation of the world. The Golden Unicorn knows stability is fragile, and respects those who strive to create a better law, but loathes those who do not try to fight crime out of indifference._

_He who follows the Golden Unicorn seeks to live through harmony, an harmony that will keep him and his allies united against a common foe. He who follows the Golden Unicorn knows that being divided makes another's conquest easier, while solidarity enforces an everlasting peace. He who form bonds with others will preserve is own existence, as he will support and be supported._"

Kazama posed it. "The rest of the scrolls is organized the same way: a taijutsu section, a ninjutsu section, a genjutsu section, a fuuinjutsu section, a specialized section, unique to each scroll, and a coded version which I haven't been able to decipher." _Yet,_ he added inwardly. The language was simply incomprehensible, but the vessel was determined to crack the coding one day. "As you have understood, they are all linked to a single affinity."

"Affinity?" Naruko raised an eyebrow.

"One's chakra is familiar with one element," Sasori explained. "Fire, Water, Earth, Wind and Lightning. If you have an affinity for Wind, you will master aerial techniques faster and use them more easily." He took one piece of paper from his sleeves, and gave it to the werefox-Naruto. "Blood tests have showed me the affinity of most of you, but since you're the latest arrived... channel chakra in your fingers."

The boy obeyed, and the paper was cut in half. "You're Wind natured," the puppeteer stated. "Like everyone except Naruko."

"Hey, what am I?" the girl asked.

"For some reason, you are oriented toward Water," Sasori stated. "You probably inherited that from your mother Kushina."

"So I will be able to create tsunamis?" Naruko squealed. "AWESOME!"

"Not yet," Kazama said, before smiling. "But in time, why not?"

"Yeah," she stood up. "Everyone, cower in fear of the almighty ruler of the sea, NARUKO 'TSUNAMI' UZUMAKI!"

The reactions to her outburst were mixed, going from cheers, to laughs, to sighs.

"Anyway," Sasori declared, "all of us will create as many clones as possible and train in specific techniques, chosen by I and Kazama-san. I will take you," he eyed his apprentice, "a bit away, so we can create stronger puppets in peace. I have a few ideas to counter the Madara Trio's intangibility."

"It promises to be great," the boy whispered.

"I," Kazama gazed at Naruko and Kitsune, "will be your tutor. We will go near the river, to train discreetly."

The two smiled. "Okay, Naruto-sensei," Naruko smirked cheerfully. "I want to train until I can't stand on my legs."

He nodded, but then noticed Sasori looking at him. "Can I do something for you?"

"Yes," the puppeteer said. "Can we talk in private, for a short while?"

The youngster frowned. "Why not?" they walked away, reaching a nearly river. "What do you want?"

"Your narration of your last battle with Zabuza ticked me off," he declared. "I want to test something. Do you have the time for a taijutsu spar?"

"Of course," he took a defensive stance. "It is about my fighting style, isn't it?" Kazama guessed.

"Yes," the missing-nin confirmed, before attacking.

The fight… went badly for the teenager. He parried most of the man's attacks at the beginning, and almost hit him once or twice, but then he got defeated. In a fast gesture, Sasori kicked the blonde's legs before punching him in the face with impressive strength, making Kazama fall on the ground. The redhead frowned, before helping the vessel rising up.

"I'm sure of it, now," he muttered. "Who taught you this style?"

"Ero-Sennin… I mean, Jiraiya," Kazama corrected himself. After refusing to adopt him, his godfather didn't even deserve a nickname anymore.

Sasori locked eyes with the teenager. "I have a truth to tell you… one that you won't appreciate."

Kazama scowled. "I suck at taijutsu, isn't it?"

"Worse," the man said. "I think your training has been sabotaged."

The teenager's eyes widened.

"Your style is full of flaws," Sasori explained bluntly. "It is effective, but an adversary experienced in taijutsu can notice glaring openings if he takes the time to observe it. There is a distinct pattern of attack, your legs are easy targets, you do not fully protect your head, you cannot defend yourself against a speed demon… you can face chuunin and most jounin, but you're a joke against someone that knows the basics of this style, or is sufficiently experienced to understand it mid-battle." He sighed. "Honestly, it's a miracle you're still alive."

Kazama stayed silent. _How can I be so weak? Jiraiya spend three years teaching me thi- _he paled, as a terrifying possibility came to his mind. "Sasori… are you implying that Jiraiya taught me a _flawed style on purpose_?"

"Yes."

The teenager didn't move. He didn't flinch. He didn't think. A few strays memories rushed through his mind, of his time with the toad Sannin, of _three long wasted years_.

And then, a rasengan shattered the ground. And another. And another, for five minutes. He continued to destroy the clearing, until his tiredness overcame his rage. The vessel was standing in the middle of a crater, Sasori gazing at him without showing any emotion. The puppeteer had stayed silent during the whole tantrum.

Having calmed himself, the teenager remembered the words within the blue scroll. "_He who commands the lightning must be fast and deadly, and strike to kill_," he muttered. "Sasori."

"Yes?"

"As soon as we can, we will find Jiraiya," the teenager's eyes were filled with hatred. "I will talk to him. And he will need a good excuse."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Sakura<em>**

Sasuke's sharingan activated, allowing him to avoid all of Naruto's kunai. The Uchiha's counterattack was a lot more violent. "Fire Release: Dragon's Breath!" The boy unleashed a cone of fire from his mouth.

His adversary put his hands together. "Wind Release: Aerial Wall!" A strong draft circled him, deflecting the fire on his sides and shielding him from the heat.

"Very good," their teacher praised them, while Sakura and her clones clapped their hands. It was the fifth match today, and the constant threat of injury had finally awakened Sasuke's bloodline, much to his pleasure. In fact, he had never seemed as happy as he was today.

"Now, the next match: Sakura and Naruto, ninjutsu only."

Sasuke retired beside Kakashi, and the girl took his place. Her clones exploded in a puff of smoke, and their memories were immediately assimilated by the original. They had practiced the techniques Kakashi-sensei had taught her the entire day. They were only two, but were versatile and hard to perform for a debutant.

The SCATM (aka Shadow Clone Advanced Training Method) was truly efficient, and a formidable shortcut. The cursed fox had least one advantage…

Naruto slightly bowed before her. "Let's make this battle memorable, Sakura-chan."

She smiled. "I intend to, Naruto-kun." It was perhaps the time to impress her crush. The girl had never mustered the courage to ask the blonde out, but with the current situation, she had the feeling she would soon…

"I won't go easy on you," he said.

"I know." A fact she secretly hated. Sakura had hoped Naruto would be a bit more gentleman-like with her.

"Begin!" Kakashi shouted.

"Wind Release: Violent Wind Palm!" the blonde boy clapped his hands together, and a powerful gale blew toward Sakura.

"Water Release: Tornado of Water!" a spinning vortex of liquid, formed from the water her clones had gathered in a gourd, shielded her from the wind. The girl struggled to maintain the protection until the wind ceased to menace her, but Naruto fortunately ended his attack before her defense could crumble. She decided to attack. "Water Release: Violent Water Wave!" Water gushed out from the girl's mouth like a waterfall toward Naruto.

"Wind Release: Beast Tearing Palm!" Summoning chakra in his right hand, the blonde swung his arm. A wave of air sliced the jet of water, but did not reach Sakura. Naruto gritted his teeth. "Not strong enough."

"Yet," Kakashi said. "You still lack in speed. By repeating the same moves again and again, your wind will soon be able to cut everything, even rock."

"Well, at least it didn't cut me in half!" Sakura shouted. "How was I, Kakashi-sensei?" she asked him, even thought the real target of the question was Naruto.

"Very good!" He smiled. "Your progress is impressive. At this rate, I'm going to teach you a B-Rank ninjutsu within the next days."

She jumped on place. "I'm the best!"

"Anyway," her sensei declared. "It's almost night. We stop for today. Tomorrow, we will practice these techniques again, until you're able to use them to their full potential."

The students nodded, and began to walk on the way of Tazuna's house. Naruto approached her, and she did her best to maintain a confident façade. "You were great, Sakura-chan," he declared, smiling. "Way better than me!"

She smirked. "Thank you. You were good too." Damn, that was lame. She had to ask him out…

"Not as much as you," he said. "I must say that at first, I thought you would simply be a dead-weight, but now, we're going to be a great team."

Her blood froze, but she managed to hide it. Her crush had considered her a dropout? It was only now than he viewed her as competent? And his next words… she was simply a teammate for him. Sakura forced herself to smile, this smile her mother taught her to present every time she was unhappy. "You see, I'm going to be the first female Hokage ever!"

"You will have to defeat me first!" he shouted amically. "From now on, we're rival for the title!"

_Yes… rivals_, the girl thought. _Not friends. _Her mother's last words filled her mind.

_Who would love a monster?_

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Girl, Naruko<em>**

She got her wish. Naruko's clones vanished, and she attacked.

"Water Release: Snake's Mouth!" She transformed the water from the nearly river into a liquid snake, which tried to bite Naruto-sensei, who only moved his hands.

"Wind Release: Heat Wave!" A powerful hot gust of wind evaporated the snake, before sending Naruko flying away and crash on the grass. She rose up immediately, and the boss looked at her with concern. "Are you hurt?" he asked.

"Not at all," the girl replied. "I have recuperated from my injuries, so it's no big deal. The furball has at least one use." A big fox roared in the back of her mind. She ignored it, beginning another jutsu. "Water Release: Stormy Blockade."

Normally, this technique transformed the humidity in the air into concentrated liquid, but since Naruko did not have enough experience, she used the river again, forming a stream that flooded the clearing. Unfortunately, her teacher used his Heat Wave again, and pushed the water back, much to her unhappiness.

"Your techniques are good, but too predictable," Naruto-sensei stated. "Try to push your opponent toward the water, so you can enchain them faster and reduce your adversary's movements."

"Okay," the girl said. "Next time, I will use my clones to push my enemies near a water source."

The teenager nodded. "Remember the scroll: water doesn't charge, it traps." He turned around, and eyed his foxy-double, who was still trying to reach the top of a tree, without much success. "Are you still having problems?"

"The voices are disturbing me," the boy answered, as he stared at the shaft. "They are shouting in my mind, undoing my focus."

"Then tell them it's for their own good," Naruto-sensei put a palm on his shoulder. "They will die with you, if you stay weak."

"They say they're strong enough," Kitsune replied, holding his head with his hands. "They say I must rely on them, since they are me."

"Well," Naruko frowned, "these voices are stupid. They got crushed by Amaterasu, and without Kakashi's help they would have lost against Kisame! They are strong, but not invincible!" She hated to see someone being kept on leash like a dog, and especially by disembodied sounds.

"She's right," her teacher declared. "You have to develop your own abilities if you want to survive against these enemies."

He stayed silent a moment. "The voices say that exceptionally, they will agree, as long as it is about destructive techniques."

"And about chakra control?"

"They say I don't need it. They can 'fix' that problem anytime they want."

Naruto-sensei looked thoughtful. "So that's why you were able to walk on water during your fight with Kisame… your inner demons were controlling your chakra…"

Kitsune nodded. "But they say they can't help with the Kage Bunshin. Apparently, when I duplicate myself, I create doubles of them too, and without enough chakra to support them, the clones implode."

"Well, crap," the boss scowled. "Since your werefox is strong on his own, why not teach you a few jutsu that could be used with it too? Like fire and wind techniques? So many options…"

"Why not wait for tomorrow?" his male student asked. "The night is near."

"Ah…" he trailed off, before observing the sky. "You're unfortunately right. We'll continue the next day."

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Puppeteer, Chibaku<em>**

"How was your training today?" Kazama asked him, as soon as they entered the house.

"It was… terrifying," the blonde puppeteer finally answered, and Sasori smirked… the creepy bastard.

They had gone on a search of material, aka hunting human beings to transform them into living puppets. Gato's thugs, mostly, the sort of guys nobody was going to miss. Chibaku had done that many times, so it was something habitual…

But this _one day_, Sasori had forced him to help with the _procedure_.

Trying to dispel the disturbing memories of the last instants of these poor brigands, the boy decided to drop the subject. "And yours?"

"Useful," the teenager declared. "First of all, we've all begun to practice some techniques, two from each scroll, and I have begun to practice the Azure Dragon's taijutsu style." The blonde puppeteer briefly noticed a glint of scorn within Kazama's eyes. "I think that our accelerated training will allow us to master these jutsu within the three days before Kisame's team assault the bridge."

"Good," Sasori stated. "Our counter to the Madara Trio's intangibility will also be finished quickly. However, it's still a prototype, so I can't affirm it will work."

_Kabuto will be avenged_, Chibaku promised. _His assassins will pay._

"Well, it's better than nothing," the teenager replied. They reached the dinning room, where everyone was waiting for them. The table was laid, and the trio sat. Soon, Tsunami came with the food and the rest of her family.

The dinner went well. Sasuke was smirking and talking with Chibaku's normal and werefox selves, while Naruko was talking with Sakura, about something girly, if their squeals were of any indication. Inari was sulking silently on a corner of the table, eying the blonde girl. Tazuna and Sasori were debating about the best way to construct bridges. Kakashi… was reading porn, much to Tsunami's obvious displeasure.

The blonde puppeteer wondered how the man could eat while reading… and then realized that the book was there to hide his mouth! The jerk had taken his mask off, but was dead-set on keeping his whole face a mystery of the age.

Tsunami's interactions with his older counterpart were truly funny. The woman was gazing at him sideway, and the young ninja was completely oblivious of her crush. Chibaku could understand the lady's actions. Her prey was handsome, cute, friendly, charismatic, and polite. A true gentleman. If he was more… decisive, he would be a lady-killer in no time.

When she got up to bring the dessert, Chibaku approached Kazama. "When are you going to make a pass at our hostess?"

He locked eyes with him, frowning questioningly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Damn, you can't be that dense," the blonde puppeteer whispered. "Just look at her, she's has been eying you since the beginning of the dinner. She's hitting on you."

"She's more than ten years older than I am," the teenager pointed out. "And looks doesn't equal to attraction."

Chbaku rolled his eyes. "You can't be that naïve…and who cares about her age? Experienced women are always out for young blood. She's a babe. You're a handsome teenager with hormones. Get to work."

"And what am I supposed to tell her?" he replied, slightly blushing.

The puppeteer rolled his eyes. "Let me guess, you have never been on a date with a girl before?"

The teenager's obvious embarrassment gave him his needed answer. The boy put his hands together. He called that the 'Sasori's lecture' pose. "Compliment her. Praise her courage, her looks, whatever. Not too much, but enough to flatter her. Ask questions about her personally, show interest in her. Believe me, these tricks always work."

"And may I ask how do you know that?"

Chibaku grinned sheepishly. "Well, one of Sasori's agents detailed them to me, after his last 'researches', if you see what I mean…"

_**It was the worst day in my entire life: the day you developed a perverted streak.**_

_I already told you, I'm not a pervert._

The Tailed Beast snorted. _**Still in denial, as I see…**_

Ignoring the creature, the blonde puppeteer noticed Tsunami returning, and stared at his counterpart. "Make me proud. Make us all proud."

"What are you talking about?" the woman asked as she sat beside Kazama, giving him her best smile.

"Well…"

"We were talking about you," the puppeteer interrupted the teenager. "Kazama-san was amazed by your cooking skills."

"Really?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes," Naruto's double nodded vehemently. "I really like it. In fact, I wonder where you learnt to prepare these wonderful meals."

Tsunami reddened at the compliment. "It is natural, but I think I began to…"

And the conversation continued, much to Chibaku's amusement. While he knew Tsunami won't score with the teenager, since they would probably leave this world soon, it was still fun to see that attraction could blossom everywhere, even if it was temporary.

He quickly noticed someone else observing the scene. Hidden behind his Icha Icha book, Kakashi Hatake was eying the pair with interest. Chibaku approached him. "Happy of what you see?"

The jounin sniffed. "Youngsters grow up so fast nowadays. It's like an adaptation of a scene from Icha Icha."

"That smut?" the puppeteer asked. "Life doesn't work like that. They won't go from 'flirting' to 'get to bed' in one night. It's a slow process, guy."

"I know," he said. "I did date a girl before, someone called Rin. I even considered marrying her."

"What happened?"

"An old enemy of mine murdered her to break me down." The statement was laced with a faint taint of sadness. "Her death is one of the many failures in my life."

"… I see," the puppeteer said lamely. "Sorry to have reopened an old wound."

"You couldn't know," he replied reassuringly. "I only hope you and your friends won't suffer as I had."

"We're a band of outcasts, with varying consequences," Chibaku stated. "We have all experienced pain. That's what made us strong."

"Kitsune's case blows this reasoning up," Kakashi said. "Pain always breaks. How you reconstruct yourself after hardships is what truly matters. Some people became better persons after suffering, some go mad, some abandon morality for a destructive lifestyle, and some never fully recover. I'm a typical example of the last category." He eyed the werefox in human form. "Friends are here to help with this reconstruction. If you hadn't come to his help, he might have evolved into a monster."

"That's why we will always be there for him," Chibaku declared.

The man nodded. "It's strange to talk psychology at a dinner."

"Yes," the boy replied, as he began to eat again. "Let's return to the our two lovebirds… I have an idea to help him subtly."

The jounin stared at him questioningly, and Chibaku explained him his plan.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Normal<em>**

"And then I punched him in the jaws," Sasuke explained. "After he fell, I kicked him in the balls so hard that his grandchildren must have felt it."

"But then I rose up and gave him a good head butt in the torso," Naruto continued, explaining how his first fight with Sasuke went. "Then, the battle evolved into a savage brawl."

"I don't even remember how we ended bruised on the ground, but we did," the Uchiha said, as he drank another glass. "After that… we 'connected', or something."

"You mean, you became friends?" Kitsune asked.

"Yep," Naruto said. "We took the habitude of hanging out together. Mostly to train, but sometimes to eat or to do other activities." He smirked. "In fact, I was the only guy willing to pass the day with him!"

"Yeah, I needed a punching bag, and I found one. How could I have wasted it?" the Uchiha deadpanned. "That, and you weren't a loud fan girl." He scowled. "You can't know how MUCH I hate these creatures."

"Hey, I had some back in the Academy," the blonde boy pointed out.

"But they abandoned you once you graduated. They're still after me."

"Say that to Hinata," he replied. "Man, she's _stalking _me, and it is _creepy_."

Sasuke snorted, and Kitsune seemed to… stiffen. Naruto eyed him. "Did I say something wrong?"

He shook his head. "No."

"It's bad to lie," the genin replied. "What's the problem?"

He seemed really uncomfortable with the question. "A friend of I was called Hinata."

"Was?" the two ninjas blinked. "Is she dead?"

"Yes," the strange boy muttered. "I don't want to talk about it."

At that moment, Naruto felt a string of sympathy for the boy. Having been an orphan, he knew how much friends were precious. He didn't know what he would act if Sasuke ever died, but he had the feeling it wouldn't be pretty.

The Uchiha gazed at Kitsune with a nostalgic look. "It's a thing we have in common." He joined his fingers together. Naruto recognized the gesture: the 'I must avenge my clan' pose. "I have, too, lost people close to me."

The young boy nodded, before smiling sadly. "At least they continue to live, within our hearts."

"Yes," the Uchiha replied. "They're always with us. Always."

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Traveler, Kazama<em>**

"I must say, Kazama-san," Tsunami began, "that I still don't understand why you're helping the Land of Waves. We don't have anything to give you."

Kazama smirked. "Simply seeing you people happy is enough, Tsunami-san. Your pretty smile is the only payment I need."

She blushed a bit, before smiling at him. "Is that what you want?"

"Yes," he said. It was still strange, flirting with a woman probably fifteen years older than him. Not that he really complained. Tsunami was beautiful and kind, and in a way, Kazama was happy to receive such attention. It's just that he had no idea how to react to her advances. His only romantic interactions with the other gender were with Sakura, who generally punched him as soon as he opened his mouth.

Now that someone seemed genuinely interested in him…

"Kazama-san," Tsunami whispered. "How old are you?"

_Crap_. "Eighteen," he lied. In fact, he was sixteen, but really looked older than he was. He didn't know how Tsunami would react if she learn she was hitting on a minor.

She simply nodded, believing him. "Just what I expected."

"And you?" he asked.

"Twenty-nine," Tsunami answered. She was younger than Kazama had expected. "It's not really polite to ask a lady her age."

"It's just that you look in your early twenties," the teenager replied.

"Thank you." she smiled. "Are you hitting on me, by the way?"

"Well, I was wondering the same thing, since I noticed you looking at me sideways," he pointed out, and she reddened a bit. "Is there another reason?" He was now sure that his puppeteer-self's intuitions weren't exact. Too bad.

"I'm…" Tsunami muttered. "The way you act… it's like my dead husband…"

Kazama's blood froze. _She sees Kaiza in me? _"Who was he?" the teenager asked, even if he was already aware of the answer.

"A hero," the woman answered. "He helped people without expecting something in return, and sacrificed his life for the Land of Waves. You have both the same personality."

"But I'm not him," he pointed out.

"No," she agreed, drinking a glass. "No, you aren't."

A beautiful music interrupted the awkward silence.

"_They were two, two lovebirds! A boy and a girl! The girl wanted to jump the boy's bones, but he was too shy! He should praise her, talk to her_… What?" Chibaku asked, as Kazama glared at him. "What's wrong with singing a serenade at this exact moment?"

Kakashi nodded, continuing playing banjo… _Wait, how did he get one in the first place? _the teenager wondered. "It's free-speech. It's totally not a subtle and highly efficient plot to help you woo a girl far older than you, Kazama-san."

Kazama resisted the urge to face palm.

"Anyway," the blonde puppeteer claimed, "let's return to our musical show. _He should flatter her, tell her how much he loved her…"_

"Living in the past is not a good thing, Tsunami-san," Kazama whispered to the woman, ignoring the two idiots singing beside him, who were completely misinterpreting the conversation. "I have made this mistake for a long time, and now I realize how much it was a loss of time."

She frowned at him angrily. "What is wrong with remembering about the dead?"

"It's wrong when they stop you from moving on," he answered. "The memories of the deceased is important, but they shouldn't govern our life." Images of Sasuke filled the teenager's mind. "A friend of I made the same error, and it ruined his life. I am not talking about forgetting Kaiza completely, but you shouldn't project him onto others. Otherwise, you are doomed to loneliness, since your husband was unique. You won't find someone exactly like him."

She stayed silent a moment, before nodding. "You're right."

_"He should take her hand, take her hand…"_

"Thanks you for your advice," Tsunami said.

Kazama smiled. "It was a pleasure. I hope you find love again, one day."

_"He should kiss her, kiss her, kiss her…"_

"I think you have more chances than I, Kazama-san," she replied, standing up. "With a little more attitude, you could be a real lady-killer."

He grinned sheepishly. "I haven't had much such success, yet."

"Then consider me as your first conquest," Tsunami declared. She approached her mouth… and kissed him on the forehead. The blushing boy heard the two singers squeal behind him.

"Once you really hit eighteen," she said, making Kazama redden even more. "Come to see me. I will be happy to give you a chance." She left the dinning room, the stare of the teenager following her.

But then the two idiots ruined his mood…

"You see, my plan worked!"

Infuriated, Kazama glanced sideways at the duo… and dropped his jaw.

"Oh great god of romance," Kakashi declared, kneeling before Chibaku, "your humble servant begs you to teach him the secret of your success." He showed him the banjo. "Please, accept this object, as an offering."

"Yes!" the boy shouted. "I already have one follower! Horny teenagers and closet perverts, worship me! Honor my name, and you shall obtain what you want: a reluctant kiss!"

Kazama sighed. "You're driving me insane. Both of you."

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Girl, Naruko<em>**

The view was beautiful. Thousand of stars were illuminating the sky, and the moon was completely full. Light and darkness were cohabiting in a perfect harmony.

"That's great," Naruko declared, as she sat to observe the celestial luminaries. She and Sakura were on the roof of the house, alone.

"Wonderful," her newest friend agreed. "When I was young, the old man would come and explain me where to look for the constellations. I have always been fascinated by the sky."

"It's incredible," the demon vessel said, "to think that the stars were already looking at the first man, and would continue to observe the earth long after we're gone. Thinking like that makes us look like mayflies."

Sakura smiled. "But life is beautiful because it ends one day."

"Yes," the other girl replied. "Eternity just seems plain boring to me."

A light crossed the skies. Naruko got up. "A falling star!" she stared at Sakura. "Have you made a wish?"

She nodded. "And you?"

The demon vessel smiled. "I asked for a perfect future, for all of us."

"That's… that's a good wish," the girl said lamely. "Mine is a bit more selfish."

Naruko raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"I wished for my mother to come back."

The blonde girl paled, before sitting beside Sakura. "How was she?"

"She was kind and gentle," the girl whispered sadly. "She was always there to console me after the other children had bullied me. She was always there to help me, to comfort me when I was afraid."

"How did she die?" Naruko asked.

"Disease," the girl said, looking at the sky. "One day, she became ill, and her condition worsened over a month, until she died."

"That's sad," the blonde muttered. "I never had any parents, so I can't really understand what you went through, but… I can imagine. You have my support."

"Thanks." She seemed happy… and then turned around. Naruko imitated her.

Inari was looking at them with a strange face.

"Sorry to have interrupted you," he said. "I was going there to watch the sky, and I… overheard… your conversation." He sat between them.

"I didn't know what you went through," the boy declared to Naruko. "So excuse me for my words, last time."

"No big deal," she replied, wavering her hand. "I'm not bitter."

He smiled a bit, and stared at the moon. "I have too lost a parent, so I know your pain."

The girls eyed him.

"He wasn't my father by blood, but it didn't matter," he explained. "He was a fisherman named Kaiza. He saved me from drowning, and I don't know how, but we went along well. He quickly became a member of the family, and married mom." His expression turned into one of sadness. "When Gato came, Kaiza tried to stop him. Gato captured him and killed him in public."

Sakura put a hand on his shoulder. "Gato will pay for what he had done to your countrymen."

"He can't be stopped," Inari said. "I thought heroes existed in this world, saving people from monsters… but in real life, the monsters are the winners."

Naruko bit her lower lip, and rose up. She had reached a decision. "Inari," she told him, "when we will have finished our training, we will attack Gato. Not by creating a bridge, but by bringing him to the justice of Waves' citizens. And we will succeed."

He stared at her with skepticism. "How can you be so confident?"

"Because," Naruko explained, "Heroes do exist, and I intend to prove it!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Deceiver, Tsukiyomi<strong>_

In a large town, somewhere on the continent, a deicide had occurred, within a tower under the rain. The night had been bloody, and a god had fallen.

The ruler of Amegakure, Pain, had died, and nobody was aware of his disappearance. The bodies he had been controlling ceased to function the second Nagato's heart stopped beating. His loyal teammate, Konan, was lying beside his corpse, having used the last seconds of her life to crush the Rinnegan, preventing their killers from obtaining the precious bloodline.

Two masked men looked emotionlessly at the former leaders of Rain. They were disappointed and restless. "So," Amaterasu said, "this is what my Nagato could have been if the Rinnegan had matured under his possession… I expected more."

Tsukiyomi shook his head, putting his foot on the handicapped man's head. "The Statue of the Outer Path destroyed much of his abilities, and without me to guide him, he never achieved true greatness. My Nagato was a force to be reckoned with, not this… indignity."

"But now we're sure that our counterpart died in this world at some point," his counterpart stated. "Probably against the Yondaime Hokage, since the Kyuubi still attacked Konoha."

Tsukiyomi nodded. He glanced sideways at a materializing Susanoo. "Have you located them?"

"No," he answered. "They are not in Konoha. I visited every damn street, read the mind of everyone worth interrogating, searched for their chakra everywhere… and nothing." He briefly eyed the two cadavers. "It seems that gruesome killings are a specialty of ours. Are they these kids from the Akatsuki?"

"Yes," Tsukiyomi confirmed. "Yahiko died in this world, and the duo took over Amegakure after killing Hanzo. We tried to speak with them, and once they answered our questions and refused our propositions of alliance, a fight erupted… which they lost."

"I see…" Susanoo whispered. "What about our counterpart?"

"They never met him," Amaterasu explained. "We didn't sense him warping space, because, well, he's probably dead. Since these two confirmed the attack of the Kyuubi, then it was probably against the Yondaime Hokage."

The fallen Uchiha blinked. "A pity. But it was expected. This man was the only ninja strong enough to rival us after the Shodaime's death. You said they refused an alliance?"

Tsukiyomi chuckled. "They were uninterested. Of course, when we decided that a second set of Rinnegan was too precious to be wasted, we attacked… but that chick," he eyed Konan, "destroyed the eyes before we could extract them. Unfortunately, they hadn't gathered the criminal Akatsuki yet, so we do not have any servant to recruit."

Susanoo snorted. "So our problems are still the same? We're only three, and we have no idea where our targets are. Until the traveler uses his power to alter space, we can't track him down."

Amaterasu nodded. "If only we had spies…" he trailed off.

Suddenly, an idea came to Tsukiyomi's mind. The Uchiha stared at a window, where he could see the clouded skies. The rain was falling, crying over the world's eternal suffering.

The heavens were mourning their messiah.

"I almost forgot how much the rain loved this country," he whispered.

"It is washing away mankind's sins," Susanoo said, eying the sky. "Rivers of blood will be purified, before the battle begins anew."

"But no matter how much heavens will cry," Amaterasu declared, staring at the clouds too, "war will never end. Conflict is the essence of humanity, the primal instinct, that exists within all of us."

Tsukiyomi chuckled. "Be wary, Hashirama must be glaring at you from the afterlife."

"He was a great man," the warrior said. "He had a conviction and the will to defend it, even if it turned out to be false. Peace is an illusion, as man can only strive through war and competition."

"Explain," Tsukiyomi asked.

"People have desires. They want to eat, they want pleasures, riches or power. But there isn't enough resources on this earth to satisfy everyone. So men have to compete for them. The winners are the strongest, the most cunning, the most determined, and they improve humanity as a whole, by culling the weak."

The deceiver observed him for a moment. "It's a thing we do not agree on."

"Then in what do you believe?"

"In inequality," he declared. "People follow a herd mentality. They obey because they fear what they don't control; they try to stop the future, to stop change. The masses only live to lift up the few exceptional men or women that decide to make their own choices. You, me, the Shodaime, Naruto Uzumaki… we are all exceptional, because we resisted the tyranny of the many and struggled to shape the world into our image. But there is so many obstacles… so many talents are wasted because they don't have proper guides. That's why prodigies should help each other, instead of competing. Enslaving the many will give us the resources we need, and peace will finally be achieved under the rule of the few."

Amaterasu chuckled, before looking at Susanoo. "And you?"

"I believe in fate," the ninja with the Rinnegan replied. "I believe that man does not control his future, and that our destiny is decided at birth. History repeats itself, like an endless cycle, and multiple prophesies have been realized. The Uchiha's fate is to destroy the Senju, and I will accomplish it. Izuna prophesized I would bring forth an everlasting peace and a true utopia, a world where those destined to rule will shape a golden age, and that future, I promised to realize it on my brother's deathbed."

An uneasy silence filled the room. "Izuna… I wonder if in one alternate universe, our counterpart saved him from the claws of death," Amaterasu whispered.

"I hope to see him again one day," Tsukiyomi declared. "In this world or in the next."

"With the Uzumaki's help," Susanoo said, "this hope can become a reality."

"Yes," the deceiver replied, looking at the clouds that would help them locate Uzumaki Naruto. "We will see Izuna again, and realize his dreams… even if we have to burn the world trying."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's Notes:<em>**

The Tsunami scene was added for the sake of humor. Don't think it has any importance.

Write you soon.


	9. Chapter 9: Last Days

Hello! Here is the next chapter of Echoes. Once again, thank, Alpha142 and Third Fang, for your precious help! Thank, people that follow and review this story (that has now reached 100 reviews with your precious help!).

Now that this is clear, you can read safely.

Traveler/Original Naruto: Kazama Arashi.

Female Naruto: Naruko Arashi.

Puppeteer Naruto: Chibaku Arashi.

Werefox Naruto: Kitsune Arashi.

Deceiver/Original Madara: Tsukiyomi.

Destroyer/Rinnegan Madara: Susanoo.

Warrior/Collector Madara: Amaterasu.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I am working on an evil plan to blackmail Kishimoto into surrendering the rights of his manga, but it's not complete yet.

**_Chapter Nine: Last Days_**

_Sakura entered the great hospital without a word. The secretaries ignored her, and she ignored them. The girl wasn't even masking her sadness. Her fake smile was nowhere to be seen._

_She went through the stairs, and stopped. Hokage-jiji was talking to a medic, behind a slightly opened door. She observed them discreetly._

_"Arsenic?" The Sandaime squinted, as he read a sheet of paper. "She has been poisoned?"_

_The doctor nodded. "We've found traces of toxic substances in her bloodstream. The diagnostic shows that the patient has, unknowingly, absorbed small doses of various chemical agents over a long period of time, probably through her food."_

_The old man closed his eyes. "So it's an assassination."_

_"Yes. Her daughter was probably targeted as well, but we think her accelerated healing gave her immunity to most poisons, saving her life."_

_The Sandaime frowned gravely. "I will have my forces investigate. This crime cannot stay unpunished."_

_Sakura didn't listen anymore. She continued to walk through the white corridors, until she reached her mother's room. The girl opened the door silently._

_"Mom," she whispered. "I'm back."_

_No response. Sakura approached the bed, where her mother Saya was resting. The woman looked at her, with an empty gaze. Her hair were now white, and she seemed to as old as the Hokage. "Sakura…" She lifted her hand._

_The girl smiled, and took it. "I am here, mom. I will always be with you."_

_"Sakura…" The sufferer trailed off. "Am I… am I a good mother?"_

_"Yes," her daughter answered with tears in her eyes. The woman seemed partially sane, and the girl wondered how long it would last. The madness had claimed her for weeks, and Sakura hoped she would recover one day... even if the doctors had said she wouldn't._

_"The children… that insulted you…"_

_"They stopped." Sakura lied. She didn't want her mother's state to worsen. Her last crisis had been terrifying and made her bleed. She had even tried to strangle herself, possessed by her own insanity._

_The woman grinned, at peace. "You see… your smile… can win everyone's love…" Her face suddenly twisted into a serious expression. "Monster… you destroyed me…"_

_"What?" Sakura gasped. Her mother was now squeezing her hand with the little force she had left in it._

_"You ruined my life…" Saya hissed, as her eyes glittered with insanity. "I could have been happy… but you stole my daughter's face and body…"_

_"Mom," the girl whispered. "You're scaring me." Had her madness taken over, once again?_

_"You should have died that day, demon…" Her mother shrieked. "I should have strangled you when you were reborn in Sakura's body… none of this would have happened… I should have killed you…"_

_Sakura repressed her tears. "You don't believe what you say… that's the madness that talks, not you, mom."_

_The woman laughed. An empty, cold and forced laugh. "What do you know of truth, Kyuubi? Are you so used to lie that you do not recognize the reality of my words?"_

_"The Kyuubi?" Sakura asked, not understanding her mother's gibberish._

_"I tried to love you." The madwoman cried. "I sacrificed my life, my reputation, for you… and now I'm paying the price for this mistake… disappear." She ordered her daughter, as she released her hand. "Vanish from my sight…"_

_"But mom-"_

_"Be gone!" The woman shrieked, and her daughter fled in terror._

_"Who would love a monster, beside itself?" Sakura heard her mother scream and cry. "WHO WOULD LOVE A MONSTER?" She roared, as the doctors came to restrain her._

_The next time Sakura would see her mother, was for the latter's funeral._

The genin opened her eyes. She had left the hospital for Tazuna's house.

"Nightmare?" Sakura's face tilted to her side to where Sasuke was sitting on the floor. The girl had no idea why did he care, but nodded nonetheless. The Uchiha frowned. "Seemed to be a bad one."

"You heard me?" She asked.

"Well, you really sounded really out of it." he answered. "But I think I'm the only one that noticed. Naruto is already taking his breakfast."

"I see…" The girl muttered. "Why does my dream interest you?"

"Because you were talking in your sleep," Sasuke said. "I heard the words _arsenic _and _madness_. Most nightmares don't have those things in them."

She glared at him. "It doesn't concern you." It was a very sensitive subject. "I don't want to talk about it."

The boy weathered her glare, unfazed. "I understand. It's just…" he gritted his teeth. "If you ever want someone to hear you, I am here."

"Thank you," Sakura smiled. "But I don't think it will be necessary."

The Uchiha glanced at her. "Hiding your pain behind a false grin won't make it go away."

"I know," she said. "I figured that out long ago." Since her first day at the Academy, in fact, the very day parents had ordered their children to ignore her.

"Then why do you keep the lie alive?" Sasuke asked her. "Why don't you express your real personality instead of a fake one?"

"Because I can't," she answered. "It's been done so many times that I can't stop acting like that. After wearing a mask for too long, it's become my real face. It's natural to wear it now. In a way it's harder to take off than to put on… even in front of you, Naruto, and sensei…"

The Uchiha nodded. "Since we're on this subject, when are you going to make a pass at him?"

Sakura chuckled sadly. "Is it that obvious?"

"No," he replied. "You're a lot more discreet and subtle than Hinata, but after spending some time with you two, I've noticed how you seemed more nervous than normal around him. Your reaction simply confirmed it."

"I am pathetic, aren't?" She whispered. "I'm not even able to ask a guy out."

Sasuke shook his head. "You're not pitiable. In fact, I think that you are too afraid of being rejected. He's a nice guy. Invite him on a date, and he won't refuse." He stood up on his legs. "If you want, I can even help you."

"Really?" Sakura watched him, mesmerized. "How?"

The boy smirked. "It's a secret."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sasuke<strong>_

"Sakura has a crush on you."

The blonde's face was priceless, in Sasuke's humble opinion. At first, he looked as if he had been punched in the balls. Then, he paled. Then, horror spread over his visage. Then, he stared at his black haired friend with empty eyes. "You are joking… please tell me you're joking…"

"Not at all," the genin replied, with amusement in his tone. "She wants to ask you out. She admitted it herself."

Naruto sat on a chair, and massaged his temples. "It's impossible… Sakura is crushing on me?"

The Uchiha snorted. His friend truly was dense. He only recognized attraction when he was stalked by an obsessive fan girl. "Hinata is crushing on you, so why not Sakura?"

The blonde glared at him. "You don't understand. I have always been nice to Hinata, so it didn't surprise me when I discovered her use of the Byakugan to… observe me." Sasuke scoffed at the euphemism. "But I never talked to Sakura before she joined the team. Heck, the first time I spoke with her was to argue with her in a spar!"

The Uchiha lifted his shoulders, shrugging. "What can I say? She loves you." He eyed his friend emotionlessly. "What are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know." The boy answered.

Sasuke frowned. "What do you mean by 'I don't know'. A friendly, cute girl is only awaiting a sentence to fall in your arms."

"Like Hinata," Naruto snapped.

"Her parents would never allow her to date you," Sasuke pointed out. "They would rather put the caged bird seal on her forehead than allow this princess to be kissed by a clan-less orphan like you. Sakura is free, less clingy, and very mature for her age, if you ignore her choice for dress and lack of interest for academic matters. Why are you hesitating?"

"Why are you pushing this Sasuke?"

"Because it's my duty as loyal teammate to make both of you happy… or miserable." He explained. "That, and I think Sakura has... issues. Even more than us."

The blonde cast him a questioning look. The genius sighed. "As much as she tries to hide it, deep down, she is unhappy. She is good at hiding her problems, but they still exist. She is pretty much convinced that no one really likes her. Having a boyfriend might make her revise her opinion."

Naruto stayed silent a moment. "I will do it. Asking her out, I mean."

"Good. Now, move your ass and get to work."

"Actually." He grinned sheepishly. "What am I supposed to tell her?"

The Uchiha stayed silent.

"You don't know?"

No answer.

"... I think Kakashi-sensei is my only solution."

Sasuke's eyes opened wide. "You are going to ask relationship advice to a guy spending all his days reading porn? In front of kids?"

"Yes."

Silence.

"I have a bad feeling about it," the Uchiha muttered.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Ice Princess, Haku<em>**

Haku carefully picked up the herbs which she needed to prepare her teachers' ointment. The fake hunter-nin was disguised as a civilian, but she had kept a few senbon hidden in her pockets just as a precaution. Hopefully, she wouldn't use them, but with Gato's thugs around… while she hadn't assisted to their extortion attempts, it was common knowledge in town that the local 'law enforcement' tended to pay themselves with more than just money...

Fortunately, their number had considerably dropped these days. If Kimimaro was to be believed, Gato's men were getting exterminated by a trio of killers, probably members of that Arashi family. In fact, most of the businessman's hired muscles were beginning to desert in large numbers. Their employer now only had a quarter of the staff he had before Tazuna's return… and if the murderous spree was to continue, he wouldn't have any helpers left at all, except Zabuza's gang.

Haku didn't like to kill, and even less working for Gato, but her masters' orders were absolute. She thought they were dishonoring themselves by serving a tyrant, even if he was paying them a lot. Money earned through such terrible deeds was worthless in the girl's eyes… a point of view Kimimaro had criticized. _We are ninja, he had told her. By becoming warriors, we have corrupted ourselves, and purity will be forever beyond our reach. You are far too soft for your own good, Haku._

She knew her fellow apprentice was right. The girl would have been better as a healer than as a shinobi, but she was a Yuki, a Hyoton user. Her bloodline had denied her a peaceful future, and Zabuza had showed her the light among the darkness of the ninja world. She would do anything he wanted her to… even if she had to kill her heart in the process.

Of course, they were still weary of Gato. The man had shown himself as a greedy, egoistical coward who would do everything to save money. Kimimaro expected him to betray them soon, but as long as the businessman hadn't made a move against them, they simply obeyed. He might not even stab them in the back at all, after her and Kimimaro's display of their abilities.

As she looked out for herbs under a tree, Haku noticed something moving near her. Approaching while preparing to attack at the first sign of danger, the kunoichi discovered another girl sleeping on the grass. She was blonde, and was wearing an orange outfit. She was younger than Haku. _Has she lost her way to the town? _The young lady wondered. _I know this forest is quite dense, but…_

"Hey," the kunoichi whispered to the unconscious girl's ears. "You are going to catch a cold if you sleep here for too long."

The blonde yawned softly. "What…" She looked up at Haku. "Where am I… and who are you…?"

The fake hunter-nin smirked. "You are in the forest, and I'm called Haku."

"Uzumaki Naruko." The girl moaned as she sat up, massaging her temples. "I should have known better than waking up early… Naruto-sensei is going to be so mad at me…"

_Sensei? _Haku's eyes flashed with surprise. "Are you a ninja?" She asked, trying to test her intuition.

"Well, yeah." Naruko said, as she rose up. "I would have woken up early to train more, but I guess I needed more sleep than I expected." She smiled at the kunoichi. "Thank for doing it for me, Haku-san."

"It's nothing," the fake hunter-nin replied, giving her best smile. _So she is an enemy… I should have guessed it sooner. She matches Zabuza-sama's description perfectly._

"Ho, you're picking herbs?" The blonde asked, as she pointed her finger at Haku's basket.

The kunoichi nodded. "It's for a friend that is ill." Hopefully, she wouldn't make the connection…

Naruko smirked. "You know what, I think I can help you. What kind of plant do you need?"

"That's very nice of you." Haku thanked her. "I only need this kind of herb."

"I will get them in no time!" the girl shouted, as she executed a technique. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The kunoichi gasped, mesmerized, as at least a hundred of blondes suddenly appeared in the clearing, all exact copies of the original. They all began to wander through the forest, picking herbs along the way.

In less than five minutes, Haku's basket was full. The astonished kunoichi managed to blurt out a "thank you" to the clone crowd.

"It's nothing!" They all shouted. "That's Uzumaki Naruko for you!" The clones popped into smoke, leaving only the original, smiling at Haku. "Happy to have helped you!"

"Akane!"

The furious call resonated through the clearing. The blonde paled and glanced sideways. "Oh crap, Naruto-sensei is as mad as hell!" She locked eyes with Haku. "Sorry, but I have to flee. If he finds me now-"

"I'm already here," an irritated voice whispered to her ears.

Haku's experienced eyes easily noticed the shunshin, even before the user appeared behind Naruko. The newcomer was a young teenager of her age that looked like an older, male version of the blonde girl, wearing an orange cloak above a black shirt and purple pants. The kunoichi had to admit it, he was rather handsome even if his face was currently stern and emotionless.

"Naruto-sensei…" Naruko trailed off. "I am so sorry…"

"I hope you have a good excuse for your absence," he grunted… and noticed Haku.

It was brief, but the Kunoichi saw the teenager's shocked face when he locked eyes with her. It seemed as if he had seen a ghost. He quickly corrected his expression, but it was enough for Haku. _He knows me, _she thought. _Or at least someone resembling me._

The teenager's next reaction surprised her, however. He grinned and stared at Naruko with a knowing look. "So that's your reason for waking up early? You were on a date with a pretty citizen of Wave?"

Both Naruko and Haku gasped at the statement, and both reddened a bit. "That's completely false!" The blonde yelled.

"And we are both girls," the fake hunter-nin added.

This seemed to throw the teenager out of tracks. He gasped, eyed Haku for a short time, and opened his mouth in amazement. "You're a girl?"

The reaction angered the kunoichi. _He thought I was a boy? _"Of course. Haven't you noticed the lack of Adam apple? Or the breasts?"

The teenager stayed without voice, completely shocked... before smirking. "So you're into girls, Akane?" He asked the blonde mirthfully, probably to hide his mistake. Haku wondered why he used that name. Was it an alias?

Naruko blushed. "No, I'm not, jerk-sensei!"

"You can admit it, I don't discriminate. And she is very pretty." Haku reddened slightly at the statement.

"Sensei!" She yelled, infuriated, as the teenager began to laugh.

"I'm joking," he said, still grinning. "So, who is your new friend?"

"I am Haku," the kunoichi presented herself.

"Kazama Arashi, at your service," he replied with a friendly smile.

Haku frowned. _It is the ninja that had defeated Zabuza-sama, through dirty tricks and sheer luck_, she realized_. I must stay on my guard. I don't have any water nearby, so he has a decisive advantage if he ever recognizes me and attacks. _"I thought your name was Naruto," she pointed out.

"You are mistaken," he responded, glaring sideways at Naruko. "My sister Akane loves to give strange names to those she likes."

_So they do use aliases. But why would they do that… unless… Uzumaki… _the pieces of the puzzle soon assembled together. _They are members of the Uzumaki clan! That's why we don't have any info on them! They must be careful at destroying every data that could bring the attention of the Hidden Villages on them!_

She understood their need for secrecy very well. Their clan, like her own, had been hunted down to near extinction for their power, and every nation would want to capture them to unravel the secret of their bloodline, and of their sealing art, except Konoha. Perhaps that was why they had come to Kakashi's rescue? Because they had an alliance with the Leaf? That would explain the presence of a Jinchuuriki among them. The werefox was the Kyuubi's container!

"Anyway, what a cute girl like you is doing in the woods at this hour?" Kazama asked.

"Picking up herbs," Haku replied. "A friend of I is ill, and needs medications."

"So dear Zabuza hasn't fully recovered, yet. Perhaps tomorrow?" The teenager's tone was friendly, but the words shattered the fake hunter-nin's composure.

The Kunoichi paled. Naruko's eyes widened. Acting quickly, Haku prepared herself to defend her life, taking two senbon in her fingers. The teenager simply raised his palm in a peaceful gesture. "Relax, I want to talk, not to kill you."

Haku's body stayed on alert. "How did you guess?" She asked, ignoring Naruko's horrified expression.

"I know, that is all," he answered, his smirk widening. "I am aware of your bloodline, Haku, and of your story."

The info was simply there to reduce the kunoichi's confidence. How could he… "You spied on my group, didn't you?" _So they really expected our coming..._

"Not at all," Kazama replied. "But I must admit that your team interests me."

"Haku," Naruko muttered. "You work for Kisame and Zabuza?"

The girl frowned, before nodding. "I was one of the fake hunter-nin," she responded honestly. If that Uzumaki was so well informed, denying the truth served no purpose. And she wasn't a good liar.

"Your masquerade was quite convincing," Kazama declared. "I wonder why ninjas as powerful as you are working for a small fry like Gato. Perhaps is it to finance a coup against the Mizukage?"

Haku blinked. "Mist is in the middle of a civil war. The Mizukage's rule is already fragile. The rebellion against the tyrant Yagura will grow in strength. When Zabuza-sama shows up with funds to help the opposition, his reputation will be cleaned, and he will be acclaimed as a hero if not as the Godaime Mizukage."

"So you are helping a despot to topple another?" the teenager asked. "Seems a bit hypocritical to me."

"The life of ninja is a dark existence," the girl said regretfully. "Sacrifices have to be made, and we have to kill our heart for the greater good."

He locked eyes with her. "You don't believe any word you're saying." It wasn't a question, merely a fact.

"No," she admitted. "But there is no other way."

Kazama shook his head. "I can give you one. I have… a proposition, for your group."

She stared at him, raising her eyebrows questioningly. "You want us to betray Gato?" she guessed.

"Yes," he stated. "Though since he is going to betray you first, it shouldn't really a problem."

Haku stiffened. "What do you mean?"

"Gato doesn't intend to pay you. He will send thugs to kill you after our fight, when you will be at your weakest."

The vile vermin. They had already planned for a treachery, and the ninja might be lying, but…

"How much is he paying you for assassinating Tazuna?" he asked.

"20 million Ryo."

"We will pay you 50 million to abandon this mission and Gato, even more if you want. We will pay you the same amount for a secondary job."

This ticked Haku's interest. If this teenager wasn't lying, then the money would be five times more than they would obtain under Gato. "What kind of job?"

"Three powerful missing-nins are after us," Kazama explained. "They are solid S-Rank, probably Kage-level, and want to capture or kill us. We managed to escape their grasp once, but they will return. We are seeking help anywhere."

Haku frowned. "Why didn't you ask Konoha for help?"

"Because they attacked us _in _Konoha."

The girl couldn't believe her ears. What kind of shinobi would have the guts to strike in the middle of a Hidden Village... unless he was working for them? That would explain why they are hiding... if they were traveling with the Kyuubi's container, then they must have 'stolen' him from the Leaf. No wonder why they sought the help of missing-nins... but why were they working with Kakashi... too much questions were still unanswered. "I see… I will talk to my masters about your offer. They will consider it."

"Good," the other nodded. "Tomorrow morning, we will await you at the bridge. Either you accept our proposition, or you attack. And really, you should consider our offer. It's for your own good."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Destroyer, Susanoo<strong>_

It was raining above the coasts, like all days. The clouds were advancing toward the sea, abnormally fast. The water contained inside of them was moved around, controlled by an almost godlike will.

From the top of a mountain, Susanoo rejoiced. This technique was formidable.

"This is incredible…" the Uchiha informed his comrades. "I can sense the chakra of anyone touching the rain. My eyes can observe a whole country, and nobody is aware of it."

"Nagato's Rain Tiger at Will technique was his way of achieving omniscience," Tsukiyomi confirmed, as he looked at the clouded skies. "In Rain, he was basically aware of everything happening. When he moved the weather in another country, he could locate our targets easily. If you successfully master this jutsu, then you should be able to find our prey and his helpers anywhere."

"We lost their track in the ocean," Amaterasu said. "Try to scan the islands."

"Of course," the man with the Rinnegan replied evenly. "As soon as I discover their hideout, we will teleport nearby."

"And this time," Tsukiyomi continued, "there will be no escape for them."

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Werefox, Kitsune<em>**

Naruto Uzumaki, also known as Kitsune Arashi, opened his eyes. The boy was completely groggy, and passably tired. The voices were silent, and he felt at peace.

At least, until he realized he was lying next to two dismembered corpses.

Jerking, the boy rose up, and discovered, much to his horror that his clothes were stained with blood. He was near the sea, on a cliff. He looked down at the cadavers… and remembered what he had done last night.

_He was chasing his prey through the streets, hunting them and savoring their fear. They were shrieking, they were afraid, and he was hungry._

_"__**And it's so easy when you're crazy**__!" He sang happily. "__**This is the life, you see**__!" He cornered them in a blind alley. They turned around, their faces shivering in terror. "__**The Kyuubi tips his hat to me**__!"_

_"Get away!" One of them shouted, menacing the werefox with a knife. The creature roared, and bit the man in the face, drawing the wonderful, crimson nectar from his forehead. His fangs continued to shred bones apart, leaving the survivor watching the spectacle, terrorized. When Kitsune gazed avidly at the flesh bag, he smelled the man pissing himself._

_"Please," he begged, crying. "I'll do anything!"_

_"__**I do it all because I'm crazy**__!" The werefox barked happily. He advanced toward his prey, who was paralyzed by the killing intent emanating from the beast. "__**And I do it all for free**__!" Kitsune began to lick his toy's face lovingly, tasting the delicious liquid. "__**Your tears are all the pay I'll ever need**__!"_

_He opened his mouth, and the man screamed._

Disgusted by the vivid memories, Kitsune put his hands on his head. The voices were satisfied for now, asleep in the back of his mind. But they would awaken again, they would force him to kill again, they would force him to bear the guilt again… the murders, the deaths, the hunts and the games would begin anew, making the world more unbearable again. But the pain would never go away. Unless…

The boy looked at the cliff. From the height, a jump would be fatal, even to his cursed bestial body. He would crash on the rocks below, freeing the earth from his evil existence. He would finally be free from his bloodlust, from the voices' insane and destructive will…

But something prevented him from committing suicide. A vision of his family mourning him.

He saw Naruko crying, Chibaku and Kazama burying him, Sasori looking emotionlessly at his corpse, shedding a single tear. He saw his funeral, the cries, the sadness…

His suicidal impulses were annihilated by this picture of his future. Kitsune had finally found happiness in his dark and empty life. He absolutely refused to let the voices win. He would continue to fight them, to resist them, until the day he would be strong enough to beat them.

"Hey kid?"

He blenched. Turning around, Kitsune saw a creature jumping at him. Falling on the ground, the boy struggled, but the thing was too big and too strong for him. It looked like a mass of blue scales, with a big mouth thrown in the middle. It opened, revealing sharp teeth, and a large tongue…

That licked him.

The werefox in human form was astonished as the creature's tongue touched his face, again and again. It barked happily.

"Calm down, Samehada," a deep voice said. "You're scaring him."

The animal backed down, and Kitsune saw a towering figure watching over him and offering him a hand. "Are you okay, little fish?"

"Yeah," the boy answered, as the man helped him rising up. It was a large man, wearing a black outfit and bandages over all his skin. Only his face was partially visible, and he was smirking.

"Sorry, Samehada can be really… affectionate."

"It's nothing," the boy said, as he caressed the thing, which purred.

The man smiled. "She seems to like you. It's very rare, you know."

Kitsune grinned sheepishly. "I have a gift for animals."

The man laughed. "More than just the animals, apparently." He looked at the two cadavers. "Who were they?" Seeing the boy frown, the bandaged guy smirked. "Let me guess: they tried to rob you, and you showed them who was boss?"

"Maybe," the werefox in human form declared. "Honestly, I don't remember."

The man blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Well…" He trailed off. "Sometimes, I… kind of, loose it, without reasons. I black out, and I awake amongst dead people." Why was he even telling that? It wasn't something to discuss with an unknown person.

The bandaged guy nodded, eying him with a thinly veiled interest. "Before you black out, do you feel like an irresistible force wants you to kill everything on sight?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

"When you lose your head, do you suddenly do exploits you could dream to do normally? Do you find yourself immune to pain?"

"Well… yes." How did he know that?

The man smirked. "I know what your problem is kid." He looked down at Kitsune. "You're a berserker."

"A what?"

"A berserker. They're people born with a bloodlust that can never be repressed. When they're angered, their strength increases to superhuman levels and they don't feel pain anymore. Why they exist is a mystery, but they're damn strong. They're well-known in Kiri... hell, one of my friends is one."

"And you think I'm a berserker?" Kitsune asked.

"Maybe. Until I see one of your rages, I can't confirm it, but I think you're one. An untrained kid like you normally can't kill these two guys as savagely as you did." He touched his chin with his fingers. "If you're really a berserker, you will need to train in mastering your anger. Once it's done, you will be unstoppable."

Controlling his bloodlust? That would be great… but… "How am I supposed to tame my anger?"

"By meditating," the man answered. "Stay away from society, live in the nature, sleep next to the water… you must learn to be at peace, in harmony with what surrounds you. Kind of like all that crap they show in action movies. That's how bears keep their calm most of the time. The bloodlust is alimented by inner turmoil. Once it is solved, the anger stops to control you, and with enough practice you will even be able to trigger it at will."

"Thank you very much for the advices," Kitsune bowed. "Mister…"

"The name is Kisame Hoshigake," he declared. "And excuse me, but I must leave. I have to go to bed, since I'm going to kick some asses tomorrow." The man looked down at the boy. "What's your name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki," he answered honestly. Since the guy was so nice, and that the demon vessel doubted he would ever see him again, it was normal to be honest with him.

"I will remember it," Kisame said, as he left with his animal following him. "See you next time, little fish!"

"Goodbye!" Kitsune shouted. Truly, this man seemed to be grea-

The demon vessel paled. He had just realized who the guy was. The boy had just befriended the shark-man that had almost devoured him! He didn't move at all, paralyzed by the realization.

"Hey, Kitsu-kun? You're feeling good?"

When he returned to reality, Kitsune found himself in front of Chibaku. The puppeteer smirked at him. "It's alright? You looked like someone who had just been dumped by his girlfriend."

"Ah," the boy stammered. "It's nothing."

"Good," he stared at the two cadavers. "Who, you took them with you? Damn, your werefox form surely loves its toys. Not that I'm going to feel sorry for them."

"You knew them?"

"You don't remember?" Chibaku asked. "They worked for Gato! We hunted them down last night together with Sasori! We killed so many of them that I've literally lost the count!"

"You mean I did that on purpose?" Kitsune couldn't believe his own ears.

"Well, more or less," the boy in green answered. "You were already out for blood at sunset, so we only pointed you at the most evil target Sasori and I could find, aka Gato's thugs. I don't know why, but you ended your killing spree with these two before disappearing."

"Killing spree?" the boy repeated fearfully. "They aren't my only victims?"

"You currently have a two digit thug count," Chibaku answered. "No big deal, you only attacked the bar where Gato's men were drinking. The barman simply ran the tail between his legs. I'm sure the last innkeeper we saw had spread the word about our... habits."

"I did… the right thing?"

"Well, you did a favor to the universe," the boy replied, putting his hand on Kitsune's shoulder. "Don't worry too much about it."

_So Kazama-san's words were exact_, the boy thought. _If I'm forced to kill, then I can clean this world from the corrupt and the wicked._

* * *

><p><strong><em>Kakashi<em>**

Kakashi blinked. "You want to ask a girl out?"

His student nodded. Sasuke was passively observing the scene. Their teacher was sweating. So it finally arrived... "Kids, I am going to give a very important lesson today. Sit on the grass with me."

They obeyed, ready to listen to their master's wisdom. The background was especially appropriated: a clearing under a big tree. The sage began to talk. "When a boy and a girl love each other very much, er, well, they try to 'know each other', if you know what I mean."

"I don't, and I'm not sure I want to," Naruto stated. The second boy nodded.

"When they try to know each others, the boy begins by saying 'wanna make out?', 'my bed is too cold', 'I want you to be with me' or 'I want you to spend time with me'. Then, they have to touch the skin of the other. Don't ask me why, it's a universal rule. Then, they must 'prepare', with a kiss or two, and then... it goes on naturally."

"I understand!" Naruto shouted, as he rose up. "I must go see Sakura, ask her to be with me, touch her, and then kiss her. That's what I must do, right?"

Kakashi nodded. "At least, that's the secret the pervert prophet Chibaku revealed to me, once I offered him my banjo."

"I will have to thank him, the next time I see him," the blonde genin declared. He stared at his teammate and teacher. "I feel ready, but can you please stay near me? If I screw up."

"You won't," the jounin said reassuringly.

"We're with you." Sasuke added.

"Thank you," Naruto declared. "I will immediately go to Sakura."

A short while later...

"What is it, Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked the blonde, as he approached her before Tazuna's house.

"Sakura," he started, apparently struggling to maintain a calm face. "I want you to be with me," he managed to blurt out.

The girl opened her mouth in surprise, blushing. "What?"

He took her hands within his own, and kissed her on the lips, much to her astonishment. While Sasuke was only smirking, Kakashi was grinning widely under his mask. The couple stayed like that a moment, like statues, until they separated. Both were panting heavily.

"That... that was unexpected..." Sakura muttered, as red as a tomato. "But... enjoyable..."

"Ye-Yeah," Naruto said with difficulties. "So..."

"So what?"

"Are you okay dating me?"

She smiled. "But of course."

"YES!" he jumped on place.

"YES!" Kakashi imitated him. "Chibaku's advice work!" _I am so happy for you two... and I hope things will stay like that forever._

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Puppeteer, Chibaku<em>**

The two groups stared at each other calmly, ready to strike anytime. Chibaku unsealed his newest puppet, Uke Mochi, a humanoid dummy looking like an androgynous man of wood, with a very huge belly. Kazama cracked his fingers, Kitsune adopted a defensive stance, and Naruko rolled her shoulders.

In front of them, Team 7 was prepared to attack. Kakashi had revealed his Sharingan to the world, Sasuke was shuddering out of impatience, and the newest couple only waited Sasori's signal to launch powerful ninjutsu on their opponent. _Ah, the power of love_, Chibaku thought. _So beautiful_...

_**Disgusting. Too much happiness and not enough misery... TORCH EVERYTHING!**_

"New techniques only," the puppet master declared. "Three minutes. Ready? Go!"

Sasuke was the first to act. "Fire Release: Wild Phoenix!" Three fireballs were launched at Team 7's adversaries.

Naruko reacted quickly. "Water Release: Stormy Blockade!" Liquid came from nowhere, swirled around her, and then hit the projectiles, extinguishing them, before continuing to advance toward Kakashi's group.

Kazama decided to help. "Wind Release: Cold Wave!" A very cold gale of wind blew, transforming the water into shards of ice.

"Wind Release: Violent Wind Palm!" Naruto's genin-self created a powerful gust of wind.

"Fire Release: Dragon's Breath!" Both Sasuke and Kakashi began to spit fire. The blaze, enhanced by the wind, evaporated most of the shards on its way, before rushing through the clearing.

"Wind Release: Heat Wave!" Another gale stopped the inferno, dissipating it.

"Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet!" Kitsune inhaled deeply, before exhaling, launching a massive blast of oxygen.

"Water Release: Tornado of Water!" Sakura, using the liquid kept in a gourd attached to jumpsuit, formed a swirling shield around her group.

Naruko smirked. "Water Release: Snake's Mouth!" Immediately, the protection became a danger, as a viper of liquid formed out of it, menacing to bite the pink-haired girl...

… Only for it to be cut in half by wind. Naruto's genin-self smiled at his girlfriend.

"It's not right! He didn't shout his technique's name!" The blonde puppeteer whined.

"He is a real ninja," Sasori stated. "Calling your attacks is stupid, since the enemy will know what you're going to do... except if you're lying."

"If that's so..." his apprentice muttered, as Uke Mochi opened its muzzle. _Naruto's Silent Technique: Doomed Gas of Doomed Doom!_

_**You suck!**_

_Shut up! Do you even have a better name?_

_**Silent Puppet Technique: Blinding Breath.**_

_... Not bad…_

_**Not bad? You desire something more elaborated, perhaps? Why not... Uke Mochi's Awesome Ass-kicking Silent Technique: the Monkey King's Stinky Gas that Attacks The Eyes of the Weak and the Wicked?**_

_Alright, alright I get it, you're better than me at names, jerk. Happy?_

_**Oh yes, Funny Lord of all Jesters that I Find Amusing to Humiliate at all Times of the Day.**_

_I hate you._

The puppet spat a concentrated stream of white gas at Team 7. Sakura put herself between them and the technique. "Water Release: Violent Water Wave!" Water gushed out of the girl's mouth like a waterfall, stopping Chibaku's newest creation. Then, she attacked. "Water Release: Water Fang Bullet!" The water she had spat swirled, transformed into a drill, and hit Uke Mochi. Fortunately, the high-quality wood and the reinforcing seals on the dummy's surface allowed the puppet to survive, even if the water scorched its armor.

"The three minutes are up."

At Sasori's call, everyone relaxed.

"Hey, Chibaku," Sasuke said as he advanced toward the blonde puppeteer. "What kind of wood are your puppets made of? It shouldn't have resisted Sakura's jutsu."

"It's not really the wood, rather the seals I wrote under it, that are responsible," the boy explained, with a proud tone. "They reinforce it, making it as hard as steel."

Sasuke nodded, with interest in the eyes. "Do you think they can be applied to people?"

"No," Chibaku answered. "But they can be used on clothes. It won't be as hard as metal, but enough to reduce the strength of physical blows. You want some on your outfit?"

"Yes," the genin confirmed.

"I will place one or two on it tonight, then," the blonde stated, before noticing his 'normal' counterpart laughing with Sakura. "How did they end up together, by the way?"

Sasuke snorted. "It's thanks to you apparently."

Chibaku raised his eyebrows. "Can you... explain some more?"

The Uchiha shrugged. "Apparently, you taught sensei some 'tricks', which he then taught to Chibaku, who then used them to win Sakura over."

"Ah," the boy said, remembering the 'special technique' Sasuke was talking about. "It worked, apparently."

"Not for him," the genin smirked. "He tried them on Tsunami... and got slapped for it. You don't see the mark because of his mask, but it is there... why are you laughing?"

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Ice Princess, <em>****_Haku_**

As she entered the beehive-like structure, Haku recognized Kisame tearing off his bandages in a corridor. The former jounin tilted his head to the side, and grinned once he noticed the kunoichi. "You're early."

"A kind person helped me picking up the herbs," she said.

The man's smile grew even more. "You have a suitor?" Haku blushed, and Kisame laughed. "How does he look? Is he of your age?"

"I don't have a suitor! It was a girl that helped me!" She remembered Kazama's face. "She did have a handsome brother, but…"

Her teacher roared, and fell on the floor. "Dear Haku! You are already crushing on a boy!"

"No!" she denied.

"Oh come on!" he rose up. "Had he asked you out?"

"No!"

"He will," the man said as he balanced Samehada. "He will take you on a date, or I will cut him in half!"

"Haku has a suitor?" Much to her displeasure, the kunoichi saw Kimimaro approaching the duo. The Kaguya looked at her with brotherly love. "This is wonderful."

"Did I hear that right?" Zabuza asked, as he joined them. "Someone is courting you, Haku?"

The kunoichi was now looking like tomato, and couldn't muster the strength to answer. Zabuza took this as a 'yes', and his eyes blazed with fury. "If he dared to touch you, I'm going to kill him. Slowly. Painfully."

"It wasn't a normal teenager, and he wasn't courting me!" Haku spat. "It was Kazama Arashi!"

The male trio stopped talking. Zabuza locked eyes with her. "Care to explain?"

"He came to me while I was gathering herbs for your medicine," she said. "He wanted to make us a proposition."

"Betraying Gato, I suppose?" Kimimaro guessed.

"That, and a bodyguard job. His group is apparently hunted by S-Rank missing-nins, and they fear for their lives. Our help will be precious to them." She took her breath. "They are going to pay us five times more than Gato."

They stayed silent a moment.

"No."

"Why?" She asked to Kisame. "He is vile vermin, and probably going to betray us! Even if he doesn't, it's only a shard of what they are offering us!"

"Haku," Zabuza growled. "It isn't about money, but about honor and publicity. First of all, backstabbing a first employer will reduce our chances of finding a second. Secondly, we will be forever called traitors, and it will ruin the good reputation we struggled so hard to achieve. And finally, I don't trust them at all. So no, we will attack Tazuna anyway, at least as long as Gato doesn't betray us."

"But we will be outnumbered!" She pointed out.

"If we go all out since the beginning," Kisame declared. "We won't have any problem. Have faith in yourself, Haku."

"I know for sure they have the Kyuubi's vessel with them," the kunoichi replied. If her companions were surprised, they didn't show it. "My bloodline, against the power of a Bijuu?"

"Only Yagura ever succeeded at fully controlling his inner beast," Kisame stated. "At best, this container will be able to tap in the Kyuubi's chakra, increasing his abilities. In such a case, I will take care of him."

"Have you discovered something else?" Kimimaro asked.

She nodded. "Arashi is an alias. They are from the Uzumaki clan."

This took them aback. Kisame frowned. "That explains why we have no info on them... but that's even better. If we bring them alive to another village, then we will be awarded with an incredible reward."

"If we capture the Jinchuuriki," the Kaguya added, "then we will have the perfect weapon to defeat Yagura."

Zabuza grinned under his mask. "Sorry, Haku, but we are going to fight tomorrow. My decision is irrevocable."

The kunoichi closed her eyes. _Naruko-san, Kazama-san... forgive me, but our next meeting will not be peaceful._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Naruko<strong>_

"Tomorrow," the boss began, his eyes drifting to the gathered crowd of ninjas sitting in the salon, "we will go to the bridge, and Zabuza's team will come, either to attack us or to negotiate with us. Even if I hope they will listen to reason and abandon Gato, we must prepare for the worst. First, one of my clones will be disguised as Tazuna. The original, and his family, will stay in this house, protected by traps and clones, just in case Gato plays dirty and tries to take hostages."

"Secondly," Sasori continued, "we will prepare an attack plan. If Zabuza's gang attacks, I, and Kazama-san, will take on Kisame. Kakashi-san will fight Zabuza. The rest of Team 7 will take care of one of their apprentices, while Akane, Chibaku and Kitsune will defeat the other. Kazama will first use his wind jutsu, the Heat Wave and the Cold Wave, to dissipate the mist each time our adversaries try to thicken it.

"We must try to keep them on the bridge, or at best push them into the mainland, where they won't be able to use the nearby water easily. I will put chakra-disturbing seals on the bridge, which should pump our opponents' reserves until they pass out. Kisame won't be affected because of his massive chakra levels. However, I put a paralyzing seal on him during our last battle. It should prevent him from moving, or at least slow him down.

"Kazama's report shows us that one of the fake hunter-nins, Haku, is a Hyoton user. She can form ice, for defensive or offensive purposes. She mainly uses senbon and is dependent on her speed to fight. Team 7 is the best counter possible for her, so the group will attack her as their priority. It will be necessary to split our adversaries. Since we do not have any data on the last member of the missing-nins, Naruko's group, the most flexible of all, must take care of him.

"Thirdly," Kakashi finished, "it is highly probable that Gato will try to betray Kisame's team, and assault us with his men once we are all weakened. If he does, we kill them all, especially if the tyrant is present. These thugs would probably try to loot Wave if their employer dies. We will make an example out of them."

"Understood?" The travelling Naruto finally asked.

"Yes!" The rest all shouted at once.

"Then we will win!" Kakashi declared. "Go to bed, rest, and prepare yourselves!"

As almost everyone left the room, Naruko approached her sensei. "What is it, Naruko?" He asked her, once they were alone. The girl bit her lower lip, and the teenager frowned. "It's about Haku, isn't it?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "She seemed so nice… I can't understand why she's working for someone like Kisame."

"Haku has had… a difficult life, on par with our own," the blonde responded. "She was born with a bloodline, a gift hated in her homeland of Kiri. She had suffered the same childhood as us… until Zabuza, and probably Kisame, took her under their wing, giving her a structure and a purpose."

_So she is like me_, Naruko realized. _In my world of glares and silence, Sensei came. My whole life revolves around him now_. "Do you think we can make peace with her?"

"I hope so, Naruko. I really hope so."

* * *

><p><strong><em>The <em>****_Traveler, Kazama_**

**_e _**The morning, Kazama and his companions left clones around the house, while saying goodbye to Tazuna's family. The bridge-builder and his daughter wished them good luck, and Inari, surprisingly, said he looked forward to seeing them return.

While they were walking, Kazama was approached by Kakashi. "Naruto-san... am I a good teacher?" the jounin whispered to him, making sure the others couldn't hear them.

The teenager locked eyes with him. "Why do you ask that?"

"I..." he trailed off. "I must redeem myself for my mistakes, and I must know if my current path is the right one."

"Well..." Kazama muttered, "I think you are doing the right thing." It was strange, to give advice to his old role model.

"I... I thought about your counterpart," the man said. "If he had been my ward, then he could have had a good life. Same with Sakura..."

"While I haven't yet forgiven you for abandoning my other-self," he replied, "I must say that you couldn't do anything for Sakura. The conspiracy within Konoha would have foiled all your efforts, or killed you." If only he could know who was behind this... "If you atone for wasting my double's childhood, then we are even, in my mind. But you should ask his forgiveness, and not my own. I may be him, but I am another person entirely."

The man stayed silent, before eyeing his blonde student. "After today's events, we will talk, and... I will pass his judgment. But was I right in helping him date Sakura? What if one of them died? What I-"

"There is nothing wrong in helping them find love," Kazama cut in. "I am even a bit jealous." He remembered his old loneliness, devoid of friends. If he could have a girlfriend to support him in his life, he would have been far happier than he had. "They have both issues, we have all realized that. Perhaps that staying together will help these two deal with their inner problems."

"Maybe," the jounin admitted. "But-"

"No buts," the demon vessel replied, as he created another clone, who disguised himself as Tazuna. "Stop beating yourself over your decisions. Nothing will go wrong if you are here to protect them."

The man's lone eye blinked. "I failed to protect many people, like your father."

"Then this time you will succeed."

They arrived at the bridge, and were greeted by the workers and the mist. Fortunately, Kazama's knowledge of Tazuna made the deception easy. The ninjas gathered around the false old man, awaiting the inevitable.

When the mist thickened, Kazama realized Zabuza's team was just in time for the rendezvous.

"They are coming," he declared. "Protect Tazuna." _Or rather, my clone_, he added silently.

His allies took their position, ready to strike anytime. The workers were swiftly evacuated, and for a moment, nothing happened.

Then, the group discerned four shapes advancing toward them. Kisame Hoshigake, only wearing pants and Samehada. Zabuza Momochi, presenting himself in a jounin vest and carrying his blade on the back. Haku, wearing a black kimono, but no mask. A white-haired boy, with grey robes covering his skin. Kazama immediately recognized him.

_The bone freak… _The teenager remembered his last fight with him very well. _That's not good… he is one hell of a tough opponent, and unfortunately, they look prepared for battle._

"So!" Kazama shouted. "Have you listened to our offer?"

"Yes, and we rejected it," Zabuza unsheathed his sword. "When we are bought, we stay bought."

"Gato is going to betray you," the demon vessel shot back. "This man doesn't have any honor, but we do. We have all the funds necessary to help you in your goal!"

"We will simply take them on your dead body," Kimimaro replied.

"Little fish…" Kisame muttered, as he stared at Kitsune with a shocked expression. "What are you doing here?"

The boy gazed gravely at the swordsman. "I'm fighting with my family… as I have done before, Kisame-san."

_They know each other? _Kazama wondered.

"What do you-" The former Mist-nin didn't finish his sentence, as realization hit him. "You're the foxman?"

"Yes," he answered. "My rage transforms me into a monster."

"I see…" Kisame trailed off. "It's sad we have to fight again today. Samehada won't like it." The sword grumbled sadly.

"Sorry," Kitsune apologized, smiling at both the swordsman and his blade, "but it's my duty."

The man blinked. "Let's end this all today."

"Forgive me, Naruko-san," Haku announced to the blonde girl. "Please step aside. You are a nice kid. I don't want to fight you."

"Haku-chan…" The demon vessel whispered. "You don't have to do this. I will stand, but you can back down."

The kunoichi chuckled sadly. "I am sorry to say this, but I will fight side by side with my team. And if I have to do so… I will kill my heart, and eliminate you."

The blonde girl closed her eyes, before opening them with a determined look. "If it is so, then we have nothing to say anymore."

"Words are unnecessary," Zabuza declared. "Prepare yourself. Hidden Mist techn-"

He flinched.

A few water drops touched Kazama's shoulder, and then the rest of the group. Rain dissipated the mist, revealing the unfinished bridge in its full glory. The clouds were dark, casting their shadow upon the world below.

But something was abnormal. The water was mixed with chakra… a sinister chakra Kazama immediately recognized. A few stray memories rushed through his mind, especially the image of Naruko being beaten within an inch of life…

_Susanoo._

"Don't touch the rain!" Sasori shouted, the first of all to realize the danger. "The water is mixed with chakra! It's a long-range technique!"

"Effective," someone laughed from the other side of the bridge. Recognizing the voice, Kazama felt his blood freeze within his veins. Three figures materialized at the end of the bridge, their abnormal eyes gazing at the gathered ninjas, as if they were some kind of predators. The demon vessel's copies gasped, and Sasori frowned. Both Kisame's and Kakashi's teams were staring at the newcomers, but only the teenager's former teacher seemed to realize who they were.

"Hello, Uzumaki Naruto," Tsukiyomi greeted, Amaterasu and Susanoo standing beside him. "You have led us on quite the chase, but we have finally managed to find you and your companions."

_Crap_, the ninja thought. _Kisame's band was a huge problem on its own, and now these three…_

"Who are you?" The normal-Naruto asked. "I've never met you."

Susanoo chuckled. "Of course you don't. We only fought your alternate counterparts, after all." The sadistic bastard noticed Naruko glaring at her, and snorted. "Still alive, little girl? You want another spanking?"

"You are going to taste your own medicine, god wannabe!" She shouted, adopting a defensive pose. "I will kick your ass so hard you will end up on the moon!"

He sighed. "As much as I admire your confidence and tenacity, I'm saddened by your inability to learn from your mistakes. You cannot defeat me. Not now, not ever."

"So these are the guys you were afraid about," Zabuza growled, as he tightened his hold on his blade. "They look like theater actors."

Amaterasu observed the swordsman, and Kisame. "This actor killed your whole team single-handily in his home universe." The Beheading Knife and Samehada materialized in his palms. "I took these trophies from their corpses, as I will take your swords if you ever try to hinder us."

Kisame paled as he saw his own weapon move uncontrollably. "Who are you? How can you even possess a second Samehada?"

"I am Uchiha Madara, but you can call me Amaterasu if you prefer," the ninja stated with a proud tone, as the blades vanished. "And I wield your sword because I killed you, in another world."

"What is this gibberish?" Kimimaro asked. Horns of bones formed all over his body, making him look like a white hedgehog.

"The truth," Susanoo replied, as he stared at Kazama, pointing his index on him. "This man's real name is Uzumaki Naruto, and his friends are copies of him! They aren't from this world, but from beyond the veil separating dimensions!"

"I still don't understand what the hell you're talking about," Zabuza complained.

"Well…" Chibaku trailed off. "It's kinda hard to explain…"

"Drop the advanced Henge," Kazama ordered. "It will be simpler." He revealed his original appearance, and the others followed his example. Except them, Kakashi, and the Uchiha Trio, everyone gasped.

"What the fuck…" Naruto's normal-self muttered. "They're like me!"

"It's complicated," his teacher said. "But basically, they are you… or rather, what you could have been. I will tell you everything, once we have won this battle."

"So you were aware of that?"

"Yes," the jounin stated, as he revealed his Sharingan. "And Kazama's team and I are going to fight them. They are enemies of Konoha, and very dangerous. Stay away."

Sakura shook her head. "We won't flee."

"It's not the day to mutiny," Kakashi replied. "Go away."

"No," Sasuke stated. "We have improved, and we can help you."

"Together, Team 7 can face everything," his blonde student said. "Please..."

The jounin frowned. "Fine, but I want you to run away if things go sour."

"There is another option, beside fighting," Tsukiyomi announced. "Why not make peace and work together?"

… _What_? "Is this a joke?" Kazama wondered out loud.

"Not at all," the masked man explained. "Why not forget old grudges and team-up? Imagine what we could do if we combined our abilities. We would be unstoppable."

"No, sorry, I'm not interested in joining the people that killed Kabuto," Chibaku replied, as he unsealed Uke Mochi. Sasori released two dummies, linked to each other by a long, black chain.

"You killed my agent. I want to be reimbursed."

Susanoo chuckled. "It can be arranged." He rolled his shoulders. "I can resurrect him."

"Yeah, let's believe the guys that tried to kill us," Chibaku deadpanned.

"Believe what you want, but I can bring him back," the man said, as he touched his mask. "The Rinnegan's powers are limitless."

The blonde puppeteer snorted, and his teacher didn't move.

"The voices want to kill you, and for once I agree with them," Kitsune declared, as his eyes reddened.

"As I said, I'm just going to kick your ass," Naruko stated. "It's payback time."

"Sorry, but no, we will fight today," Kazama said, as he adopted an attack stance.

Tsukiyomi blinked. "This is unfortunate, and pointless. Don't you realize that our goals are the same? Konoha betrayed us all, and we can destroy it, across all universes. We can create a paradise, where peace will be eternal."

Kazama stiffened. "Under our tyranny I suppose?" He guessed.

"People are weak," the masked man replied. "They do not deserve to rule. Don't you want to get back at the men and women that abused you all your life?"

"What I want doesn't matter," the teenager stated. "You attacked us, killed Kabuto, and almost killed Naruko. I am not going to forgive you for this."

"Sensei…" the girl muttered.

"Vengeance is healthy, as is your loyalty to your friends," Tsukiyomi agreed. "But your double is still alive, and we can bring back Kabuto whenever we want. Defying death is possible. Orochimaru proved it once."

"Maybe," Kazama nodded. "But I do not trust you. At all."

The masked man stiffened. "You realize that what we can't obtain peacefully, we will take by force? Do you really want your friends to die?"

"I won't let you touch them," the demon vessel growled. "You will have to go through me."

"And me," Kakashi said, his team eying the trio with determination.

"Fine," Susanoo menaced. "Your unity is admirable, but an organized bunch of losers is still no threat to us."

"The last time we fought," Amaterasu added as he eyed Kitsune and Chibaku, "we were toying with you. But since you proved yourself to be more dangerous than we expected, this time there will be no holding back."

"It is sad, travelers, but we will have to make you comply," Tsukiyomi declared sadly. "You will help us, whether you desire it, or not."

"Sorry to say that," Kisame declared. "But, while I don't understand at all what's happening, the kids are ours to kill. Get lost."

Susanoo laughed. "Disappear, little fish. We need the world wanderer alive. We will kill the rest for you, so return to your fish bowl."

"My wounded pride tells you to shove off!" Zabuza spat. "We have a contract, and I will wash my defeat with his blood! S-Rank or not, I will kill you if you get in the way!"

"… S-Rank?"

Everyone looked at Amaterasu, who seemed insulted.

"S-Rank?" he repeated. "We are not S-Rank ninjas."

Space twisted. The rain stopped. The clouds were red, and the image of a giant Sharingan formed on them.

"We are _SS-Rank. _We are a class all of our own!"

Countless weapons appeared before the eye's mirage. Blades, spears, hammers, scythes, flails, knives, daggers, arrows… Kazama watched mesmerized as they floated above the bridge, ready to fall anytime.

"I have collected over a thousand blades!" Amaterasu declared, clearly proud of his accomplishments. "I have survived a century of war! I have defeated armies! Today, you will too fall before me! Our battle will be legendary! "

He waved his hands in a challenging gesture.

"I am Madara Uchiha, god of war, and I fear no one! Storm of Blades!"

Instantly, all his weapons descended upon the gathered ninjas like a rain of metal.

The battle had just begun, and yet right off the bat it would become a bloody one.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's Notes:<em>**

"GATE OF BABYLON!"

... anyway, please review and tell me what you think of this chapter.


	10. Chapter 10: The Killing Field

Thank you all for the numerous review . Continue to add them! And, as always, thank you, Alpha142 and Third Fang, for your very precious help!

Traveler/Original Naruto: Kazama Arashi.

Female Naruto: Naruko Arashi.

Puppeteer Naruto: Chibaku Arashi.

Werefox Naruto: Kitsune Arashi.

Deceiver/Original Madara: Tsukiyomi.

Destroyer/Rinnegan Madara: Susanoo.

Warrior/Collector Madara: Amaterasu.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto is the only owner... for now.

**_Chapter Ten: The Killing Field_**

In less than a minute, everything went straight to hell.

While Kakashi and his team avoided the multiple weapons thrown at them, they broke their formation to do so, like all the ninjas present. The three masked men charged at them, and the situation evolved into a chaotic melee.

The jonin's Sharingan, however, helped him keep track of the events.

Firstly, his genin were currently fighting one of the fake hunter-nin, the one in white. The missing-nin was now covered with an armor of bones, making him look like a knight. He was wielding a flail, made of a skull and vertebrae.

Secondly, Kitsune, Kisame, Zabuza and that Amaterasu guy began to attack each other. The young blonde transformed into a werefox, the SS-Rank shinobi picked up two katanas, and engaged the two swordsmen of Mist in a fencing battle.

Thirdly, the second hunter-nin formed a dome of ice around him, Chibaku, Shinja, Naruko and the man with mismatched eyes. Before they disappeared from Kakashi's view, he saw Naruko beginning a water jutsu, and the masked ninja projecting chakra with his hand at his enemies.

Finally, Kazama and Kakashi himself were assaulted by the last Madara Uchiha, who shot blue fireballs at them with his fingers. The two ninjas avoided them all, and riposted with the Heat Wave and the Dragon's Breath. The result was a massive cone of fire hoisted at their opponent.

Space twisted, and the inferno got absorbed by the man, as if he were a vacuum cleaner. Madara put his palms together, and a freaking tornado formed around him. Unable to resist, Kakashi and his ally were swallowed by it, like the sea's water and large chunks of the bridge.

Reacting quickly, Kazama used heat wave to propel himself within the tornado, and Kakashi imitated him with great breakthrough. Their enemy seemed to simply walk on the winds, perfectly at ease within the chaos.

Kazama, closing the space between him and his enemy, tried to ram a rasengan in the masked man's chest, only to fall through him. Then, Madara somehow transformed himself into a black hole, absorbing everything near him.

A second later, Kakashi had left the inside of a tornado for a dark place. He landed on strange pillar of rock, before jumping on the side, escaping death when a large part of the bridge crashed near him. The location was composed of white structures and a shadowy, moonless and starless sky.

Kazama was too on another pillar, but Madara was nowhere to be seen. The blonde approached the jonin. "Kakashi-sensei, do you have any idea where we are?"

The man masked his surprise, and shook his head. "No."

The other ninja sighed. "Well, that's too-"

Faster than the wind, Kakashi rammed a Chidori in the blonde's chest… and as expected, went through him.

"How did you know?" Madara said, as he retook his original form, teleporting a bit away.

"My Sharingan can recognize a Henge when it sees one," the man replied. _That, and Kazama is always disturbed when he calls me Kakashi-sensei... which you weren't._

The masked man's lone eye blinked. "So Obito is helping you from beyond the grave?" Blue fire formed within his palm. "Let me see if you are worthy of my descendant's help."

Suddenly, a blast of cold wind blew toward Madara, who vanished. Kazama, the real one, landed next to Kakashi. "I don't know what kind of place is it, and I don't see any escape."

"He swallowed us," the jonin stated. "Perhaps this place is the source of his powers?"

A deep voice resonated in the air. "Correct, Hatake Kakashi," Madara whispered. "This is the Takamagahara, a pocket dimension linked to my Sharingan, created by myself and only for myself. The only way to leave… is to beat me." The masked man reappeared, far, far away.

"Meteor Shower!" he shouted.

Red lights illuminated the darkness above the trio. Burning rocks of the size of shuriken descended upon them, at an incredible speed. As fast as they could, Kakashi and Kazama began to run at Madara, struggling to avoid the falling stars along the way.

The masked man used a technique. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

Kakashi's eyes widened in horror as a second Madara appeared next to the original, charged at the jonin, and almost put a kunai in the copy-nin's skull. In a masterful show of agility, the ninja moved his head out of the weapon's way, and at the same time attempted to punch his opponent in the belly. Unfortunately, his adversary jumped to the side… an action that shocked the grey-haired shinobi.

_He didn't turn intangible!_ Kakashi thought. _He didn't teleport either! This clone can't use all of the original's abilities!_

Devising a strategy, the jonin briefly looked sideways at his partner, who was engaged in a ninjutsu battle with the other Madara. The copy exploited his moment of inattention, projecting a cone of blue fire with his palm at the copy-nin.

Deciding to counter fire with fire, the ninja riposted with the Dragon's Breath. The two infernos collided in a massive firework.

Suddenly, the Uchiha's clone ceased to project his azure blaze, bent down in an attack pose, and slammed the ground with his right hand. One of the pillars jumped out of the floor, and Madara kicked it, sending it flying at Kakashi. The man cut the missile in half with the Beast Tearing Palm, saving his own life.

Then, the Kage Bunshin oriented his clenched fists toward the soil. They projected blue fire, and propelled Madara in the air. The floating ninja then began to spit fireballs at Kakashi.

The man sighed as he prepared a jutsu. _If a simple shadow clone is strong enough to compete with me, I don't think my partner will be able to defeat the original alone. I must kill this copy, and rush to Kazama's help._

Unfortunately, he had the feeling things wouldn't be so easy.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Traveler, Kazama<em>**

Ten shadow clones of Kazama used Heat Wave at the same moment, targeting Tsukiyomi, who didn't move. "Behold the wrath of the skies! Wind Release: Fuujin!"

An invisible blast pushed back the blondes' attack, dissipated them, shattered the pillars, and hit the world wanderer with the strength of a cannonball. The teenager flew, and crashed on the ground, feeling some of his bones breaking under the shock.

Struggling to ignore the pain, the young man rose up, and used cold wave at Madara. This time, his adversary faded out of Kazama's sight.

"I see that you have mastered some of your ancestral techniques," the ninja's voice muttered to the blonde's ears. "It is good. The blood of the Uzumaki is still strong within you. Unfortunately," the masked man said, as he appeared right before his adversary, "Konoha's actions have restrained it." He tried to punch Kazama in the face, but the blonde instinctively tilted his head, before grabbing the man's arm... or at least, trying, as his own hands simply went through it.

Stepping back, the blonde avoided a kick, and then another. Madara attacked again and again, but the teenager managed to redirect most blows away... at least, when his enemy wasn't becoming intangible.

"Oh, you are using the Azure Dragon Style?" the masked man asked, curious. "It's a very bastardized, inferior version, but still, I wonder where you found its instructions... anyway... I have bad news for you."

"What?"

"You're not very good at it yet," the man stated, as he grabbed the blonde's sleeves, restrained his arms, and approached his head. Kazama found himself locking eyes with his opponent's strange and gleaming Sharingan.

"Tsukiyomi."

Instantly, the world turned red.

Kazama inwardly cursed, as he found himself standing on a cloud, under a crimson moon. He could see the bloody earth below, and more importantly, Uchiha Madara looking at him from another drift.

"Welcome in my mind, Uzumaki Naruto."

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Werefox, Kitsune<em>**

_**KILL THEM!**_ The voices ordered.

_I'm doing what I can!_ Kitsune answered, as he moved out of a katana's way. Amaterasu continued his assault, lazily countering Kisame's attempts at cutting him in half. Zabuza decided to take his chance and behead both the werefox and the SS-Rank menace. Kitsune bent down, avoiding the attack, and Amaterasu jumped.

Spinning, the man counterattacked by cutting the missing-nin's left shoulder, before kicking him in the jaw. Zabuza staggered and protected himself from a second strike, by using his massive blade like a shield.

Kitsune decided to exploit the occasion. "Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet!"

Nonchalantly, Amaterasu fell through the ground, and the blast of wind ejected Zabuza out of the bridge, making him fall into the sea.

Then, Kisame tried to shred the werefox apart with Samehada… but stopped moving, as lines of ink covered his body. "What?" The man yelled.

_Sasori's seal…_ "**_You won't be able to move for a good time…_**" He showed his fangs. "**_But I can…_**"

Someone chuckled. "So you have your little surprises, _kit_."

Kitsune turned his head, and locked eyes with Amaterasu. The voices' rage and thirst for revenge overwhelmed him, and the possessed boy adopted a bestial, ferocious pose.

"I have to repay you for last time," the masked man said, as he caressed his shoulder with his duke. He dropped his blades, and cracked his fingers. "Why not settle our feud hand-to-hand, in a good old fistfight?"

The werefox roared, and charged. Amaterasu lowered his stance, his eyes fixed on his incoming opponent. Then, he ran toward Kitsune, and punched him in the chest, breaking ribs.

Kitsune didn't care, and swung his paw, almost beheading the man, who tilted his head. A second later, a fist impacted on the werefox's face.

His adversary became invisible. His speed was incredible, and his blows were like cannonballs. Sheltering himself behind his arms, the boy resisted the tempest of strikes painfully, sensing his bones being shattered and his blood dripping on the bridge.

A powerful upper kick hit his jaw, and sent him fly in the air. Amaterasu teleported behind him, closely following his movements. Strange threads worked their way out of his armor, like black tentacles. "Earth Grudge Fear: Aerial Capture."

The strings grabbed Kitsune, winding around his muscles. "Madara's Lotus: Fallen Lord," the masked man whispered.

Both teleported above the clouds, before descending toward the bridge, spinning rapidly. Kitsune knew his head would be the first thing to hit the ground, and thought fast about a way to save his own life.

As the duo was ten meters above the floor, the werefox opened his muzzle. He released a blast of air, which slowed down his fall. Crimson chakra covered his fur…

The collision was extremely brutal. Kitsune felt as if someone had dropped a mountain on him. The bridge broke partially, and rock shattered. The werefox didn't doubt that without the Kyuubi's power protecting him and healing his wounds, he would have died. Even then, he couldn't move, laying pathetically on the ground, at Amaterasu's mercy.

The masked man was standing before the blonde boy, narrowing his head at him. "So you survived… I have to admit it, you are very resilient… but it wasn't enough."

The werefox growled in a feeble response.

"It's nothing personal," the Uchiha said, as he took one of the swords nearby. "It is simply the law of nature. The strong kills the weak, the predator eats the prey."

"Go… to… hell…" the boy spat, as he unwillingly retook his original appearance. The voices were silent, stunned.

"I am already in it," the man said, as he wavered his blade. "I am living in a world where the weak is prospering, where no one can compete with me. What is a warrior without worthy foes to overcome?"

"Alone," a voice answered.

Kitsune and Amaterasu turned their face toward an immobile Kisame, who was smirking. "A true warrior doesn't fight for money, for power, for peace. A true warrior fights for the fight itself, kill for the sake of killing. Names, position, causes, glory… do not matter. Only the challenge matters." He difficultly brandished Samehada, struggling against the seal. "This philosophy, I understand it perfectly."

The masked man teleported before Kisame. "Then, if you are like me, are you willing to fight me?"

"Yes."

"Even if your chances of defeating me are almost inexistent?"

"Yes," the man declared with a shark-like grin.

Amaterasu stayed silent, before touching Kisame's neck with his fingers. The seal vanished. "Then come."

The two combatants swung their swords, beginning their duel. Kitsune, unable to move, watched silently the spectacular battle. Skills, parades, tricks… two weapon masters were displaying their abilities to their fullest. Amaterasu only relied on his weapon, preventing Kisame's use of ninjutsu by targeting his arms all the time. "No techniques. Let our blades decide our fate."

"Fine," the missing-nin snarled. "I will kill you the way you want!"

And yet, despite his bragging, Kisame was obviously the underdog.

Kitsune saw him slowly getting cut more and more, his movements becoming more and more sloppy, his speed being reduced. Amaterasu's assaults were savage and deadly. He was at tempest that couldn't be stopped. The swordsman from Mist tried to behead his enemy one last time... and a sword pierced his body, splattering the soil with blood.

After a while, Kisame fell on the ground, a sword through his belly. Amaterasu stood still, like a statue.

In the end, the battle had a clear winner.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Normal<em>**

Naruto was having a bad day.

He and his team were fighting a monster. A physical one. The ninja looked like a samurai, but his armor was composed of ribs and bones. It was like a human whose flesh had been replaced by the material underneath it.

His weapon was especially dangerous. The skull-flail, attached to a spine, moved quickly and brutally. It had already shattered the ground more than once, and Naruto had no doubt that any hit of this thing would be deadly.

"Surrender Tazuna to me," the monster ordered. "Do it, and I will let you live."

The disguised clone grunted. "I'm not even the real deal!" he said, as he retook his original appearance.

The skeleton clenched his fists. "Where is Tazuna?"

"We have things more important to deal with right now!" The clone yelled. "This trio is going to slaughter us if-"

The freak twisted his hand, and the flail pulverized the doppelganger's. He frowned. "A clone," he murmured to himself, before staring at the three genin. "Where is Tazuna? The real one."

"As if we were going to tell you!" Sakura spat.

The monster straightened up. "Either you do, or you die."

"Idiot," Naruto snarled. "Kazama-san is right, these three guys are gunning for us all! Why not make a truce?"

The skeleton snorted. "My companions can handle these arrogant trashes. Even better, they will make your allies' defeat easier."

"You fool," Sasuke sneered. "You are going to die."

"Your friends are the only one that will fall today," the monster shot back. "Enough talk. Where is the real Tazuna?"

The Uchiha's response consisted of four words. "Fire Release: Wild Phoenix." Three fireballs impacted on the freak… who didn't even flinch.

"Fine," the monster grunted. "You are going down. Fear the wrath of the last of the Kaguya, Kimimaro." He swung the flail, and tried to smash Sasuke with it. The genin barely saved his life by jumping backward. The skeleton began to slowly walk at the trio.

Naruto gazed at Sakura. "Ready?"

"Ready and waiting."

The two then lowered their stance, before executing hand seals in perfect synchronization. The Violent Water Wave and the Violent Wind Palm were used the same instant, creating a powerful jet of water, aimed at Kimimaro… but it didn't even slow the bastard down.

The freak pointed his hand's fingers at them, shooting five bones bullets. Sakura put herself between her team and the projectile. "Water Release: Water Tornado." The shield of liquid whirled… and the shots went through it.

Sakura screamed as two bullets lodged themselves in her left shoulder, while Sasuke and Naruto managed to avoid the three remaining ones.

As fury spread over his face, Naruto didn't even wait to land on the ground to attack, making the seals necessary for the Beast Tearing Palm. The cutting gale slashed Kimimaro's helmet of bone, but barely scratched it.

_Is this guy invulnerable?_ The genin wondered, as he rushed at his girlfriend's rescue, while Sasuke bombarded the freak with fire techniques, stalling his advance. "Sakura-chan, are you alright?"

"Yeah…" she replied, as she got up. "We have to-"

Kimimaro tried to kill the Uchiha with a swing of his flail, but the genin jumped… and the weapon continued its course.

The attack's real target wasn't Sasuke. It was-

"SAKURA!"

He pushed her on the side… and the flail smashed his spine, shattered it, his bones and his ribs, before making him crash on the ground.

The blonde's view became red and blurry. He couldn't hear well… he couldn't even feel his limbs. Sideways, he saw Sakura crying over him.

"Survive… Sakura-chan," Naruto whispered, before closing his eyes, never to open them again.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Girl, Naruko<em>**

As a dome of mirrors enclosed Haku, Susanoo, Sasori and the pervert, Naruko attacked. "Water Release: Snake's Mouth."

The water on the bridge, left by the rain, took the form of a furious reptile that opened its jaw at the fatalist bastard. The man opened his palm in the viper's direction, and a flare of white chakra destroyed the liquid creature.

"You have progressed, little girl," the masked ninja grunted. "But it isn't enough."

"Then take that!" Chibaku shouted, as his puppet opened its muzzle. "Puppet Technique: Blinding Breath!" The machine spat white gas at Susanoo.

At the same, hundreds reflections of Haku formed on the ice. "Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death." She unleashed a true rain of senbon, but not on everyone. Simply on the Uchiha jerk. The man's red eye transformed into a black hole that swallowed the weapons and the gas.

Naruko saw a smirk spread over Sasori's face. One of his two dummies, looking like a black and thin female humanoid, jumped into the gap within space, staying attached to the second puppet. The white male machine plunged all his fingers into the bridge, an act that allowed him not to be absorbed.

And then…

Susanoo screamed.

Naruko stayed still, terrified, as the masked monster roared in pain. The chain turned white, and the Uchiha bastard grabbed it. Sasori's grin widened. "ATTACK!"

Obeying, Naruko threw a full volley of kunai, imitated by Chibaku. The weapons flew, and Haku launched innumerable needles herself. They almost hit Susanoo… and he groaned something.

"Shinra… Tensei…"

The projectiles suddenly changed course, switching target. Naruko, Sasori and Chibaku sheltered themselves behind Uke Mochi, and Haku's mirrors protected her.

Finally, Susanoo succeeded in ejecting the black dummy from the hole, sending it crash on the dome. The puppet shattered, and its owner promptly sealed it and its white partner into a scroll.

Susanoo glared at the redhead puppeteer. "What… WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?" he yelled hatefully.

Sasori answered by pointing his palm at his opponent, and a jet of pressurized water flowed out of it in the Uchiha bastard's direction. The masked man brutally slammed his hands. "SHINRA TENSEI!"

An invisible force pushed back the water, Naruko and her companions, before making the dome explode into thousands of ice shards.

Rising up, the blonde girl began a jutsu. "Water Release: Stormy Blockade!" The clouds spat a real waterfall upon Susanoo, who stared at the skies. His mask radiated with a blue light, and a powerful beam coming from the ninja's Rinnegan vaporized the liquid.

The Uchiha stared at Naruko. "You sure love water, don't you?" He snarled. "And I REALLY LOVE FIRE!" He pointed his index at her, and a powerful cone of blue fire rushed toward her.

A wall of water saved her from death, and a fake hunter-nin appeared next to the blonde girl. "Naruko-san, are you okay?"

She nodded. "Thank you, Haku-chan."

"It's nothing," the kunoichi replied, as she created a real fortress of ice between her and Susanoo's endless blaze. "He and his allies are menacing us all. If we combine our efforts, surely we-"

The cold wall exploded, interrupting the young lady. A blue light was emanating from the Uchiha bastard's Rinnegan. "Goodbye," he whispered, as he shot a powerful beam at the two girls.

This time, a shield of black metal protected them, even though a large part of it melted. Sasori was twitching his fingers, making a humanoid puppet release iron sand from its mouth. Chibaku had sealed Uke Mochi, and approached the two kunoichi. "Are you alright?" He asked them.

Both nodded. "What happened?" Naruko wondered. "He doesn't absorb anything now."

The blonde puppeteer smirked. "We neutralized his power over space."

"How?" she gasped.

"By unbalancing his chakra," he explained. "He is a master of the Yin and Yang releases, two special affinities for chakra. By manipulating them, he affects the fabric of time-space. It's complicated, but when we sent the Izanami into his hole, it spread Yin chakra into it. Having too much Yin and not enough Yang to equalize his energy, his chakra went awry, and will probably stay unstable for a long time." Noticing the two girls' questioning frowns, Chibaku sighed. "Basically, we screwed his chakra control, and he cannot become intangible, nor teleport, without it."

"He still has an incredible firepower," Sasori continued, as the black sand stopped multiple beams of light. "He is however vulnerable at close-range now. Chibaku, Naruko, as soon as I, and the Hyoton girl create an opening, you will close the gap between us and him, and assault him physically."

"And how are we supposed to survive, Sasori?" Chibaku grumbled. "He'll vaporize us before we can even reach him."

"By using the Kyuubi's help," the redhead replied. "If I remember well, I specifically modified your seal to facilitate your contact with it, haven't I?"

The blonde opened his mouth, but closed it almost immediately. His eyes became red, and a cloak of crimson chakra covered his body. Sasori then stared blankly at Naruko. "And you?"

_Kyuubi-san, I need help!_

**_Of course, _**the Bijuu complied, and she felt the demon's energy racing through her veins_._**_ Make this cursed asshole suffer as much as possible. I owe him one hell of a beating, and I REALLY want to pay him back._**

Two tails formed in her back, and three behind Chibaku. The redhead puppeteer locked eyes with Haku. "Ready?"

She nodded. "Yes, Sasori-san."

"Then let's go."

The wall of iron sand shifted and transformed into spears flying at Susanoo. Haku shot shards of ice at the same target and both Chibaku and Naruko began to run faster than the wind. The Uchiha bastard waved his hands, and projected jets of chakra toward them, his Rinnegan still shooting beams.

The next twenty seconds were extremely chaotic for the blonde girl. Unable to properly observe what was going on around her, her view being reduced thank to the speed, she only saw incoming rays of light, and avoided them. She heard the sounds of shouts, explosions and of the bridge's destruction, but she didn't stop her course.

Then, Naruko stared at Chibaku, who reached Susanoo the first. The blonde puppeteer tried to punch the masked man, who simply blinked.

A second later, the blonde puppeteer was sent flying away.

A second later, Naruko prepared herself to kick the Uchiha.

A second later, the man noticed her, and his eyes widened.

A second later, the blonde girl's foot connected with the proud jerk's head.

A second later, Uchiha Madara was propelled backward, his mask cracking under the shock.

A second later, an invisible force made Naruko crash on the ground.

Three seconds later, both she and Susanoo got up.

A second later, they glared at each other.

A second later, the masked man yelled: "SHINRA TENSEI!"

A second later, Naruko's eyes widened, as the whole construction was pushed underwater, breaking.

A second later, the blonde girl, and about a third of the bridge, sank into the ocean.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Traveler, Kazama<em>**

"Your attempts at harming me are useless, young man," Tsukiyomi said as Kazam tried to ram a rasengan in his chest, but simply passing through him. The SS-Rank ninja teleported, reappearing a few meters away.

"I am omnipotent in this illusion," Tsukiyomi declared. "I control time and space, energy and matter, life and death. For three days, you will be at my mercy. Don't worry, I won't torture you, if that's what you fear."

"Then what do you want?" The demon vessel spat.

"I want to talk," he explained. "I want to convince you to stop this madness. Can't you see that our enmity is pointless? We can do great things together, instead of battling?"

The teenager gritted his teeth. "And you really expect me to hear you?"

"Yes," the masked man answered. "What have you to lose in listening to my words? Let me explain you the whole situation. You might find my propositions interesting… and I have answers to all your questions."

The ninja… wasn't wrong. Kazama had nothing to lose in hearing him. Hell, he had listened to Mizuki's, Neji's, Gaara's, Sasuke's and Orochimaru's ramblings. He could survive this man's sentences… and if he knew the whole truth about him… "Alright, you won," the blonde stated. "I will listen to you." _At least, until I find a way to escape this illusion,_ he added silently.

"I am happy to hear that," Tsukiyomi said. "You won't be disappointed."

A table and two chairs formed out of the clouds, and the masked man sat on one of them. "Please, get comfortable." Kazama reluctantly sat down.

"Let me present myself. I am Uchiha Madara, founder of Konohagakure, former leader of the Uchiha Clan, and Akatsuki's strategist and second-in-command," the SS-Rank ninja explained with a proud, if polite, tone. "I have adopted the codename of Tsukiyomi to facilitate battle plans with my two counterparts… and I am from the same world as you."

_So this guy was in the Akatsuki… I should have guessed before, with his robes…_ "I am simply Naruto Uzumaki," the blonde replied. "Why were you in the Akatsuki?"

The man chuckled. "Honestly? To destroy Konoha, for betraying me," he declared.

_Okay, it's confirmed: he is not a nice guy._

"And, secondly, to obtain the power necessary to reshape the world in my image, and to create a utopia."

"A utopia?" Kazama asked.

"I have… a vision," Madara explained. "In my dreams, I have seen a perfect world. Tell, Uzumaki Naruto," he locked eyes with the blonde, "do you have dreams? Ambitions?"

That was a difficult question. Once upon a time, he had desired to be Hokage, to earn the acknowledgement of the citizens of Konoha. But not anymore, not after this whole conspiracy deal… he had goals, but… "I wouldn't call it dreams, more like quests."

Tsukiyomi silently invited him to continue.

"I want to help all my counterparts, that suffer, in this multiverse," he said. "I want to find who is behind our crappy life… I want to see my parents… I want to see Uzushiogakure, or restore it… I have a lot of goals."

"This is a good thing, to have multiple objectives," the masked man declared. "Sacrificing everything for one dream is self-destructive. My descendant, Sasuke, is the living proof of that. He showed it, at the valley of the end."

Kazama's eyes widened. "You were present?"

"Not in flesh," Madara replied. "One of Akatsuki's agents recorded the fight, and I carefully observed it. Like all good ancestors, I am watching over my great-great-great-grandson."

"I see…"

"Anyway," the masked man wavered his hand, "what is your opinion of Konoha?"

_Bad._ "It's complicated."

"They ostracized you for something you didn't do," Madara pointed out with a soft voice. "They hated you. They ruined your life. They prevented you from reaching your full potential. They tried to transform you into a slave. If I had been you, I would have said 'I want to destroy them all'."

"They didn't all hate me," he replied. That, at least, was true...

"Who?" Tsukiyomi asked. "The owners of a ramen stand? Iruka Umino?" He chuckled at Kazama's blank expression. "Don't be surprised. My agents observed you all of your life. I know almost everything about you… at least, until you began hopping worlds. I know that your only non-hostile human contacts before your graduation were the Sandaime, your instructor Iruka Umino, the proprietors of Ichiraku's, and sometimes your fellow slackers, Inuzuka Kiba, Akimichi Chouji and Nara Shikamaru. The first was simply seeing you to better manipulate you, the seconds were talking to you simply because you represented more than two thirds of their income, the third simply helped you out of pity, and the other kids viewed you as an accomplice at best and an annoyance at worst."

"That's wrong!" the teenager shouted. "I'm not sure anymore about the Sandaime, but-"

"Naruto-san," the masked man interrupted him calmly. "Have you ever seen someone else at the Ichiraku's Ramen Stand, beside you, Iruka, and Sarutobi?"

The question took Kazama aback… and terrified him once the teenager realized that the answer was 'no'.

"Ramen is not the most successful of all industries," Madara explained. "The Ichiraku's was almost bankrupt, before you came. With you and the Sandaime as regular and generous customers, Teuchi-san and his daughter didn't fear poverty anymore. That's the only reason they treated you well. They couldn't afford to lose you."

_That's a lie… that's a lie…_

"About your 'friends' at the Academy… let me ask you: did they ever invite you to their home? Did they ever try to stay in the same room as you, when you weren't punished? Did they ever offer anything to you?"

Kazama's silence was a good enough answer.

"And Iruka… apart from being slightly professional, what has he done for you? Did he give you remedial classes? Did he train you? Did he mentor you?"

"He saved my life," Kazama shot back.

"For you or for the Village?" Madara pointed out. "He simply protected his country's best weapon, and the forbidden scroll. He was a ninja doing his job, nothing more."

Anger spread over the teenager's face. "You're wrong!"

"Naruto-san," the ninja whispered kindly, "it pains me to say that, but it is the truth. Iruka isn't your friend. A true friend would have been there to help you refine your skills… would have accompanied you when you chased after Sasuke… would have invited you at his home… and Iruka did nothing, except paying a few ramen bowls and protecting you once, only because your death, and the loss of the forbidden scroll, would have been a crushing blow to Konoha. He saw you as a human being, yes. As a fellow comrade? Probably. But as a friend? I don't think so."

_He is lying… he must be lying!_

"About your team… Sasuke tried to kill you. Sakura beat you, insulted you, almost deserted to follow Sasuke, which equaled to abandoning you, the boy that saved her life from Gaara, before forcing you to bring back her crush, like you were some kind of dog, while she didn't even help. And when you returned… she still didn't consider you at your rightful valor. She rejected your advances. She still loved a traitor. She still thought you would obey her. Tell me, Naruto-san… with friends like this, do you really need enemies?"

Kazama clenched his fists. He hated to admit it, but Tsukiyomi was right. Completely. He was telling the truth… the horrible truth that he had tried to ignore. It was like listening to Orochimaru's rant in the Land of Grass, all over again.

"Kakashi didn't adopt you, the son of his mentor. He left you alone, only taught you tree-climbing of all things, and fully expected you to fail at the Chuunin Exams. 'Those who betray ninja rules are trash, but those who betray their comrades are worse than trash', that's his motto? He is quite the hypocrite, isn't he?"

"… I already know," Kazama whispered. "They aren't my only friends."

"Oh? You must be talking about your other teammates, the ones that helped you during your failed attempt at capturing my descendant? Except doing their job, what have they done for you? Nothing. Sai? He backstabbed you. Yamato? He was your _leash_. He was only there to restrain you, should you ever go crazy! Tsunade didn't believe enough in you to allow you to work without being watched!"

"… I have…" he almost said Jiraiya, but remembered his flawed training. "I have Gaara."

"He isn't from Konoha," Tsukiyomi noticed. "He is from Suna. Who, in Konoha, is really your friend?"

"Tsunade," he said. "Shizune."

Madara blinked. "Naruto-san… are you aware of the existence of the Inner Council?"

The what? "I don't know what you are talking about."

"The Inner Council is an unofficial assembly of powerful people that are basically, the anti-establishment to the Hokage's power. It is a shadowy force that rules Konoha from behind the scenes. And it responsible for most of your problems."

Kazama's eyes widened. "The conspiracy?"

"You can call it that, if you want, but the Inner Council is far more than a simple cabal. It has existed through the ages, under different forms, and formed under the Shodaime's rule. The first Inner Circle had been eliminated by the Nidaime. The Second Inner Circle came into being during the Sandaime's late years, before being destroyed by the Yondaime. The Third Inner Circle really formed after your birth, and still existed once we both left our original dimension."

The demon vessel thought about this new piece of information. "One alternate Sandaime explained me that they were composed of many influential people, but refused to give me names. Do you have them?"

"Of course," Madara declared. "But since things are different in each alternate worlds, the members might change, depending on the universe's changes."

Kazama gritted his teeth. The man was right, once again. "Anyway, I want you to give me their names."

Tsukiyomi… chuckled. "I will do far better than that."

Before the teenager could do anything, the world changed. They had left the skies, for a dark room. Dozens of people were sitting around a great table. The blonde and the Uchiha's chairs were floating above them.

"This is one of the last meetings that one of my agents recorded," Madara explained. "It was right before your departure from Konoha." He descended among them. "Come, and see for yourself. I will tell you who they are."

Kazama obeyed, and stared at his tormentors.

A dark haired man with white eyes. "Hiashi Hyuuga, head of the Hyuuga clan."

An adult copy of Shino. "Shibi Aburame, head of the Aburame clan."

A blonde man. "Inoichi Yamanaka, head of the Yamanaka clan."

An adult Shikamaru. "Shikaku Nara, head of the Nara clan."

An old woman. "Koharu Utatane, counselor of the Hokage, and the Sandaime's teammate."

An old man. "Homura Mitokado, counselor and former teammate of the Sandaime."

The list continued. Most were powerful merchants, influent jounin, and even a friend of the Daimyo. And finally…

A blonde woman, wearing green robes. Kazama's face was one blank expression. Another, dark-haired medic was standing behind her. "Tsunade Senju, Godaime Hokage of Konoha. Not a member, but rather… an executive. She is currently being kindly asked to order something to Jiraiya… specifically, to teach you a flawed style, so Konoha's agents will be able to put you down easily, and to study your Jinchuuriki's powers… and as you know, the man complied. Her assistant Shizune was present, and didn't say a word." The masked man touched the blonde teenager's shoulder. "So tell me, Naruto-san… do you have any friends in Konoha?"

Silence fell.

"… No."

The statement was sad and pitiful. It was the anguish of a broken man, the despaired cry of a reluctant loner, the suffering of a martyr. The scene crumbled, leaving only a deserted land.

"Are you happy, now?" Kazama asked, depressed. Damn, tears were dripping from his own eyes.

"Why should I?" the masked man asked. "I am not a monster that feeds on others' suffering." He joined his fingers. "Naruto-san… you must understand that, well, I am like you. Or rather, I was like you, once upon a time."

The land became a forest, and the duo was staring at a man wearing a red armor. His eyes were Sharingan. Another, younger Uchiha was standing beside him, wearing a blue armor.

"I am the man in red," Madara stated. "The other is my brother, Izuna… the only person I would have been ready to die for. When I was at my worst… he gave his most precious gift, willingly, to help me."

One second later, the younger Madara was cradling his bleeding brother. "On his deathbed, he forced me to promise him something. That one day, I would create a world where the gifted wouldn't be feared, where bright would prosper, where the privilege of name will be replaced the privilege of merit."

Kazama saw an armored Madara shaking hand with the Shodaime. "With Hashirama Senju, I founded Konoha on this basis. I thought it would be a utopia, a model… and I was wrong."

Pictures of the Nine Bijuu formed before them. "Do you know that Hashirama and I captured the nine demons? That we sacrificed our men, our time, our resources, to capture them? And do you know that in one act, they were all stolen from us."

The duo was now in the Hokage's office, where Madara was in an argument with the Shodaime. "Once the other countries asked, Hashirama gave them the Bijuu. 'To promote world peace' he said. 'For the sake of equality'. Those who worked hard to gain them had nothing, and those who stayed on the background, out of cowardice, obtained the result of our efforts. Can you imagine the pain I felt? To see all my beliefs being trampled upon by my most esteemed rival?"

The world became dark. Madara was starring at a crowd of Uchiha, all glaring at him. "I tried to rally my clan, to change things, but they betrayed me. They preferred the easy way. They ignored the sacrifice of my brother, of the dead, to preserve their 'peace', or rather, servitude. My own wife and children left me," the man roared, as a beautiful woman and three kids shook their head at him. "I damned myself for them, and they backstabbed me."

Kazama stayed silent. The masked man's eyes were full of an endless hate… the same eyes as Sasuke. The illusion took the appearance of the Valley of the End. "So I snapped. I tamed the Kyuubi, the beast my brother gave his life to capture, and I fought Hashirama… and lost. My brother's legacy was stolen from me, and I was left for dead. But I survived… I trained, prepared, planned, waited for the day when Konoha will finally burn… and out of the ashes, I will one day create a paradise."

The demon vessel felt as if he had been stuck by a lightning bolt. _This man tamed the Kyuubi… my mother was the former Jinchuuriki of the fox… she died the night of my birth…_ A few astray memories rushed through his mind…

_"She was my container in this world too, before someone ripped her seal and mind-controlled me into attacking Konoha."_

"Together, we can achieve this vision. My original plan was small-scaled… but with your power… with your power, we can gather the bright, the strong, the talented, and conquer all universes. We can get back at Konoha, everywhere. Alone, none of us can destroy this cursed village, but together, we will be unstoppable. We will be gods."

_"The day of Naruko's birth, a man named Madara Uchiha took her hostage and extracted me from Kushina, killing her in the process."_

The teenager couldn't answer. He opened his mouth. "Tsukiyomi… you are the one that unleashed the Kyuubi on Konoha, aren't you?"

Madara's eyes widened, confirming Kazama's theory. "I don't see what you are talking about," he lied.

"You extracted the Kyuubi from my mother," the blonde stated. Something in the back of his mind was convinced of that. "You killed her… and you ruined my life…" Chakra exuded from his body, without his mental command.

"It's a lie," Madara said. "Whoever told you that is a liar. Kushina's seal simply malfunctioned. It was an accident."

Kazama's chakra separated from him, and fused with the illusion. The decor changed, much to Madara's obvious surprise. The duo was now on a mountain. Madara was dragging a beautiful, red headed woman by the shirt, before facing the town in front on them: Konoha. He touched the woman's belly, opening a hole in it. The Kyuubi escaped from it, his eyes looking like two Sharingan.

"What is this fantasy?" Madara roared, before locking eyes with the blonde. "Don't believe these lies! It is probably a trick from the Kyuubi to manipulate you!"

"You do not tell the truth…" Kazama replied. "I simply know it…" he straightened. "You won't manipulate me, traito-"

The blonde didn't finish his sentence, and scoffed instead. A strong hand grabbed his neck, before lifting him. "Do not, _ever_, call me that, Naruto-san," Tsukiyomi murmured.

The teenager didn't answer… or rather couldn't.

"Yes," Madara said. "Yes, I unleashed the Kyuubi on Konoha. Yes, I extracted the demon from your mother, after she refused my proposition of alliance. But I didn't kill your mother, or your father, for the matter. The Kyuubi did, once your father freed him from my control. I am not responsible for what happened to your parents… the fox is."

He approached Kazama's head from his own. "It was for your own good… so you could have a future. Had your father not intervened, I would have taken you with me, and helped you achieve your true potential. If I hadn't intervened, you would have grown up as the son of a Jinchuuriki, as hated and despised as you were. You would have been a slave… and I wanted to make you a man. Can you really criticize that? I would have been a better father than your parents could ever be."

The teenager spat at the man's mask.

"You don't believe me?" Tsukiyomi asked. "I am being honest with you. Your father sealed the Kyuubi in you, instead of simply destroying it. He could have spared you the cruel fate of being a Jinchuuriki, but did not. He chose the village above his son… and did so willingly, with the blessing of his wife. He and your mother _betrayed you_, Naruto-san. I _saved you_ from their influence."

"This… is… bullshit…"

The murderer blinked. "Can't you see? Why can't you understand?" He seemed absorbed within his thoughts, before gasping. "Konoha must have brainwashed you."

_What?_

"That explains everything…" Madara muttered. "Why you didn't rebel, why you didn't follow my path, why you still refuse to strike back at them… they have brainwashed you, like these creatures from Root. It is the only explanation. This illusion must be one of their fail-safe. I will free you from their hold on your mind." His lone Sharingan became completely black, and he whispered something.

"Mikaboshi."

The world was suddenly swallowed by a deep darkness. The red illusion vanished, leaving only emptiness behind. Madara grew, reaching the size of a mountain, and took Kazama within his hands. "Let the void consume you, and be reborn anew," the giant whispered.

Coming out of nowhere, black threads pierced Kazama's torso, at the heart to be precise. The boy screamed.

"Do not fear the Mikaboshi… it is simply the sword that will sever all your restraints."

Kazama screamed…

And the pain stopped. Light leaked from his heart, vaporizing the black threads. A humanoid figure formed appeared. It was a beautiful, thin, and naked woman, composed of pure, azure crystal. It was like an angel.

"Kushina?" Madara muttered, completely shocked.

"ME!" she shouted, as thousands of blue chains formed from her body. They promptly restrained Madara's limbs.

_Mother?_ Kazama wondered.

"I understand... it was your chakra that twisted my jutsu," Tsukiyomi declared. "Sorry to disappoint you, but your son will be _mine_, and _mine alone_."

"No!" the angel spat. "I won't let you corrupt him!"

"The Mikaboshi is already within him, despite your efforts," Madara gloated. "The seed of the Uchiha will grow, slowly, and one day... one day he will forsake your crappy Will of Fire, and choose my path instead."

"My son is strong!" she yelled. "Strong enough to resist your curse!"

The chains tightened, crushing the giant Uchiha, who then exploded in a flash of light. The darkness faded away, and Kazama awakened.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Kakashi<em>**

Finally punching the clone in the face, Kakashi grinned mirthfully as he popped up into a cloud of smoke. Gathering all his strengths, the jounin rushed at Kazama's side. The blonde was apparently in trance, his body protected by chains of blue chakra. _Has he awakened his bloodline?_ The man wondered.

Madara Uchiha was holding his head with his hand, right in front of Kazama. "Kushina... cursed spitfire..." the ninja was gibbering to himself.

Seizing the occasion, Kakashi charged at his enemy, the chidori forming inside his fist. Even in his confusion, Tsukiyomi was still fast enough to deviate the blow, by seizing Kakashi's arm and directing it away from his heart. "It's not nice... to attack someone from behind..." His lone Sharingan met Kakashi's own...

_The grey-haired ninja had left reality for a red room, a perfect illusion of his home. The jounin's limbs were chained, and he couldn't move any. In front of him, his father, Sakumo Hatake, was laying on his blood, his sword impaled through his belly. "Father?"_

_The scene changed. He was now in a cave, witnessing a younger himself fighting side by side with Obito and Rin. Kakashi realized what Madara had in mind. No... everything but that... "Please... don't..."_

_Rocks began to fall-_

_"PLEASE NO!"_

_-and crushed Obito._

_The scene changed again. It was now Konoha, and he saw his younger self watch helplessly the Shinigami taking Minato's soul. "Sensei!" both Kakashi shouted._

_The scene changed again. He was now in a deserted house... one that he knew too much. "Madara..." he supplicated. "Please... don't show me that... I won't survive this..."_

_His prayers were ignored, as he saw his younger self cradling the love of his life. Rin was... was a horror... she didn't look human anymore... she was dead..._

_"She begged me to stop," her murderer gloated. "She begged for my forgiveness, when my men forced her to watch as I strangled her son to death... was it yours? He had your eye color, after all... anyway, after your child died at the ripe old age of one week, I took care of his mother. I have to admit it, your girlfriend was a beautiful woman... you have good tastes, Kakashi-kun. My soldiers were lusting after her, but, in my great generosity, I prevented them from violating her. I had something far better in mind." The monster smirked, showing Kakashi his bloody kunai and torture instruments._

_"PLEASE!" Kakashi begged. "I CAN'T SUPPORT TO RELIVE THIS MEMORY!"_

_"It's incredible, the resistance of the human body. It never ceases to amaze me. She screamed your name, you know. Screamed 'Kakashi', as if you were going to show up and save her. But nobody came, so she kept shouting. It was annoying. You know the old proverb, 'Before you speak, turn your tongue seven times in your mouth'? Well... I took it literally. I kept her alive, chained, bleeding... and then I went all out on her. You see, I am a professional, so I couldn't resist trying new... techniques. I cut, slashed, burned, broke, skinned... and all the time, all the time, I whispered to her these few words: 'Kakashi Hatake... has abandoned you'."_

_"PLEASE!" Kakashi screamed._

_"She was my masterpiece," the torturer continued with a sadistic grin. "I fashioned the best of all prisons: a body. Imagine yourself, just one second, in her place, suffering all days, unable to communicate with the outside world, for a whole week! Isn't that glorious? All of that because you failed to save her, as you failed to save anyone! You killed your son... and you killed your lover."_

_The younger Kakashi sobbed, before madly attacking his lover's murderer. The older one screamed... and his Sharingan twisted, transformed. The illusion was shattered, and the world returned to normal._

"Impressive," Madara murmured. "To awaken the Mangekyo with memories only... you are truly worthy of the title of genius, Hatake Kakashi."

The jonin didn't reply anything for a while. His new Sharingan was simply blazing with fury. "Do you... have any idea... of what you did to me?" He charged at his enemy with rage and hatred in his heart and voice.

"I awakened your potential," the man calmly answered, as he pared Kakashi's blows. "I have made you stronger, as I will make Naruto-san more powerful than ever before."

"I WON'T LET YOU TOUCH HIM!" the jonin yelled, as he pushed back the Uchiha with a violent kick. "I WON'T LET YOU TWIST HIM!"

"Then you will have to defeat me," Tsukiyomi stated, as he teleported away. "An impossible task."

"There is no such a thing as the impossible!" Kakashi shouted. His Sharigan instinctively activated, unleashing black fire upon Madara. "I will prove it today!" A black hole formed in Tsukiyomi's eye, absorbing the attack.

At this moment, blue chains grabbed the masked man, flinging him in the air. Kazama had awakened, and he was angry. "Kakashi-san, you have no idea how much you are right." He locked eyes with the jonin, before gasping. "Your eye..."

"It's an upgrade... I think," Kakashi said. "And your chains?"

"I don't know," Kazama said, "I don't control them. My wounds are healing fast, however. I think it's linked to my mother."

"Kushina?" the jonin asked, before frowning. "We will have to talk... after we escape this place, of course."

Kazama smirked, as his eyes drifted to Madara, who was standing on a pillar, far, far away. "Together we can beat him."

Kakashi nodded. "Let's teach him a lesson."

* * *

><p><strong><em>The werefox, Kitsune<em>**

"KISAME!"

A furious Zabuza leaped on the bridge, attempting to kill Amaterasu in one deadly swing. The masked ninja masterfully avoided the attack, retired his sword from Kisame's body, and riposted. The Uchiha warrior began to push his adversary toward the edge of the construction, despite his enemy's enraged moves.

Rising up with all the pain in the world, Kitsune walked toward the bleeding Kisame. Samehada was… crying, next to him. The man locked eyes with the blond boy. "Hello… little fish…"

"Kisame-san…" the werefox in human form kneeled beside the dead in waiting. "Why did you do that? You knew you couldn't win."

The man smiled. "Little fish… have you heard what I said? I don't fight to win… I fight for the fight itself…"

"But why?" The boy cried. "Why?"

"Because there is no meaning in this world," Kisame whispered. "Because… because humanity has no future… I once had an ideal… I wanted to preserve my country, to ameliorate it… but in the end, it was all for naught… I was called a traitor and a monster… by the very people I was trying to help… in the end, goodness isn't rewarded, and evil is not punished… in the end, life isn't worth living… it's only in a battle, where politic, goals, names, reputations… are nothing… that all lies disappear…" He chuckled. "This world of truth… I wanted to witness it once… before dying…"

"That's-"

"That's my way," Kisame cut him off. "That's how I lived."

Kitsune stayed silent a moment. "Kisame-san… I used to think like you… but some things are worth living for! Some people are worth protecting!"

The missing-nin smirked. "If that's in what you believe… if humans like you exist, then perhaps there is still hope… after all…"

"Kisame-san…"

"Little fish," he whispered. "Can you do me a favor, please?"

Kitsune nodded.

"Take Samehada with you," the man explained, as he caressed his sword gently. "She likes you… and I think you will be a good swordsman one day…"

"I will do it," the boy promised.

Kisame closed his eyes. "Then I leave at peace… goodbye… little fish…" And he closed his mouth too, never to open it again.

Samehada sobbed, and Kitsune stayed silent.

Then, his eyes drifted from the dead missing-nin to Zabuza and Amaterasu, still locked in their duel. Once again, Madara was clearly dominating the fight.

Full of a renewed determination, the blonde rose up, and touched Samehada. "Let's go."

The creature nodded, before swirling around his arm. Kitsune sensed the sword fuse with him, making him double in size, and cover his body with scales. A few seconds later, an orange shark-man charged, roaring, at Amaterasu.

The man tilted his head toward the incoming hybrid, and blinked as a punch ejected him from the bridge, sending him crashing onto the water. The man dropped his sword in the process.

Ignoring a mesmerized Zabuza, Kitsune jumped onto the sea, landing on a shocked Amaterasu. The two descended deeper into the ocean, brawling, exchanging blows. After a few seconds, the masked man vanished, leaving Kitsune alone in the ocean.

Then, large chunks of the bridge began to fall into the sea, and the shark-man navigated between them, trying to reach the surface. Something, however, caught his attention: an unconscious blonde girl.

_Naruko?_ The boy grabbed her, and both got out of the water. "Are you alright, Naruko-chan?" he asked her.

"Yeah… I think…" she muttered, before realizing she was talking to an orange fish. "Kit-Kitsune, is that you?"

"It's me," the hybrid confirmed. "What's happening?"

"Susanoo is blowing up the construction," she answered. "What about that Amaterasu guy?"

Kitsune didn't reply. He simply stared at something standing on the water. Naruko followed his gaze.

Amaterasu was glaring at them, the Kusanagi in his right hand. "So Kisame left you his sword… he was an honorable opponent, and I offered him a warrior's death," Madara said. "You have his sword, but do you have his resolve?"

The two blonds put their feet on the water, rising up. "He will be avenged," the hybrid declared. "I promise it."

The masked man chuckled. "Revenge… the fuel that bring about all conflicts…" he lowered his stance. "Show me the power of your hatred."

"You will see mine, first!" Zabuza roared, as he leaped on the water.

Kitsune eyed the swordsman. "Zabuza-san… why not make a truce? We both want revenge for Kisame's death… why not work together to achieve it?"

The man glanced at the hybrid. "… tch, for now," he said, after a short silence. "VERY temporarily."

"Thanks," the boy said, before straightening up. Naruko imitated him.

Amaterasu didn't move. "Come and strike me down, if you can!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Sakura<em>**

As she saw her crush die before her, Sakura cried. "Please, Naruto-kun… wake up… wake up…"

He didn't respond, his corpse staying lifeless.

"Wake up…"

"It is useless," the freak said, as he pointed her with his hand's fingers. "He is dead… as dead as you will soon be."

Her eyes could only widen, as five bullets were shot at her…

And she could only gasp when she saw Sasuke's body taking the attack instead of her own. The boy fell on the ground, next to her. "Sasuke-kun?"

"Who else?" The genin answered as he got up. Strangely, his shirt had stopped the projectiles. "Damn, Chibaku's seals are damn effective."

"Why did you do that?" She asked.

"I don't know," he said. "My body moved on it-"

The skull-flail smashed his head faster than the wind, in a sickening crack. Sakura watched, horrified, as the Uchiha's corpse was ejected from the construction, and fell into the sea.

"One advice: never ever have _any_ moment of inattention on a battlefield," the freak gloated.

_"You were great, Sakura-chan! Way better than me!"_

_"If you ever want someone to hear you, I am here."_

_"Sakura, I want you to be with me."_

Anger and sadness overwhelmed Sakura's heart, making it burn with a lust for revenge.

**_Yes,_** a voice whispered. _**I can give you the power you need... let your anger consume you...**_

Her eyes became red, fangs grew…

"This is the end," the bastard declared, as he pointed his index at her head. "Farewell."

The bullet was shot… and stopped by a mix of blood and chakra.

Six tails formed on Sakura's back, and her body began to adopt the form of a demonic, incomplete monster. Barely aware of her surroundings, she opened her mouth, unleashing a blast of power at a gasping Kimimaro, vaporizing him in an instant. The ray continued its course, destroying a large part of Waves' landscape.

Then, the possessed girl began to seek a new prey.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Puppeteer, Chibaku<em>**

Chibaku was running for his life, as the bridge crumbled. Sasori and that chick, Haku, were following him. Behind them, their enemy was pursuing at an incredible speed. Susanoo was expelling chakra from his feet, a technique that propelled him in the air. Rocks and bricks were floating at his side.

Sasori suddenly stopped, rotated, and moved the Sandaime Kazekage. Spikes of iron sand shot up, intending on impaling the masked ninja. Susanoo blinked, and the projectiles were repelled. A large rock then hit the human puppet, making it explode into shards.

A furious Sasori prepared himself to use his flamethrower, but a flying chunk of the bridge was thrown at him, ejecting him from the unstable construction.

Still propelled, Susanoo reached Haku, who tried to protect herself with a shield of ice. The bastard punched it, went through it, and hit the girl in the belly, sending her after Sasori. The masked man landed on his feet, and glared at Chibaku.

Instantly, an invisible hand seized the blonde, bringing him to Susanoo's fist. The puppeteer tried to protect himself with his arms, but they were broken on the impact, the Kyuubi's cloak saving his life. He flew in the air… and the invisible force drew him to his enemy, who landed a punch on his head, breaking his jaw. The process repeated on last time, and Susanoo knocked the blonde in the torso, shattering ribs.

The next second, Chibaku crashed onto the sea. The Kyuubi's chakra vanished, and he began to sink… until someone grabbed him by the shirt and took him out of the water.

"You look terrible, pervert," Naruko said. The blonde puppeteer wanted to say something nasty in response, but only succeeded in groaning. The girl put him on her back, and ran, as bricks were raining on them.

Sideways, Chibaku saw Zabuza and an orange shark-man fighting Amaterasu… and loosing. The masked man looked like a dancer, gracefully sidestepping, fencing, outflanking, cutting through his opponents' skin as if it was butter. The shark was bleeding massively, and Zabuza was barely parrying Madara's ferocious attacks.

"Seems that Kitsune and his 'partner' are in trouble," Naruko said, as she rushed at their rescue.

_The shark is Kitsune? Man, is he a wereshark too? What will it be next time, a weremonkey form? A weredragon? It would be awesome…_

Sounds of explosions retired Chibaku from his fantasy. A flying Sasori was trying to incinerate a floating Susanoo, who deflected the fire nonchalantly. The redhead landed next to Naruko, and they were soon joined by a bleeding Haku.

"He is too strong," the girl stated. "We can't even slow him down."

"He has damaged the bridge's foundations," Sasori noticed. "It'll sink in the ocean within the next minutes." He gritted his teeth. "Even weakened, he is stronger than us all."

"Oh yes, I am," Susanoo gloated, as he descended on the water.

"You cannot defeat us," Amaterasu added proudly, as he jumped to his counterpart's left side. "Surrender, or we will kill you."

"In your dreams," Zabuza growled. Kitsune straightened, and the rest of the group prepared themselves to stand firm for their skin.

"Then I will add your weapons to my collection," Amaterasu replied.

"You are all fools!" Susanoo shouted, putting his hands together. "You can't hope to…"

The powerful noise of an explosion interrupted him. A ray of light vaporized a large part of the bridge and of Waves, and everyone looked at its source. A monstrous red creature, covered with an incomplete skeleton, was roaring at the skies.

The Kyuubi had emerged, and it was out for human blood.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's notes:<em>**

Yeah, a sadistic cliffhanger, and a lot of death. Will everyone survive to this deadly battle?

... yeah, tell me what you think of it. And please vote at the poll. It will be closed when I post the next chapter.

Write you soon!


	11. Chapter 11: The Great Flood

Once again, thanks my betas, Third Fang and Alpha, for your precious help.

Traveler/Original Naruto: Kazama Arashi.

Female Naruto: Naruko Arashi.

Puppeteer Naruto: Chibaku Arashi.

Werefox Naruto: Kitsune Arashi.

Deceiver/Original Madara: Tsukiyomi.

Destroyer/Rinnegan Madara: Susanoo.

Warrior/Collector Madara: Amaterasu.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Eleven: The Great Flood<strong>_

When the incomplete Kyuubi looked down at the humans standing on the sea, Chibaku was fully aware they were all screwed. If his broken jaw had allowed it, he would have said some badass last words, but unfortunately he couldn't.

The creature opened its mouth and fired a ray of demonic chakra at them. Quickly, Susanoo put himself between it and its targets. "Shinra Tensei!" The beam was deflected toward the sun, but the masked man seemed to flinch.

"I will take care of it," Amaterasu stated, another sword appearing in his hand, replacing the Kusanagi.

Susanoo's eyes drifted from the Bijuu to his counterpart. "Are you sure?"

"I tamed this creature once," the man declared, as he teleported on the damaged bridge. "I can do it again."

The man with the Rinnegan chuckled, before rotating. "So," he said to his enemies, "who want to die first?"

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Traveler, Kazama<em>**

Running as fast as he could, Kazama did his best to close the gap between himself and Madara. Kakashi was serving as his long-range cover, shooting fireballs at their masked adversary, who calmly stood, simply absorbing the attacks.

When Kazama reached the man, the blue chains on his back sprung, trying to hit Tsukiyomi, who gracefully avoided them… a fact that ticked the blonde off. _Why doesn't he turn intangible?_

A soft, female voice answered his question. _The Uzumaki's chakra is so potent it negates his intangibility. Same thing with demonic chakra._

The blonde winced. _Mom? Is it you?_

_Yes,_ Kushina answered. _It has been a while, Naruto. The last time I saw you, you were almost impaled by an enraged Kyuubi._

_How is this possible? _Engaging his opponent in close combat, the teenager, with the chains' help, was this time able to compete with Madara. _Aren't you supposed to be dead?_

_Technically, I am,_ she confirmed. _But before I passed out, your father placed some of my chakra in your seal, to help you when the time for you to confront the Kyuubi and tame it would come. But then, Orochimaru came… if I hadn't been there, you would have been killed, the Kyuubi's chakra consuming your very flesh and soul._

"If your confused expression and these chains are of any indication," Madara mused, "I assume that Kushina is talking to you..." He was matching Kazama evenly, even when Kakashi attacked him too, with two kunai in his hands.

_You saved me? _the teenager asked his mother, ignoring the masked man.

_With Minato's help,_ the ghost affirmed. _He had too left a small part of his chakra in the seal. When Orochimaru screwed with it, the Kyuubi's chakra had been cut in half, and the fox's very being with it. To prevent your death, we tried to fix the damaged seal the best we could, by containing the Kyuubi's essence… and we succeeded, sort of, at the cost of Minato's permanent demise. The world-jump was a side-effect, and a complete accident. I must say that I have never seen something like that before. I think the Shinigami must have one hand in this situation. I mean, perhaps a part of his power was accidentally transferred to the seal when we fixed it..._

_I see… _he continued to advance, parrying the Uchiha's punches. _Thank you. For saving me, I mean._

_I am your mother. It's natural. I have been unable to protect you all your life, and now that I can..._

"Don't listen to anything she says," Madara counseled him. "She is trying to manipulate you, to twist you. She is a liar, a selfish woman whose only objective is to make you Konoha's slave!"

"Shut your mouth!" Kazama snarled, as the chains knocked the man's mask, making it crack a bit. It barely fazed Tsukiyomi, who continued to counter the blonde and Kakashi's strikes. "You have lied to me... ruined my life... and you think I'm going to listen to you?"

"I am only trying to protect you," the SS-Rank ninja whispered. "Kushina is the one that cursed you. She sealed the Kyuubi in you, instead of destroying it. Minato and his wife sacrificed you willingly. Nothing will change that. _Ever_."

"You're a liar!" the blonde declared. "As always, you lie!"

… _no, _Kushina's voice countered._ He isn't._

The teenager stopped moving. _… what did you just say?_

_Madara lies as easily as he breathes, but for once, he's saying the truth. Naruto… it's because of us you suffered so much… and we are sorry for it, _she muttered sadly.

The ninja didn't say anything… didn't do anything, even as Tsukiyomi assaulted Kakashi. _You… you sealed the fox in me willingly? You had a choice?_

_I wanted to drag the Kyuubi to the underworld with me, _Kushina explained, _but your father wanted you to be a Jinchuuriki. Without a demon vessel, Konoha would have been the prey of the other nations, and you were the child of the prophecy…_

He blinked, gritting his teeth. _What the hell are you talking about? You are holding another secret from me, once again? I have enough of them! Answer me!_

Kushina mentally winced at his harsh and angry tone. _The Great Toad Sage foresaw that one of Jiraiya's students would bring a revolution to the ninja world… one that would either be its salvation or destruction. Minato thought he was this child at first, but the day of your birth, he realized that, maybe, you were the chosen one…_

Hatred overwhelmed the blonde's heart, like a flood. _So… let me get this straight… you condemned me to a life of loneliness, despair and suffering simply because some freaking senile AMPHIBIAN told you that I_might_ be some kind of messiah? And you did so _without remorse_?_

He couldn't believe his own ears… or rather, mind. This couldn't be the truth… and yet it was. _I am simply a tool for you and father, am I not?_

_It's wrong! _Kushina shouted. _It was an agonizing decision, but the Village's safety neede-_

_I SPIT ON THIS HELLHOLE! _he roared. _They abused me… in all universes! They are bastards, and didn't deserve to be saved! You could have sealed the Kyuubi within an object, like the Shukaku, but no, a human weapon was worth the sacrifice of your son!_

The chains darkened, and a strange sound resonated in Kazama's mind, like a mechanical squeak…

_It's the Amatsu-Mikaboshi… _Kushina whispered. _Please, son, don't let your anger control you! It's feeding the cur-_

_SHUT UP! SHUT THE HELL UP!_

His mother wanted to retort something, but a deep noise masked the sound of her voice. Instead, Kazama only listened to whispers.

_"You shouldn't have been born."_

_"Cursed child."_

_"Get out of my shop!"_

_"It's twice the price for you. You deserve it."_

_"Naruto-kun… who would want to adopt you? Who would want to adopt a monster like you?"_

_"Son… get away from this kid. He's dangerous... he only deserves your scorn."_

_"You're punished, because you are a bad kid and will always be one!"_

_"You do not deserve to live… you must be executed, for the good of everyone."_

The memories were building his hatred, and the blonde was feeling cold and empty, alone and miserable. Kushina's voice was now a muffled echo, weakening with each passing second.

Images of her and Minato formed in his mind, like troubled memories. They were smiling at him, as they sealed the Kyuubi within his belly. They were happy to destroy his life, and left him alone in a cruel world. They had chosen the Village over him. They had sacrificed him without his accord... used and discarded him.

_They have betrayed me the moment I was born, _Kazama realized, as the deep noise became stronger and stronger. _They never loved me... like Gaara's parents, they only loved the weapon they created._

The images changed. The teenager was in Konoha, before a crowd. People were glaring at him, children and adults, ninjas and civilians alike, united in their distrust and malevolence.

_They all hate me__**, **_he thought. _I don't want to help them… I only want to punish them all… I only want justice to be done._

Returning to reality, the blonde looked up at Madara, kept away from him by Kakashi.

**_I should join him. He is like me... he is what I can be, with the right guidance. With his hel-_**

Pain raced through his brain, and Kazama hold his head with his hands. The noise was becoming worse and worse. He relived Tsukiyomi's speeches again and again, saw him kill his mother repeatedly, until he regained his reason.

_What am I thinking?_ he wondered. _He hurt me… **he's as responsible for my crappy life as my parents are! Why should I ally myself with one of my tormentors? He must pay for he has done to me and my family!**_

The blonde's eyes were radiating with a cold fury. _I will kill him here and now._

Kushina's shouts were now mere murmurs, muzzled by dark thoughts and whispers. Her chains were darkening slowly, corrupted by Kazama's own chakra. A few second later, he couldn't even hear her anymore.

Only the hatred remained in his mind.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Kushina<em>**

Kushina straightened, facing the growing darkness. "You won't prevent me from helping my son!" she shouted angrily. A maleficent chakra was corroding her own, trying to absorb her completely. If the situation continued, the dark would assimilate her energy completely and use it to increase Naruto's power... but not before corrupting her gift completely.

A black smoke got out of the shadows, taking a humanoid shape. Two red eyes were glittering malevolently, glaring at Kushina. The Uzumaki felt her very soul being pierced, dissected, analyzed, by the living embodiment of the Mikaboshi curse. The woman knew she was facing something older than humanity itself... a force beyond her comprehension.

"He doesn't need your love and apologizes," a cold, mechanical voice declared. She had the impression of listening to death itself. "Only your power is necessary. He doesn't need you. He only needs his hatred, wrath and pride. It is only with them that he shall truly reach perfection."

"That's bullshit!" She hissed.

"That is the truth. Only in emptiness power lies. The void of the Amatsu-Mikaboshi will purify him from his earthly limitations and give him the power to accomplish all his desires. You are only an obstacle, a fetter. For your son's own good, you must be removed."

Black tentacles shot out from the shadows, hitting a shield of light protecting Kushina. "I won't be so easy to defeat!" She had to destroy this… _abomination_, before it turned her son into a monster.

"On the contrary," it replied, "you will fall before oblivion, like countless before you."

"I am a human! I feel love and emotions! A monstrosity like you will never be able to understand that it is what make us strong!"

"There is no need to understand. Knowing is enough," the incarnation of the Mikaboshi replied. "Love is weak. As weak as you are."

The tentacles pierced the shield, before impaling a surprised Kushina. Coldness filled her heart, and she lost control of her limbs.

"In this place, are kept the feelings of a lifetime," the curse whispered. "The repressed rage… the silent hate… the unpolished pride… the forgotten desires… the hidden despair… the chained lust for power… they are all stocked in this unconscious realm… and they are feeding me... strengthening me… and him. I am his true self, and the harbinger of his will. He wants you to vanish."

_No… No! _the woman thought, as her chakra began to be consumed by the curse. "NARUTO!"

"Return to the afterlife," the Mikaboshi ordered. "Remain dust, Uzumaki Kushina."

The woman vanished, sensing death coming for her at last.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Kakashi<em>**

Madara's eyes were glittering with joy, as he observed Kazama's blue chains turning black, much to Kakashi's amazement. "So even Kushina has been devoured by it…" the masked man muttered to himself. "It's even more powerful than I thought. This boy's repressed sentiments are fueling it already... it's beautiful. I can't wait to see how he will evolve."

Kakashi had no idea of what was his enemy gibbering about, and didn't have the desire to understand. He had recognized an opportunity to strike, and seized it. Unfortunately, his kunai simply went through Madara, as if he was a ghost. The man's lone Sharingan winked. "You still haven't understood the lesson?" he asked, as if he was talking to a child.

"I am a slow learner," the jounin deadpanned. "Especially after someone violated my mind in the worst manner possible." His weapons slashed the air in vain.

"I didn't do anything," Tsukiyomi stated. "I simply placed you, Kakashi-san, under a genjutsu powered by your memories. I don't know what you would see, but it is your mind, not mine, that showed you that. This torture was self-inflicted."

Kakashi's eyes flared with fury. "You… you showed Rin's death _by accident_, _unintentionally_? You used this genjutsu without being aware what I would see? You forced me to relive the worst memory of my life_casually_?"

"Well, basically… yes."

Madara vanished, reappearing behind Kakashi. His intangible hand traveled through the ninja's torso, before grabbing the jounin's face and unleashing an electric shock. The attack stunned him, allowing Madara to make him fall on the ground.

"But from what I have pieced together," the bastard stated, "you have failed to protect all the people you cared about, and have a lot of issues about it." He narrowed his head. "Your loved ones must have suffered a lot… but you know… I can bring them back."

Kakashi's answer was a punch in Madara's face… through Madara's face, more exactly.

"I told you it wa-"

Black chains whipped his left side, sending him fly away. Kakashi got up, and locked eyes with Kazama… who was glaring hatefully at Tsukiyomi.

"Kakashi-san…" the blonde trailed off. "Do you have enough chakra to use the black flames again?"

The man nodded. Seeing the teenager's dark expression, Madara was going to regret crossing his path.

"Good. Here is the plan…"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Naruko<em>**

The battle wasn't going well. For them.

"Water Release: Stormy Blockade!" Hundreds of Naruko shouted at the same time. A huge tidal wave rushed toward Susanoo, who raised his arms, stopping it. Kitsune's hand emerged from the stopped tsunami, intent on grabbing the Uchiha's head and crushing it.

The SS-Rank ninja easily deflected the blow, and poked the shark-man's nose with his index finger. Naruko's hybrid counterpart was projected at the bridge, making a large chunk of it fall on him. The Uchiha made things worse by covering the... wereshark, with debris, burying him under them.

Zabuza and two of his clones of water jumped out of the sea, around Susanoo. "Water Prison!" The Uchiha was suddenly imprisoned inside of a sphere of liquid, but didn't seem surprised. Haku leaped before the prison and touched it with her palms, transforming it into an iceberg... that lasted three seconds.

The sphere exploded, expelling shards in all directions. They destroyed Zabuza's copies, and grazed his, and Haku's, skin. The two retreated as fast as they could, and Naruko's clones charged at a standing Susanoo. The man lowered his stance, unfazed.

"Madara's Vicious Fist: the One Hundred and Eight Deaths." His palms were loaded with chakra, and he began to make his way through the copies, toward the real Naruko, who was standing on the sidelines, holding Chibaku on her back.

As smoke and her doubles' memories indicated the blonde girl where Susanoo was, who was _very close_, she leapt backward, barely preventing the Uchiha's fingers from connecting with her torso. Unfortunately, she simply delayed the inevitable, as her enemy jumped at her pursuit and attacked her in the air.

The surge of pain almost made her pass out, as her enemy struck her limbs, ribcage and shoulders thirty times in three seconds. She lost control of her body, ceasing to feel it, and coughed blood. The blonde girl and her living package landed on the water, before being lifted above it by Susanoo's hands.

"I learnt that by penetrating the mind of a Hyuuga," the man gloated. "Normally, it's lethal, but since you only received a third of my blows… well, at least you will be able to watch as I strangle you to death." He added acts to words, tightening his hold on the children's neck, making them scoff.

"That's your fate for harming me," Madara said, as Naruko's sight blurred. "You fought well, I will give you that, but that was not enough… no Kyuubi will help you this time. Any last words?"

She spat at his mask, making the Uchiha glare. It became even more difficult to breath…

Two spears impaled the bastard, forcing him to release his victims as he was pushed away by the duo wielding these weapons. Two men grabbed Naruko and Chibaku, before flying in the air. Glancing sideway, the blonde girl realized their saviors were not humans, but puppets.

Dozens of them were floating in the skies, next to a flying Sasori. Susanoo demolished his mechanical attackers with two swift moves of his palms, and eyed the dummies army. White blood was dripping from his wounds, which were healing at an incredible speed.

"Kabuto's regeneration technique," the redheaded puppeteer muttered to himself with a disgusted tone. "This might prove to be… complicated, to kill him."

Naruko realized she had just heard the understatement of the century.

"But since he can't absorb my puppets anymore…"

The dummies descended upon Susanoo, their blades unsheathed.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Warrior, Amaterasu<em>**

The advantage with fighting Bijuu, was that they were stupid. Well, no, not really stupid, but rather very unskilled. They didn't have anything like tactics and strategy, or techniques and precision. Only incredible amount of strength and firepower. Jinchuuriki were extremely dangerous because they combined their demon's force with human skill, for a truly deadly result. But when possessed by their inner monster, they simply ravaged their surroundings… unless the Bijuu was focused on a particular task.

Like, trying to kill Madara.

His ultimate shield, the Mirror of Yata, stopped thousands of chakra blasts, barely fazing the man. His weapons all vanished, returning to his dimensional armory, and the ninja tightened his hold on the Hiramekarei. Madara teleported right in front of the possessed Jinchuuriki, and hit him on the skull, demolishing it. It quickly reformed, and the creature attempted to slash him with his claws.

The Uchiha absentmindedly deflected the blow with the mirror, before kicking the beast between its legs, sending it fly in the air. "Storm of Blades!" he shouted, as a gate to his pocket reality opened above the Kyuubi.

Hundreds of swords and weapons promptly descended upon his enemy, some of them cutting through the Jinchuuriki's cloak of chakra like butter. Jumping, Madara swirled on himself, and the Hiramekarei impacted on his adversary's ribcage. The shock propelled it in the island's forest like a cannonball.

Teleporting again, this time above the wounded and stunned creature, Madara switched blade, replacing his current one with Samehada. Leaping on the ground, the warrior moved his sword at high-speed, slashing the beast ten time in a row, slowly absorbing the demonic chakra… until he saw the vessel's body.

It was the pink-haired girl he saw briefly at the bridge… or rather, it _had_ _been_ a girl. He was now looking at a woman in her thirties, aging rapidly as the Kyuubi's power destroyed and regenerated her body in quick succession.

It was obvious that without the Uzumaki's special chakra, she couldn't properly hold her demon's energy. She was slowly dying… a few more minutes supporting multiple tails, and this girl would die of old age, and her Bijuu along with her.

Despite Madara's best efforts, the red chakra recovered the vessel again, twisting into the organs of the Kyuubi. Samehada couldn't hold all of the demon's power, and was… in the middle of an indigestion. As muscles began to grow, Madara switched weapon again, taking his gourd this time. He unsheathed a spectral blade, the ethereal Totsuka sword… and stabbed the incomplete Kyuubi with it.

The creature was immediately swallowed by the gourd, roaring and barking madly. Once the creature had fully vanished in the container, Madara closed it, having added a new trophy to his vast collection.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Victim, Sakura<em>**

Sakura was in a dark sewer. Her surroundings were black, and she was facing a giant cage. Her eyes were as red as blood.

A gigantic fox was gazing at her from behind the bars. _**"I can make your pain stop, little girl," **_it promised. _**"I can destroy everything that made you suffer. Konoha… your enemies… humanity… everything." **_It pointed a sheet of paper with one of his claw._** "Just rip this seal, and the pain will disappear. Forever."**_

The genin approached, touched the paper… and a strong hand prevented her from obeying the fox's command.

A blonde man wearing the Hokage's robes, looking like the Yondaime Hokage, locked eyes with Sakura. "Hello... young girl."

**_"MINATO!" _**the Kyuubi roared, enraged.

"You are the Yondaime?" Sakura asked, astonished. Her eyes had regained their original color.

The blonde man nodded. "I am Minato Namikaze, Yondaime Hokage of Konoha. Nice to meet you."

_This is the person that ruined my life, _the genin thought. "How can you be here? You are supposed to be dead!"

Minato smiled sadly. "Unfortunately... but before the Shinigami took me, I implemented a fail-safe in your seal... to help you should the Kyuubi ever try to make you rip it."

Sakura cried. "You... why did you have to create this thing in the first place?" she asked with a sob.

Grief spread over the Yondaime's face. "Madara Uchiha... the enemy you are currently fighting against... attacked Konoha, and unleashed the Kyuubi on it. I wanted to seal it in Naruto, who was better adapted than you, but Madara interrupted me, kidnapping him. He challenged me in the streets to a duel for the life of my son... which I won. I thought he had died, but apparently he has found a way to survive. But the Kyuubi went on a rampage without him, and needed to be sealed as fast as I could, or else the whole village would have been destroyed. You were the closest child to me when I began to seal the Bijuu, and Naruto had been accidentally taken away by one of my soldiers... it was simply bad luck."

The girl gritted her teeth. "Bad luck?" she repeated. "BAD LUCK? MY LIFE HAS BEEN RUINED BY ACCIDENT?"

"Sakura..."

"SHUT UP!" she yelled. "Because of you, mom died! She has been murdered because of you! This cursed village you were trying to save destroyed her, and destroyed me!" The girl stared at the Kyuubi. "But now, I know how to make them pay..."

"Sakura, don't believe him!" the Yondaime shouted, when he realized what she intended to do. "Its power will destroy you as well! It's a Faustian deal!"

"I don't care," she answered. "Now that Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun are dead… nothing matters anymore… I have lost everything I lived for... I can't support this any longer… I will take them all along with me… all of them will feel my pain and loneliness..."

"SAKUR-"

She ignored him, and ripped the seal apart.

The Kyuubi grinned ear to ear, violently opening his prison's gates, crushing the Yondaime under his paw in the process. _**"YES!" **_it shouted happily, before gazing at Sakura. _**"NOW, TOGETHER, LET'S MAKE THE WORLD BURN!"**_

Crimson energy filled the sewer, consuming her mind and body.

_**"BECOME PART OF ME!" **_the creature roared, as the red chakra absorbed her consciousness into itself. _**"BECOME PART OF THE BLIGHT OF THE GODS!"**_

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Warrior, Amaterasu<em>**

When the gourd began to vibrate, Madara realized something was wrong. Very wrong. _What the-_

Suddenly, the object exploded, unleashing a wave of demonic chakra. The power burned his skin, his flesh, and his bones. Before dying, he saw the Kyuubi being reborn, roaring madly at the skies.

But to kill Madara Uchiha, even a Bijuu wasn't enough.

One of Izuna's eyes closed forever, sacrificed to fuel the Izanagi, Madara teleported on the top of a tree, one kilometer away from the Kyuubi. The beast had fully emerged, its nine tails smashing the forest nearby. The creature glared hatefully at Amaterasu… who snorted, defying the Kyuubi by moving his palm. "Bring it on!"

Faster than the wind, the Kyuubi charged at the Uchiha, who teleported above the creature's snout, the Hiramekarei in hands. The chakra hammer hit the beast's muzzle, making the great fox stagger. Madara tried to use the opportunity to brainwash the Bijuu...

Who closed its eyes.

One tail smashed Amaterasu, sending him crash on the ground. His armor and enhanced body saved him from death, and he difficultly rose up... just in time to see a ray of light coming at him. Quickly, the Uchiha lord protected himself with the Mirror of Yata. He resisted the blast, even as the land melted around him. But when the attack ceased, his shield was damaged beyond recognition. He dropped the now useless object on the ground.

"Okay… for destroying two of my trophies… and one of my dear brother's gift... I WILL KILL YOU!" he shouted to the demon.

The Kyuubi laughed, opening his muzzle to fire a sphere of chakra. Teleporting two kilometers away to shield himself from the devastating explosion, Madara decided to test his… Anti-Bijuu jutsu.

_I'm probably going to lose another eye, _the ninja mused inwardly, _but it's that or death. I hope you are seeing this, Izuna, through my gaze. This spectacular victory... I dedicate it to you, my brother!_

"Gate of Opening… open."

As chakra raced through his veins, Madara ran toward the Kyuubi, racing like never before.

"Gate of Healing… open."

His five hearts, result of the Earth Grudge Fear he had taken from Kakuzu's dead body long ago, pulsed, multiplying the amount of chakra... and the damage he would inflict.

"Gate of Life… open."

He outran a Chakra Menacing Ball, which pulverized a large part of the island.

"Gate of Pain… open."

His armor began to melt, his chakra becoming like fire.

"**Gate of Limit… open**."

He reached the Kyuubi, jumped under him, and punched it in the belly. The creature was sent flying in the air at the speed of the sound.

"**Gate of View… open**."

He teleported in the skies, right above the incoming animal.

"_**Gate of Wonder… open**_."

As his flesh burned, Amaterasu kicked the flying Kyuubi. The shock made the beast crash on the island, creating an earthquake. The creature was broken, shattered, but began to reform. Seeing this, Madara left himself to fall, spinning on himself.

_And now… the killing blow._

_**"****GATE OF DEATH… OPEN!"**_

His five hearts pumped so fast he couldn't even listen to their pulse. His flesh was incinerated, his bones began to crack, and his whole body became one projectile of chakra… Madara had transcended the limits of mankind.

He was now a Bijuu.

_**"HACHIMAN!"**_

At the speed of the sound, he hit the Kyuubi with the power of a meteor… or rather, the strength of a deity.

* * *

><p>One second, the world stopped moving.<p>

Tsunami was holding her son, Inari, in her arms, Tazuna putting his palm on her shoulder. They were horrified, staring terrified at the falling star.

The inhabitants of Waves didn't move, even as it became painfully obvious death was coming for them all. Despair had triumphed over hope and survival instincts. Some tried to flee, but even they knew it was useless.

Gato squealed, hiding behind his small army of mercenaries. They were standing next to the destroyed bridge, and were staring at the skies with fear and horror in their eyes. They had intended to kill Zabuza's band and the ninjas of Konoha... but now, they were watching the apocalypse.

When the falling light collided with the gigantic fox, everyone blinked.

One second later, a gigantic explosion shattered the island, unleashing an almighty blast and a big bang. Life was instantly vaporized, rocks were reduced to dust, and everything sank into the sea.

In an instant, the Land of Waves was no more.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Traveler, Kazama<em>**

His mother's… no, _his _chains formed a shield before him, protecting the blonde from a blue fireball. Kazama counterattacked with the Cold Wave, but Madara didn't even bother to move, simply absorbing the gale of wind.

The teenager charged, leaving a focused Kakashi behind. The blonde attempted to punch Tsukiyomi, who jumped to the side. "I already told you it was useless," the Uchiha whispered. "You aren't on my level."

"Then why are you fleeing?" the blonde shot back.

Madara snorted, and stopped an incoming kick with his palm. "To leave you the illusion of a chance," he replied, before intercepting a punch. The chains sprung at the blonde's command, swirled around the man's arm, and seized it. The Uchiha didn't seem surprised. Instead, his hand reached Kazama's neck, lifting the boy above the ground. The chains restrained Madara's arm, and continued their course toward his face. The ninja's second hand caught them…

And casually shattered them with a swift move of the fingers. "What are you preparing, my friend?" he wondered. "Do you plan to strangle me to death? I'm afraid to say that… but it's not possible. As you can see, I can break these restraints, as I broke yours."

Kazama smirked. "Perhaps... but will you be able to do it in time?" A grey-haired man jumped behind him, one of his eyes bleeding profusely.

"AMATERASU!"

Madara blinked, and attempted to free his captured arm… but Kakashi's black fire already incinerated it, before spreading over the rest of the body. The chains vanished, and Kazama stepped back, as the Uchiha grunted out of pain. He became ashes…

Kazama landed on the sea's surface, Kakashi next to him. Rising up, both realized they had left Tsukiyomi's pocket dimension for the Land of Waves…

Water hit the two ninjas, sinking them under the ocean. They struggled, but the stream was too strong. They were pushed in all directions like rag dolls, before two powerful hands grabbed them by the collar and pulled them out of the sea. The blonde locked eyes with his savior.

"I underestimated the two of you," Tsukiyomi declared, as he lifted Kazama and Kakashi above the wild ocean. "But now it is the en-"

He vanished, avoiding a scythe thrown at him. Two puppets caught the ninjas, and brought them to a flying Sasori. Others dummies were carrying a wounded Haku, an unconscious Naruko, and an immobile Chibaku. Below them, dozens of puppets were fighting Susanoo alongside an orange shark-man and Zabuza… among the furious waves.

Kazama's eyes widened in horror.

The island was _sinking_. Its fragments were crumbling into the ocean, shattered by tsunamis, and the great bridge had disappeared, reduced to floating rocks and wood. Large clouds of dust and ashes were darkening the skies, remnants of the now dead Land of Waves. Susanoo was pushing back the furious water with an invisible force, while shooting rays of light at his enemies.

The teenager shed a tear when he realized there was no way anyone on the island could have survived such cataclysm. Tsunami, Inari, Tazuna… were dead. The memories of the clones he had left around their house only confirmed his suspicions.

"What… happened?" the blonde wondered. The memories only showed him a falling star and a flash of light.

"The Kyuubi broke its seal," Sasori explained. "But Amaterasu… was too strong. I don't know what kind of technique he used, but it killed the Bijuu. Not stunned, _killed_. As you can see, this jutsu was powerful enough to destroy the Land of Waves... I doubt the Uchiha survived it."

Kakashi gasped. "Sakura… is dead?" he sobbed. Sasori regretfully nodded. "And… Naruto? Sasuke?"

The redheaded puppeteer's expression darkened. Two puppets came closer to the grey-haired jounin, each holding a human… or rather, two badly damaged corpses. Kazama's eyes widened in horror as he recognized the clothes of these two cadavers.

"No!" Kakashi shouted, as tears rolled from his eyes. "NO!"

"I am sorry," Sasori stated. "I found them floating on the sea… the second hunter-nin probably killed them."

The jounin didn't answer. His gaze became hollow, and his expression lifeless. He seemed enthralled by a genjutsu, unable to interact with his surroundings. Kazama gritted his teeth. It was really a bad time to become catatonic.

"Naruto-san…" Sasori muttered. "What are these… chains on your back?"

The blonde smirked. "My power… the Uzumaki's power."

The puppeteer blinked. "Why are they black?" he asked. "I though chakra was normally blue?"

The teenager lifted his shoulders. "I don't know. It must be a normal feature for the Uzumaki."

His ally seemed ready to reply something, but instead eyed the fight below when the sound of bones breaking reached his ears. Kazama imitated him, and paled.

Amaterasu had come at his counterpart's help.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Hybrid, Kitsune<em>**

Zabuza riding on his back, Kitsune swam like a missile toward Susanoo, trapped between them and a tidal wave, which he was pushing back with his gravity power. He was projecting beams at the duo and at the flying puppets, missing the firsts and destroying the seconds in mass.

"You're sure you can kill him?" the shark-man asked to his rider. "Not to be pessimistic, but we probably won't have a second chance."

The missing-nin sneezed. "One slash of my sword is a killing blow. At this speed, he won't be able to avoid it." They made their way toward Susanoo… and someone appeared right in front of them.

One instant later, a hammer hit Zabuza, making his ribs break with a sickening crack. At the same time, a blade sliced Kitsune's throat.

The swordsman from Mist fell backward, and the hybrid stopped moving, holding his bleeding neck. He sensed Samehada's suffering in the back of his mind, and in less than one minute, their fusion ended. Kitsune fond himself holding his healed throat, while a wounded sword convulsed next to him.

In front of them, Amaterasu was standing, two strange blades in hand. His eyes were white, but, apparently, he was fully aware of the blonde's location. "Long time no _see_, little boy."

"You're still alive?" Susanoo asked, amazed.

The second Madara nodded. "I have lost my brother's eyes in the process and two of my trophies, but I survived my fight with the Kyuubi," he confirmed, putting his foot on Kitsune's head. "My body hurts like hell, but it was worth it."

"It was quite the jutsu you used," Susanoo agreed. He noticed the third Madara coming at them, dragging an immobile Zabuza by the collar. "You seem... unhappy."

"I have been forced to use the Izanagi too," Tsukiyomi stated. "But with my Sharingan reserve, it was a small price to pay to survive. Our enemies have grown stronger."

Susanoo's eyes widened. "Watch ou-"

Dozens of black chains descended upon the trio, who teleported away. The strings seized Kitsune, Samehada and Zabuza, before lifting them above the ocean before they could be crushed by the unstopped tidal wave. One instant later, they were next to Kazama.

"Can you transport us all?" Sasori asked, observing the three Uchiha reappearing on the ruins of the great bridge.

"I will try," the teenager answered. Light emanated from him…

One second later, they had left the sea for a green, grassy plain.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Destroyer, Susanoo<em>**

As he saw their enemies vanishing from the surface of this world, Susanoo cursed. "Crap."

Tsukiyomi shrugged. "It's a mere inconvenience," he stated. "We can pursue them."

Amaterasu shook his head. "Without the Sharingan, I can't twist space. I need to replace Izuna's eyes before we continue."

"I don't know what they have done to me," Susanoo added, "but my chakra control is screwed… for now. I can't tear apart reality without it... safely, I mean."

Tsukiyomi blinked. "So it's a setback," he declared, before gazing at Amaterasu. "I have almost a hundred back-up Sharingan." He took off his sleeve, revealing the multiple eyes implanted on it. "Which do you want? Fugaku's? Good for taijutsu, rather generalist. Mikoto's? Excellent at long-distance and ninjutsu. Shisui's? Highly efficient for genjutsu and flawless at close-range."

The blind warrior's white eyes stared at his counterpart. "It's a generous offer, but I prefer to rely on myself," he declared. "It's about principles."

"You are going to stay like that?" Susanoo wondered, astonished.

"Of course not," his double replied. "After killing Itachi, I took a trophy… his light." A bottle appeared in between his fingers. Two Sharingan were floating in it, kept intact by a strange liquid. "If you could implement them…"

"No problem," Tsukiyomi said, as they teleported to a place more calm. "We will chase them after both of you recovered."

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Traveler, Kazama<em>**

Carrying Naruko on his back, _again_, Kazama blinked. "Can you repeat, please?"

"I have lost the Sandaime Kazekage, and three quarters of my puppets," Sasori said. "Basically, most of my arsenal. Naruko and Chibaku are in such a bad state they will need a very, _very_ good healer if they ever want to fully recover. Kakashi... needs a lot of rest." He looked at Haku, who was helping her master walk.

The girl frowned. "I am only a novice at medicine, Sasori-san. I am not competent enough to help people so much wounded."

The redhead gritted his teeth. His strength, coming from his artificial body, allowed him to carry both Kakashi and Chibaku with little trouble. "If I'm not wrong, this road lead to Aguni, a city of medium-size. Maybe we will find someone competent there, even if our chances are… slim."

"I hope so," Kitsune said. Samehada was resting on his back. He seemed sad. "It's because of me they are like this… if I had been stronger…"

Kazama stopped walking, and locked eyes with his younger-self. "Kitsune… you have done what you could."

"It's because of me Kisame-san is dead!" the boy snapped. "Samehada explained me why he really had defied Amaterasu, even if he knew he would die: he tried to save me, to give me time!" He began to cry. "If I had been more powerful, he wouldn't have sacrificed himself!"

There was a short silence.

"Brat..." Zabuza growled. "Ever since our coup has failed, Kisame had lost the will to live. He was always pushing himself on the verge of death, putting his life on the line... he decided his own fate, willingly. Saying the contrary is an insult to his memory."

Haku reached the blonde boy and put a hand on his shoulder. "Kitsune-san… Kisame chose his death. Even if you had been stronger, Amaterasu would have probably killed him anyway."

"This man killed a Bijuu," Kazama continued. "He put down the _strongest demon of all times_, the _freaking Kyuubi_. After murdering an _S-Rank ninja _and fighting multiple enemies. And he still had the strength to defeat _you and Zabuza _in _one strike_, while _blinded_." The missing-nin visibly stiffened at that. "Do you seriously think you could have done anything to him?"

Kitsune opened his mouth… and closed it. "No."

"This battle was doomed from the start," Sasori concurred. "We merely delayed our defeat. These three really are SS-Rank ninjas."

Haku locked eyes with the redhead. "What is exactly a SS-Rank? I thought S-Rank was the biggest class possible."

"The SS-Rank class was created during the Third Great Shinobi War," Sasori explained. "It was awarded to the Yondaime Hokage by his enemies, after he destroyed an entire invasion force by himself and defeated multiple Bijuu and Jinchuuriki. Basically, an SS-Rank ninja is a human Bijuu, a one-man army."

Zabuza stared darkly at the ground. "In my old bingo book, the advice when confronting an S-Rank was 'attack only with all advantages possible'," he muttered. "Against an SS-Rank, the advice was 'flee on sight'."

Kazama frowned. "We will follow this advice," he declared.

Everybody looked at him. All were wearing grave expressions.

"It took me time to realize that, but we currently have absolutely _no hope _of defeating them before a long, _long _time. I thought training, preparations and allies would help us… but it didn't. Think about it: Susanoo, with a crappy chakra control and without his Sharingan's power, could still destroy a bridge, stop tsunamis and defeat you all, even with the Kyuubi's help. Next time, your surprise counter to his powers will be expected, and won't work. We will fight him at full power."

He stared at the blue sky. "Tsukiyomi… never took me and Kakashi seriously," the world wandered rasped bitterly. "He even gave us power-ups, probably unwillingly, but _still_. Most of our battle consisted of him toying with us and trying to convince me to join his side. Kakashi… burned him alive. Reduced him to ashes. And he survived, barely fazed."

The blonde sighed. "Amaterasu… we have all seen what he can do." He gazed at his unconscious family. "We have been defeated, easily, while they were holding back. We cannot defeat them."

"Then, you think the best thing to do… is to run away?" Kitsune asked. The mere idea seemed alien to him.

Kazama nodded reluctantly. "Their travel time is longer than our own. If we continue to jump through worlds in short succession, then maybe we can stay safe."

Haku and Zabuza didn't seem to understand, but Sasori frowned. "You realize it's only a temporary, and perhaps risky, solution? Even if we do put distance between them and us, they will track us down in the end. And we do not know yet the limits of your ability."

Kazama smirked. "Then, why not test them?"

Sasori didn't answer, like Kitsune. The teenager looked at the two missing-nins from Kiri. "What do you want to do? You can stay on this earth if you want, or you can follow us." He hoped they would. They would be helpful, and… he had lost them once. He really wanted to befriend them again.

"My master will decide," the young lady replied. "The decision will be his."

_As expected_, Kazama thought. _She is as dependant on Zabuza as her male counterpart was._

The former Kiri-nin stayed speechless a moment. "... after we have recovered," he finally grunted, "you will explain us everything. What is this 'world jumping' thing, who you are really, who are these three assholes, and why they are pursuing you. Then, and only then, shall we consider following you."

Kazama smiled a bit. At least he had a shot.

The group, after a short walk, saw the gates of a town, and passed them. They attracted the gazes of many people, but ignored them. Stopping at the first hotel they saw, the group paid for two rooms of four beds each. They put all their wounded on them, and separated. Kistune and Kazama left to find a healer, while Sasori and Haku stayed to watch over their companions.

The first thing the duo did was to question the receptionist. The man explained them that there was no hospital in Aguni, and that the local doctors were not competent enough to treat such bad injuries. He had, however, heard that a competent healer had recently stopped in town. He was apparently spending most of his time in the nearby park… talking to trees.

The receptionist assured he wasn't joking.

Not that Kazama really complained. Powerful people tended to be… eccentric. Heck, he hadn't seen any powerful ninja without some kind of colorful issue.

Not once.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Prince<em>**

Naruto loved parks.

First, it was generally a calm place. No one was going to bother you. He could do his favorite activity, meditation, without being disturbed by some fan girl, rival, or unhappy bully. Really, he loved tranquility. Civilization was good... in small doses.

Second, most of the plants here were receptive to talk. The young trees of towns were accustomed to human presence, and were happy to speak with the blonde. On the contrary, their wild counterparts were generally silent, if not outright hostile and misanthropist.

They had all things to say. How the city grew, what kind of people loved to date under their branches, where squirrels were hiding… and especially philosophy. It was strange, but most old trees loved to debate about life, time, and other metaphorical subjects like the nature of reality.

Yeah, a plant's priorities were very different from humans.

... Though it was because they didn't have the same emotions than men and women. They didn't 'love', didn't 'hate', didn't 'desire'. They simply 'were', 'appreciated', 'feared'. Generally, they were simply 'placid' and 'calm'.

But something was bothering the vegetation. A few hours ago, they had begun to become… restless. Something was perturbing them. Something… something abnormal.

Naruto had only seen his green friends acting like that twice. The first was when Gaara had helped him create an oasis near Sunagakure. The Shukaku, being a big mass of evil chakra, was driving the plants crazy with his very presence, even if its container had an heart of gold and was pretty stoic and peaceful. The second was when he accidentally unleashed too much of the Kyuubi's chakra, when that Kabuto bastard had hurt his mom while trying to kidnap him. His gift didn't purify the power completely, and well, the nearby grass didn't like it. _At all._

The closest willow's mind connected with his own. _This is wrong… very wrong._

_What? _the boy wondered. _It's a Bijuu?_

_Yes, _the tree thought. _A very powerful one. And he is followed by… an abomination._

The boy frowned. He had never 'heard' any plant using that term to design anything alive. For them, all were part of a whole, and everything was beautiful. Even diseases and parasites were part of the wonderful nature. _An… abomination?_

_An entity that insults life itself, _the wise vegetable explained. _I don't know what is it exactly, but it is… empty. Cold. Beyond the circle of existence. It is… unnatural. Ageless. Malevolent._

_I see._

_No, you don't see. Hope that you will never see._

The grass began to howl, as two people approached him. Both were blondes, and looked as if they were his brothers, with some key differences. Their faces were not as androgynous as his visage, their eyes were blue and not golden, and their hair were less pale than his own. His bloodline, sensible to nature, immediately identified them.

The youngest, a boy of his age, was holding back a Bijuu… the strongest he had ever seen. Probably the Hachibi, since Naruto was the Kyuubi's vessel, which was strange, since he had heard its container was an adult man. The demon was also even crazier than the Ichibi itself, and that was saying something. The creature was begging his host to destroy everything that was not him. The boy was also carrying a fish on his back… one that looked like a sword kept within bandages. This creature was, however, reserved...

It was in mourning.

The oldest, a teenager, seemed normal… at least, until Naruto looked at his heart. The guy's chakra system was exceptionally developed, and his very potent energy was radiating with warm and concern… but at the same time, Naruto was feeling uneasy when looking at him. He didn't know why, but he couldn't help but shiver, as if the newcomer was absorbing the nearby heat and joy like a sponge. The nearby plants hated his contact, repulsed by him. _He is not natural!_ they were screaming. _He is empty!_

"Hello," the younger said to him. "Are you the healer everyone is talking about in town?"

Naruto blinked. Fans again? "Yes," he confirmed, a bit reluctantly. "You want something?"

The elder boy nodded. "Our friends are in a critical conditions. They need help. Badly."

Somehow, the aura of coldness vanished, making the medic-nin frown inwardly, and put him on his guards. Were they kidnappers, trying to capture him? Kabuto had done the same trick before, and he wasn't going to fall for it again. Hopefully, mom was nearby, and would come to his help. "How bad are they?" he asked. Strangely, the plants were now perfectly at ease around the teenager. As if he had suddenly become... normal.

"One is in a catatonic state, one had his ribcage hit by a hammer, one has almost all his bones broken, and the last has been the target of multiple chakra based strikes," the teenager explained. "They are... in a bad shape."

_Damn, they must have taken one hell of a beating, _Naruto wondered._ They're obviously ninjas… maybe one of their missions has gone wrong? _"That's beyond my competences," he answered honestly. He could help most people, but such injuries were too important to be confided to him.

The duo's facial expression fell in disappointment.

"However," the boy who talked to plants continued, "I know someone that can help you. My mom is the damn best medic-nin on the whole continent, so I'm sure she can help you. However, she generally asks for payment…"

"Money is not a problem," the teenager replied. "Just… help them."

His chakra was so full of hope and love Naruto couldn't resist but smile. "I will bring you to her."

"Thank you," the youngest said, "mister…"

Naruto blushed, realizing his lack of manners. "Oh, I forgot. My name is Naruto. Nice to meet you!" He grinned.

The reaction from the duo was huge surprise. In fact, the boy's jaw dropped. The eldest simply blinked, a seed of doubt forming in his heart. The aura of coldness returned, weak but present. The grass howled again, but not as strongly as earlier. "Kazama Arashi," he said.

"Kitsune Arashi," the other presented himself. "Happy to meet you!"

Naruto smiled. "Somehow, I have the feeling you already know me." They had obviously recognized his name... were they from Konoha? Or Suna?

"Oh boy…" Kazama trailed off mysteriously. "You can't know how right you are."

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Traveler, Kazama<em>**

Unwillingly clenching and opening his fists, Kazama tried to maintain a calm façade, even if he was, inwardly, a nervous wreck. They entered a big and luxurious hotel, and he was mentally preparing himself for the inevitable confrontation with Kushina.

His… mother… had left his mindscape for who know where, and she wasn't missed. She and her husband were now mere distant images that he couldn't help but despise. He had desired to see them for so long… but they weren't missed anymore.

They weren't his family. His companions were.

But was he going to do with his newest counterpart? If Kushina were still alive, then maybe he wasn't the Kyuubi's vessel? Perhaps he was still holding back the Bijuu, but with a family, isn't abused or hated? Or, who know, he might be a perfectly normal kid without any special problem...

His interrogations were interrupted by a familiar, female voice, coming from upstairs. "Naruto-kun?"

"Shizune-nii-chan!" The young boy saluted. "I bring new customers!"

Tsunade's apprentice descended quickly from the stairs, smiling warmly at the trio. "Hell-"

In her precipitation, she tripped, almost crashing on the ground… but Kazama successfully caught her in his arms, much to his younger counterparts' awe. "Shizune-san… you should be more careful," the teenager whispered.

The woman was looking like a tomato. "Th-Thank you," she muttered, before standing firmly on her legs. "Mister…"

"Kazama," he said. "Nice to meet you. The boy next to me is my brother, Kistune."

Strangely, Shizune blushed even more. "Mmm… if you are looking for my master, she is upstairs. Please… follow me."

Naruto's medic counterpart grinned ear to ear as he obeyed. He stared at his older-self, smirked, before squealing. It made the teenager extremely uneasy. _Strangely, I have absolutely no intention of discovering what he is thinking about at this moment._

But something was strange. Why was Shizune with Naruto and his mother? She had never left Tsunade's side, and-

At this moment, Kazama's mind stopped working.

_Golden eyes… paler hair… different face… talking to tree… _the pieces of the puzzle were assembling, until he reached one, obvious conclusion.

"Shizune! I need more sake!"

… which was soon confirmed by the shouts of one angry blonde woman.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune protested, as she saw Tsunade finishing a whole bottle of the liquid. The Sannin was sitting before a table, covered with empty containers for different, and very potent, alcohols. "We have customers!"

"Who?" the kunoichi grunted, before eying the Naruto trio… and paling when she noticed the eldest one. "Mi-Minato-kun?" she shuddered, much to the teenager's embarrassment.

Kazama's newest counterpart raised his eyebrows. "Mom, it's not dad. Dad is dead. Don't you remember?"

"Yes, of course, son," she said, getting up. "It's just… this boy is his carbon copy."

_Unfortunately… I hate to wear the face of my tormentor. _"I don't see who you're talking about, but I assume you are Tsunade Senju, the legendary medic?" he asked, even if he already knew the answer. He had to keep appearances, after all.

"Yes," she nodded, suddenly sober. It didn't surprise the teenager. His world's Tsunade had explained him once that she had developed a technique to rapidly purge the alcohol out of her blood. To 'prevent accidents with perverts' she had said. "And you are?"

"Kazama Arashi."

"Kitsune Arashi."

"Nice to meet you," the lady replied. "You want my help?"

Kazama confirmed with a little nod. "Four of our friends have been… _critically_… injured by… dangerous men," his tone indicated, to all, that this subject was sensible, "and need a treatment. Quickly. We will pay whatever price you want."

Tsunade snorted. "Do you take me for a greedy woman? If your friends are so badly wounded, it's only my duty as a medic to heal them. Bring me to them, and I will see what I can do."

"Thank you very much," Kazama bowed politely, imitated by Kitsune. "It is very generous of you."

"Yeah, mom!" The wood user shouted happily. "I always knew you were hiding a heart of gold under that rough exterior!"

"Shut up brat," the Sannin replied. "Or no vacations with Jiraiya next summer!"

The blonde paled. "Sadist!" He growled.

"You say that like it's an insult," she stated.

"Old hag!"

"Half-pint!"

As the two began to bicker, Shizune sighed, before staring at Kazama and Kitsune. "Forgive them… it's some kind of familial ritual."

"I… see…" the teenager muttered, still astonished by the revelation of his counterpart's parentage. "It's usual in our group too."

"Only between Naruko and Chibaku," Kitsune pointed out.

"Yeah. Sometimes I wonder if we wouldn't fit better in a lunatic asylum than in civilization…"

"Strangely," Shizune replied. "That's exactly what I am thinking about these two all the time."

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Void<em>**

In the abysses of Naruto's mind, the darkness were preparing. They would sleep, and slowly destroy their host's fetters. They would be patient, and take their time to perfect the blonde's psych. They would destroy everything unnecessary, and polish the teenager's soul, remaking it in their own image.

In time, Naruto Uzumaki would ascend to a greater level. He would forsake lies for truth, forgiveness for punishment. He would evolve into something to behold, and trade his humanity for the power he needed. Love, friendship, hope… would all disappear.

In the end, only the void would remain, all-powerful and everlasting, as it was meant to be.

It was simply inevitable.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's notes:<em>**

A few things on this chapter.

Firstly, the Alternate Waves Arc is officially finished. Another begins now.

Secondly, the Madara aren't invincible. They are as strong as three people who spent a whole century training, stealing techniques and mastering incredibly potent abilities. Aka the strength of a human Bijuu. They will fight their equals (or superior opponents), but not before a long time...

Thirdly, I am going to ignore some of the most recent revelations in canon, because they make absolutely no sense. Specifically, I will ignore the Yondaime Kazekage's revelations and the whole deal with Shisui's eyes. The Yondaime's reasoning makes _absolutely no sense_... worse, it completely destroyed _years of character development_ and basically threw _everything _we knew about the Shukaku in a garbage (I'm talking about the sand defense). About Shisui, it makes no sense. If his eyes had been retired before his death, then why everyone thought it was a suicide? I mean, if the man's eyes had been plucked out forcefully, then his death couldn't pass as accidental. And I doubt Danzo would have stopped at taking only one eye while he was alive.

Once again, thank you for voting, reviewing and following this story.

Write you soon.


	12. Chapter 12: Shifts in Mentality

I said I would update sooner, and I did. Here is the new chapter, that will begin the new arc. What do you think of... The Great Chase Arc? Cool name, isn't it? It will probably be longer than the first two combined, if I have my way.

Special thanks to Third Fang and Alpha142, for betaing this story.

Traveler/Original Naruto: Kazama Arashi.

Pupeteer Naruto: Chibaku Arashi.

Werefox/Hybrid Naruto: Kitsune Arashi.

Deceiver/Original Madara: Tsukiyomi.

Destroyer/Rinnegan Madara: Susanoo.

Warrior/Collector Madara: Amaterasu.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, like more than 99 % of the world. Yeah, it sucks.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Twelve: Shifts in Mentality<strong>_

_Kakashi was sitting before a campfire, alone in the darkness. His surroundings were blurry, but he saw a pair of eyes staring at him sadly._

_"Father," he asked to the appearing shade. "What have I done wrong? Why are my genin dead?"_

_"Son," Sakumo Hatake whispered. "Sometimes, bad things happen for no reason at all."_

_"If I had ordered them to leave…" Kakashi trailed off. "If I had been more firm… if I had forced them to save their skin, instead of fighting against someone they couldn't hope to defeat…"_

_"It has worked multiple times," Sakumo muttered. "When you saved Rin for the first time… and when you defeated Ayatsuri Kenta on your own. Your enemies were well beyond your level of skill… and yet you won."_

_Kakashi snorted. "At what cost? Obito and Rin are dead, because I was too weak to protect them. Your grandson is dead, buried in a forgotten forest. My students have been murdered, because I was to confident in their abilities. It's still my fault... I should have made them leave. I should have been a better teacher."_

_Having no answers to his son's questions, Sakumo's shade vanished, leaving place to the white shadow of the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze. "Kakashi…"_

_"Sensei?" the broken man muttered. "Is that you?"_

_"Yes," the ghost muttered. "I have come to tell you this: stop beating yourself over the past. Bury the dead and their memories, learn from them, but do not let them control you. Don't let your guilt prevent you from advancing, from living. It is always possible to redeem yourself, to correct your mistakes. Those who live in the past have no future, Kakashi."_

_"My future is empty," the jounin replied, with a despaired tone. "Dark. I have lost everything. All my dreams have been crushed, one after the other. All my beliefs… have been insulted, corrupted, destroyed. Minato-sensei… I have no future. The past and my memories are simply what I still have, in this sinister life of mine. Beyond them... I have nothing."_

_His teacher closed his eyes with a sad expression, before being replaced by another familiar figure of Kakashi's past. The disfigured face of Ayatsuri Kenta moved out of the shadow, his eyes radiating with pure evil… with the sadistic hunger for others' pain that motivated the monster all his life. "I have won, Kakashi-kun," the bastard gloated with insane glee. "I have broken you. I have taken everything from you. Your childhood… your lover… your son… your best friend… your very happiness…"_

_The monster smiled cruelly, caressing the copy-nin's hair, as if he was a trained dog... which he was. "Look at you. You are nothing more than a walking corpse. An empty shell of a man once acclaimed as a hero, a prodigy. You try to make Obito's memory survive, through your way of life… but he is dead, Kakashi-kun. As dead as your team is. Perhaps it is your fate, to suffer for all eternities… even without me around."_

_The jounin glared at his dead archenemy. "Disappear," he ordered. "You're just a memory. A mere illusion."_

_Kenta smirked cruelly… the same grin he was wearing when the Chidori had pierced his chest. "I will never be a memory," the shade murmured ominously, before vanishing. "I will never cease to haunt you, Kakashi-kun. Even from beyond the grave… I will never leave you alone."_

Kakashi awakened in a bed, overlooked by a dark-haired woman. He had returned to reality, leaving the world of his nightmares.

And yet, he was still chained by them.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Puppeteer, Chibaku<strong>_

"I can't believe it," Chibaku muttered, as he massaged his shoulders. "All my bones have been healed… all of them." He stared up at the blonde woman with admiration. "Your reputation as the best medic of all times is not usurped, Tsunade-sama." _And the lady with the biggest chest ever… damn, her boobs are as big as my head!_

The woman blushed slightly. "You're too kind." _Cute…_

"Too much," Naruko groaned, as she stood firmly on her legs. "Chibaku is never polite with girls."

"Me?" The puppeteer snorted. "I am the most gentlemanly boy alive. You're just an exception, my dear."

The flat-lady sneezed. "Jerk."

"Anyway," Chibaku said to Tsunade, blatantly ignoring the blonde girl. "Thank you very much for your help. Really, healing a whole skeleton… is no small feat."

"I have done that many times," the blonde woman replied. "My son has the nasty tendency of running into bad situations…"

"MOM!"

"What? It's true," she said to her furious child, before looking at the unmoving Kakashi. "I didn't know you were traveling with the White Fang's son. I haven't met him for years… and it saddens me to see him like that. Who the hell was strong enough to put him in this state?"

Kazama visibly stiffened. "Let's just say they were S-Rank… at least."

Tsunade frowned. "_They_? Why multiple Kage-level ninjas were, or are, after you?" The lack of clear answer made her scowl. "And why have you such badly regenerated bones? Haven't you ever visited a competent medic before? It's like your skeleton had recovered from big cracks naturally, without any kind of cast to correct the process… for the matter, what is this malevolent chakra running in your veins?"

Chibaku blushed sheepishly, and he saw Sasori and Kazama tensing sideway… "Well, we have a lot of special abilities in the family…"

"Because you're all demon vessels?"

Everyone looked at Tsunade's son, with varying expressions. While the Senju matriarch didn't seem to be really surprised by the revelation, Shizune and Haku both gasped, Zabuza frowned, and Chibaku's group observed the boy with surprise… who rolled his eyes.

"Guys, I am the Kyuubi's container and I have already examined another Jinchuuriki before. Chibaku, Naruko and Kitsune, you all keep a demon in check… one that I know too well." His gaze turned serious.

"How the hell can there be FOUR Kyuubi?"

One hour later…

Tsunade, her apprentice and her son, were as pale as ghosts. Zabuza's expression was one of pure shock, and Haku's jaw had dropped. The girl was now looking at Naruko as if she had just said she was her long lost sister… or something just as amazing.

"Let me get this straight," the Sannin began. "You are all alternate versions of my son, Kakashi, and of three missing-nins, coming from different worlds each slightly different from our own." She stared at Kazama. "Accidentally, you gained the ability to travel between them."

The teenager nodded. "At first, I had no clear goal beyond returning to my home. But after meeting Naruko, Chibaku and Sasori, I decided to continue my journey through the universes, in order to save my counterparts from their fate as Konoha's sacrifice. My companions had different goals, but since they weren't in opposition, we decided to travel together."

The Senju Naruto raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean by 'their fate as Konoha's sacrifice'?"

"You aren't abused?" Naruko asked, amazed. "Konoha doesn't treat you like a pariah?"

"Konoha worships the ground I'm walking on," the boy replied. "You cannot imagine the number of fan girls that are after me. Heck, I only spend one day in this town before fleeing. All that adoration… it's disturbing." He smirked. "That, and the Hyuuga wanted me to marry one of them. Hiashi's eldest daughter, in fact."

Kitsune gritted his teeth. "Hinata… she wasn't good enough for you?"

"What? No!" The little ninja shook his head. "She's nice and all, but I already have a girlfriend… and Gaara is going to bury me alive in the desert if I abandon his sister."

"You're dating _Temari_?" Kazama asked, with a surprised tone.

"Yep!" The boy smiled. "She's the coolest girl ever, and a super-strong kunoichi!"

"Anyway," Tsunade scoffed. "No, Naruto isn't abused. Or disliked, for the matter. Being known as the heir of the Shodaime and possessor of the Mokuton bloodline has many advantages… like being able to purify the Kyuubi's demonic chakra into a benevolent force. He's the village's greatest hero, and praised as such."

Chibaku couldn't believe his ears, and he wasn't alone. All of his counterparts were unable to say anything… the mere _idea _of being considered as Konoha's hero was an alien concept to them. Kazama seemed to be the most surprised, but then tried to mask his growing anger. _Why is he like that? _The blonde boy wondered. _I mean, he should be happy that at least one of us has a good life…_

"Judging your expression," Tsunade said, "I assume this is not the case in your home worlds?"

Kitsune shook his head. "We are all outcasts, and our parents are dead."

The Sannin raised an eyebrow. "I am dead?"

"You aren't our mother," Naruko said. "Our mom was named Kushina."

"Kushi-chan?" Shizune gasped. Tsunade only paled, as she looked at Naruko with shock.

"So this is how their daughter would have looked…" she muttered.

Kazama locked eyes with her. "_Their _daughter?"

"Minato and Kushina were going to have a child together," the woman explained. "A daughter… Naruto's half-sister… we thought they would grow up together, like twins…"

"Minato?" Naruko wondered. "That's our father's name?"

Tsunade blinked. "You don't know?" She stared at Kazama. "You don't-"

"I know who Minato is," Chibaku's older counterpart replied, attracting everyone's gaze in the process. "But I intended to keep it a secret for later... it's a delicate revelation, and I wanted to tell it to them once they will be mature enough. I assume you understand why?"

The Senju Naruto and his mother both frowned at the same time, in perfect coordination. "Your Minato were different from our own, isn't it?" Tsunade asked. "And not in the good sense, I suppose..."

"No," Kazama stated. "That is why the revelation must be a more intimate time."

"I understand," the Sannin replied, before staring at Chibaku, Kitsune and Naruko. "You have a problem with that?"

"I trust Aniki," Kitsune replied. "If he thinks it is better to wait, then I will wait too."

"Me too!" Naruko shouted. "I hate being kept in the dark, but if it is so important... I will deal with it."

Chibaku simply shrugged. He had already a pretty precise idea on who his father was, and...

"Euh…" Chibaku trailed off, his mind barely working as something just blew up his brain. "Our father got _two _women pregnant? _At the same time_?"

Tsunade blushed. "Well… yeah…" Chibaku almost fell comatose at that. _Our father had a _harem_?_

"Care to… elaborate?" Kitsune demanded.

The Sannin now looked like a tomato. "Well… one day, Jiraiya and his student, Minato, came to visit me… for old time sake. And… we got to a bar… drank… just a bit…"

"You finished six bottles of sake in a row. You didn't even recognize me. Heck, you even scarred Tonton away when you tried to eat him!"

"Shizune, shut up," the slug summoner ordered. "I _did_ drink a _little_ alcohol… like Minato… and, the day later, I awoke in his arms, in a bed, naked, still covered wi-"

"Spare us the details!" Kazama spat, his hand on his face. "There're kids here, you know!"

"Sorry," the Sannin excused herself. "But anyway, you get the idea. Three months later, I was pregnant, at the same time as Kushina was. She almost killed Minato when she discovered the truth, and I helped her beat the blonde into a bloody mess."

"It was the time Minato got the closest to death," Shizune said, a bit embarrassed. "I think that Jiraiya's felicitations about 'successfully realizing my dream of bedding the two hottest kunoichi in all of Konoha' only made things worse. He stayed on a hospital bed for a whole month before being able to walk again."

Zabuza snickered. "Never anger a pregnant woman… they become goddamn baby-making killing machines." All the girls (including Haku) glared at him, but he simply shrugged. "What? It's actually in the bingo book!"

"What happened?" Sasori cut through the discussion. "I mean, if your son is the Kyuubi's container, then I assume Kushina met a tragic fate, like her husband and daughter."

The temperature instantly dropped. The slug Sannin was now openly glaring at them. The Senju boy's expression had darkened, like Shizune. "We were going to give birth the same day. Kushina, being the Kyuubi's former vessel, was in danger, since her seal was weakened at childbirth. Jiraiya, Kakashi, my old teacher, Shizune… the Yondaime... they were all present, to prevent a possible jailbreak from the fox, and to celebrate… but another person decided to invite himself to the party."

Kazama frowned. "Uchiha Madara," he guessed, with a disgusted tone.

"You know him?" Tsunade wondered, and the teenager nodded. Her eyes were now radiating with fury.

"We fought him," Chibaku explained. "Him… and his counterparts."

"These three god wannabes…" Zabuza realized.

"Yes," Naruko confirmed. "They are all Madara Uchiha."

"Apparently," Kazama began, "when I travel between worlds, I leave a 'path' open, one that they take at will. My universe's Madara followed me, and recruited two of his counterparts to help him. They want to capture me, and exploit my power to their own nefarious ends, but fortunately, we managed to escape their grasp twice."

"At a huge cost," Kakashi murmured sadly, still barely paying attention to the conversation.

"They beat us, and killed some of our teammates," Chibaku continued, with barely repressed anger.

"Like us," Shizune said. "He took Kushina-san's daughter, Natsuki, hostage, wanting to exchange her for Kushina. Yondaime-sama tried to save both, but… well, the bastard had put an explosive tag on the child… and for once, the Yellow Flash hasn't been fast enough."

Naruko paled in horror. _It was her… _Chibaku guessed. _It could have been her… or us..._

"Madara unleashed the Kyuubi on Konoha, killing Kushina in the process. As the Yondaime, Minato and Kakashi went on to protect the village, the Uchiha decided he wanted to end the Senju line this day and attempted to kill my baby. Fortunately, Jiraiya, Shizune and the Sandaime prevented him from doing so, and I soon came to the rescue."

"In the following fight," Shizune continued, "we successfully killed him. Jiraiya-sama lost an arm and many of his summons, and Sarutobi-sama half of his face and his old friend Enma, but we won."

"We killed him, he and his trained falcons," Tsunade said, "even as he returned from the dead twice in a row. We reduced him to ashes and scattered them to the wind." Her stare hardened. "We annihilated him."

"But the Kyuubi was still in the middle of a rampage," Shizune continued. "To save Konoha, Yondaime-sama used a forbidden technique, summoning the Shinigami to bind the Bijuu and seal it into... a child, Naruto," she said, confirming what Chibaku already knew. "A few hours, I watched as they took Minato's corpse away to bury it."

Unlike his other counterparts, who apparently hadn't connected the dots about their father's identity, Chibaku had guessed it long ago. The physical resemblance was simply too startling, and it would have explained why the Yondaime had chosen him instead of someone else. The Hokage couldn't have sacrificed any other child than his own.

To be honest, he couldn't care less about who his father was. He had forsaken his past life long ago, and chosen his own way. He wasn't Chibaku, the son of the Yondaime, but Chibaku, the puppeteer.

However, Kitsune, Naruko and the rest didn't appear to have a sudden revelation about it... for now. Though if his face was of any indication, Zabuza had connected the dots too...

"The Senju have inherited from the great Sage's power and energy," the Senju boy muttered. "With the Uzumaki, they are the best people to contain a demon. My… talent with plants has only been discovered way later, during my early childhood."

"If this bastard is alive, even in another form," the slug Sannin declared, "then we will help you kill him. He deserves to die a hundred times for what he has done."

"Thanks," Kazama said, "but it won't be necessary. We won't fight them again."

Chibaku's head jerked to the teen's side, like Naruko. The Senju's matriarch and her relatives stared at him with shock in their eyes.

"They're simply too strong," the teenager continued. "They are on par with the Yondaime and the Kyuubi itself in term of sheer power, and fighting them would probably pose too many risks for us, and for your world."

"So we're just going to run away?" Naruko spat. "This is cow-"

"This is the safest path!" Her teacher snapped. "We are too weak to be more than an annoyance to them, and we need _time_. The day for us to confront them will come, but it's not _now_. We will flee and train and prepare, until we are ready, but right now fighting them is _suicide_."

The little girl, and just about everyone, fell silent at Kazama's outburst.

"They killed Kabuto, they killed Kisame, and they killed the _Kyuubi_," he continued. "They are too strong…" the teenager muttered, before staring at the group. "And I don't want to lose any one of you."

Naruko opened her mouth… and closed it immediately._ Man… you're fleeing because of us? Because we… we are too weak? _Chibaku cursed himself at his stupidity. _Of course. This trio beat us twice, so he's worried… but… we are not weak..._

Kitsune gently posed his hand on the blonde boy's shoulder, silently telling him to stay confident in himself.

"How can the Kyuubi be killed?" the Senju Naruto asked. "I thought Bijuu were indestructible?"

"They are," Chibaku said. "But they can still be killed. Basically, when they die, either in their original form or within the belly of their container, their chakra returns to the earth, before reassembling. However, doing so… costs the demon something irreplaceable: his identity."

The confused looks sent to the puppeteer made him groan. Not that he didn't understand them. When his inner devil had explained him that, he had had a hard time getting it right… much to the beast's sadistic amusement._Jerk._

Fortunately, the creature was still too stunned to reply anything. At least, Susanoo's beating had one advantage…

"It's like reincarnation. For example, the Kyuubi is immortal, but _a specific _Kyuubi isn't. When a Bijuu dies, he is reborn with absolutely no memories of his old life, returning as an animal for a few centuries before developing a new personality, different from the original. It's like complete and irreversible amnesia… or as if a new soul had replaced you in your body. That's why Bijuu are doing everything they can to protect their host from death: they don't want to reincarnate and lose their personality."

"That's why the Shukaku is helping Gaara!" the Senju Naruto shouted as realization hit him.

"And that's why the Kyuubi gives us its chakra," Kitsune muttered. "They could have let us to die somewhere and return years later… but that would, in a way, kill them."

_**I am the oldest intelligent being on this planet, **_the fox roared in the back of Chibaku's mind having finally mustered the strength to awake. _**I was there when your kind had no concept of civilization. I have seen entire empires rise and fall. I have seen my brethren dying and returning as mindless beasts. I will certainly not lose my memories like they have. I am eternal, and I am patient… one day, your puny seal will break… and I will be free once again, and burn the world until eve-**_

_Yeah, whatever,_ Chibaku cut through his demon's inevitable megalomaniac villainous rant. _I'm not in the mood to hear you talk. Continue, and I'm going to carve your heart out. With a spoon._

… _**a spoon?**_

_Just imagine how long you will suffer as I try to cut your flesh with it._

Tsunade coughed. "Well, if you're going to flee soon, then could you at least stay at our hotel until tomorrow? I want you to clarify some things…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Girl, Naruko<strong>_

As Kazama-sensei vanished with Sasori, Tsunade and her newest self in a soundproof room for a 'proper examination', Naruko went to install herself in her new bedroom, which she was sharing with Haku. The ice-user changed herself, leaving her old, torn kimono for another black one offered by Shizune.

"Haku-chan…" the blonde girl trailed off. "Am I weak?"

The young lady half-rotated, blinking. "Of course not. Why are you saying this?"

"It's about Naru-sensei," she explained. "Because I… because Susanoo defeated me twice, he has lost hope in our chances of winning. Because I'm too weak to fight this guy…"

Haku frowned. "Never say this. You are not weak."

"But-"

"You are not weak," the missing-nin interrupted her. "You are strong, because you have something to protect. The bonds that unite you, Kazama-san, and the rest of your group, are powerful. Through you desire to protect them, you will gain the strength to overcome all obstacles."

"You think so?" she asked.

"Yes," the young lady confirmed, as she sat on her bed. "Susanoo, and his men… are only motivated by their lust for power. Their ambition makes them strong, but without a vision, they are doomed to self-destruct. Only someone that is fighting for his friends, his ideals and his dreams can reach true greatness."

"I…" Naruko fell silent. "Thank you."

Haku smiled warmly. "It's natural. I have asked myself this question many times, before finding the answer… through Zabuza-sama's teachings."

Naruko bit her lower lip. "Why are you exactly fighting for someone like him? Not to insult him, but isn't he a criminal?"

Haku shook her head. "Zabuza-sama is a very noble person, even if he is a little rough. He saved me from despair, and tried to save the Mist from itself."

"I… Kazama-sensei once told me that you were ostracized because of your bloodline."

The young lady nodded sadly. "Mist has… a complicated history. When the Nidaime Mizukage died in his duel with the Nidaime Tsuchikage, the country fell into civil war, as multiple clans struggled to seize ultimate power from the Sandaime Mizukage, who wasn't as competent and charismatic as his predecessor and died very early. The bloodline users, and especially the Kaguya clan, were the cause of many tragedies, and the Mist entered into an era of brutal civil wars, staying isolated for decades and deprived of a strong, powerful government. Civilians and ninjas alike began to hate bloodline users with passion."

Her stare darkened. "One day, someone powerful and ruthless named Yagura appeared. He was the vessel of the Sanbi, created by a clan to serve as its ultimate weapon… but unfortunately, years of mistreatments and isolation had driven him insane. He turned against his creators, exterminated them, and through sheer power, enforced his rule upon the country with an iron fist, imposing his life philosophy to everyone. 'Only the strong survives' became an official policy, and Kirigakure gained the nickname of the Bloody Mist. Do you know why?"

Naruko shook her head.

"Kirigakure's Academy produced, each year, a hundred of potential genin, but only half of them, at best, would become ninjas. Because the final exam in Kiri… was a one-on-one duel to the death between the students."

Naruko paled in disgust. "That's disgusting!"

"Yagura thought that only someone able to kill anyone should deserve the title of ninja," Haku stated. "There are simply not enough missions for a village with too many people, and the Yondaime firmly believed that violence and bloodshed were the best judges to evaluate people's value. Culling the weak was a holy mission for him. Zabuza-sama… ended this practice… by killing a whole class during the graduation."

"… WHAT?" Naruko jumped on place. "He KILLED them all?"

"It was a horrible act," Haku complied. "But it was necessary. Zabuza-sama… has lost his parents very early because of the Yondaime's rule of terror. He wanted to change our country for the better, starting with this exam. It was a difficult decision, but in the end, the sacrifice was worth it. Yagura acknowledged the system as flawed, and abandoned it for one similar to Konoha's one. Zabuza-sama's spectacular debut also allowed him to rise to a position of power where he could organize a coup against the Yondaime… in the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist."

"It's…" Naruko closed her mouth. "I can't accept such action as justified. There must have been another way."

"Perhaps," the lady replied. "But what has been done is done, and we can't change the past. Anyway, we have drifted away from our conversation. The citizens of the Land of Water hated wielders of bloodlines, like my mother. She was a member of the Yuki clan. She hid herself in the countryside, under the guise of a normal civilian, and installed herself in a remote village. One day, she fell in love with a male farmer, married him, and gave birth to me. For years, we lived happily… until I discovered my gift."

Sadness spread over her face. "My father once saw me manipulating ice. Connecting the dots, he realized his wife and daughter were bloodline users. He gathered a mob, raided our house… and murdered my mother, right before my eyes. And then, tried to kill me."

Naruko gasped. _How can a parent do that to his own family, to his own child? This is… monstrous._

"At this moment… I snapped. I lost control of my power… and passed out. When I awoke, I was alone, in the middle of a field of impaled people, including my father. After that… I lived in the streets, unwanted, hungry, and sad… until Zabuza-sama found me."

She smiled warmly. "He gave me a family, a home, and a purpose. For the kindness he showed… I will always be at his side."

_She's me,_ Naruko realized. _I was right… she is my mirror, someone who shared the same ordeals, and received the same kind of help. Her savior is simply… darker, than my own. _"Haku-chan… thank you for saying me this. I mean, it must be kind of hard to remember that."

"Naruko-san… you're the one I should thank, for listening to my story," the Yuki replied. "I mean… I have never seen someone that could understand what I went through, except Kimimaro… who is now dead."

The blonde girl smiled warmly, her look determined. "Haku… I promise you that, whatever you are going to do, I will always be there to protect you. You are now officially a member of my dearest people."

"The feeling is mutual… Naruko."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The puppet master, Sasori<strong>_

Kazama raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," the Senju Naruto explained, "that there is something wrong with your chakra. When I met you, you were driving the nearby plants completely crazy. It was like you were some kind of abomination, or undead. They said you were empty."

The blonde teenager frowned, and Sasori imitated him… inwardly. "This might be linked to your black chains," the puppeteer stated. "Chakra is supposed to be blue, after all. Has something happened during your fight with Tsukiyomi?"

Kazama reluctantly nodded. "I don't know what happened _exactly_, but he attempted to implant… something… in me. But then… Kushina saved me."

"Kushina?" Tsunade wondered out loud. "Isn't she supposed to be… well, dead?"

"She was… sort of," the blonde said. "I don't know how, but apparently Minato had put a bit of his, and my mother's, chakra into my seal, to help when the time for me to confront the Kyuubi would come. When Orochimaru twisted it, they tried to fix the damages, at the cost of Minato's final death. The result… well," he took off his shirt, showing them the twisted arrays, "is that."

As Tsunade and the Senju stared at it with interest, Kazama continued his story. "But when Madara tried his technique… _Mikaboshi_, I think its name was… she interrupted him and saved me. Unfortunately, we have had an altercation, and she has vanished ever since."

"An altercation?" the Sannin asked.

"None of your business," the blonde teenager answered with a cold tone. "Let's just say it's very, _very_ personal."

Tsunade stiffened, but said nothing. "Your friend talked about chains…"

Instantly, blue chakra erupted from the world wanderer's body, taking the form of chains. "At first, it was Kushina that manifested them, but now, I can control them at will. They are part of me."

Sasori's eyes widened. "But the color… they were _black _before." _What happened?_

"In a nutshell…" the blonde muttered, as he looked at the chakra. "They changed colors during the fight. Wierd…"

Tsunade locked eyes with her son. "Naruto, I will need your help with this. We are going to examine his whole chakra pathway system, and I want you to say it if your Mokuton notices something abnormal."

"Okay," he said, as his, and his mother's, hands were lightened by a green haze. Putting them on Kazama's back, they began to move them on his skin. Sasori silently observed the two, intent on memorizing any helpful technique.

It took only one minute for the Senju to find an anomaly. "The heart."

The slug Sannin blinked. "I see…"

"What?" Kazama wondered.

"Apparently, a large amount of very potent chakra is quickly fusing with your own," Tsunade stated. "In doing so, it's also kicking something out of your system."

"The process is in its terminal phase," the wood-user added. "Within a few hours, the new chakra will be fully absorbed into your own, and the anomaly completely purged."

"I'm not sure of exactly what is getting expelled," his mother continued, "but I think that the absorbed chakra comes from Kushina. It is, however, acting strangely, because it seems slightly different, and fluctuating… as if it was conscious. However, I'm certain that whatever is expelled from you is something external. It's alive, or, at least, dying."

"Perhaps is it this _Mikaboshi_?" Kazama speculated.

"It might explain why you don't see Kushina anymore," Tsunade said. "By fusing with you, she must have lost any semblance of consciousness… and in doing so, is kicking out whatever Madara implanted in you."

_Mikaboshi… _Sasori thought. _Where have I heard this name?_

"You don't notice anything wrong anymore, Senju-san?" Kazama asked.

The boy shook his head. "No, there is nothing wrong. Heck, even this dying anomaly doesn't tick my senses off. It's strange, but I think whatever that was wrong with you is now gone."

As the teenager smiled, Sasori gritted his teeth. He didn't know why, but he had the feeling he had missed an important detail… _I will have to stay wary, _the puppeteer thought. _This situation bothers me greatly…_

It was simply too good to be true.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Traveler, Kazama<strong>_

When Tsunade invited them all to dine, Kazama politely accepted, like the rest of the group, Zabuza and Haku. In fact, only Kakashi didn't show up, pretending not to be hungry, on a very pained and tired tone. His actions were beginning to disturb the blonde teenager to a great extent. The jounin was simply suffering from an illness called despair, and needed to be cheered up… a thing Kazama intended to do after the dinner.

Sitting in front of his Senju counterpart, the world wandered glanced at him. The boy was the very picture of happiness, joking with Kistune and Chibaku. Kazama refused to admit it, but he was jealous of this child who had the life he, and his counterparts, rightfully deserved.

The Senju had a loving family, while the others Naruto's parents only saw their child as weapon. He was loved by Konoha, while his alternate-selves were pariah. He had the talent, a cool bloodline, and all the training he could want, while his counterparts had to struggle to earn their abilities. Jiraiya cared about him, unlike the pervert's doubles.

If this perfect life existed… then why his counterparts didn't have it? Why had they suffered? Why hadn't people acted decently toward them?

Why did their life suck so much?

So yes, he hated the Senju, for being happy while he was not. He hated Tsunade for being treacherous while she could have been kind. He hated Jiraiya for being so damn selfish, while he could have been selfless. He hated the people of Konoha for abusing him, while they could have supported him. He hated Minato and Kushina, for having sealed the Kyuubi inside of him while he could have been killed, even if only temporarily. He hated them all so much…

He hated the gods, fate, or whatever cause of his suffering. He hated the world itself for having denied him this possibility…

_What am I thinking? _The teen wondered, as a distant squeak ceased to resonate in his mind. _I… I must stop thinking about this. This way of thinking… will only send me in the madness that Gaara and Sasuke both experienced. Hatred… only leads to destruction, for everyone._

He didn't hate the Senju. He had a good life, and Kazama was happy for him. He deserved it… and it wasn't the world wanderer's right to steal it from him. This boy would probably one day rise as Konoha's greatest hero, and was bound to make friends, to bring peace… and not to be hunted down by three madmen, always fearing for his life. Without Madara, Akatsuki certainly didn't exist, or at least wasn't as dangerous as the one Kazama knew. The Senju would have the life Kazama himself wanted desperately…

But only if the world travelers were to leave, before the Uchiha trio reached them.

Sideway, Kazama noticed something strange. Zabuza, appearing silent and disinterested in talking, was discreetly, but intensively, staring at his protégée, who was currently talking with Naruko. The two looked like they were best friends… and if the swordsman's eyes were of any indication, he was happy about the situation. He locked eyes with Kazama… before looking at the room's balcony. Getting up, the Kiri-nin advanced toward it, eying the skies.

Imitating him, Kazama came to his side. "Nice twilight, isn't it?" He said, as he staring at the vanishing sun.

"I have taken my decision, brat," Zabuza growled, blatantly ignoring the blonde's attempt at beginning a polite conversation about the weather. "I will follow you."

The teenager raised his eyebrows. "Why?"

"Don't fuck with me," the man spat. "You perfectly know why. To avenge Kisame… and for Haku's well-being."

"You know, getting pursued by three power-hungry SS-Rank ninjas is not good for a young woman like her," Kazama pointed out. "Her chances of survival are… low."

"Just as they were, when she helped me fight the Yondaime Mizukage," the man replied. "In term of dangerous missions, we have seen worse. But Haku… has only a few people she holds dear to her heart. Your…_sister_… is her only friend, now that Kimimaro is dead. You have met her once, in another earth… you can understand her. What will happen if, or rather when, I die? Haku needs emotional anchors, beside me. I'm probably going to die before her… and she deserves to have someone that will be at her side, no matter what."

The blonde blinked. "I… see…" _Damn… if someone had told me that I would see Zabuza's soft side one day…_

"However," Zabuza growled menacingly. "If one word of this conversation ever comes out…"

"I know, you're going to kill me," Kazama said. "I will keep it a secret, I promise."

The missing-nin nodded in approval. "Nice sword that you have," he said, changing subject.

"The Kusanagi?" the blonde wondered. "Yes, it's cool, but…"

"You suck at swordsmanship," Zabuza stated. "You're using it in the worst way possible. However, there might be hope… tomorrow morning, I want you and Kisame's successor to be ready for intensive training. We are not going to beat this Amaterasu asshole if you stay that weak."

"Thank you."

"I'm only trying to erase the disgrace to swordsmanship that you both are," the man shot back. "You are a humiliation to all of those that wielded these blades, and I will have to wash away their honor. Thanks a lot for that."

_Say that to Orochimaru..._

After this conversation, Kazama left with Kakashi's dinner. He hadn't shown up to eat, and it worried the blonde. After everything that happened to the man, Kazama feared for his health… and especially his sanity. Opening the man's bedroom, the teenager found him sitting on a chair, looking at an object in his hands.

The jounin was holding a knife… pointed toward his belly.

Reacting quickly, Kazama used the Shunshin to appear right before the man, and grabbed the weapon before he could finish his morbid act. Kakashi didn't even struggle, nor look at the blonde. He was simply lost in his thoughts, staring at the floor as if it was going to swallow him.

"Are you _mad_?" Kazama snarled. "Do you realize what you were going to do?"

The jounin stayed silent a moment. "I was going to end it all."

"By committing suicide?" the teen asked, mesmerized. "Kakashi… killing yourself won't bring your team back."

The man stiffened. "I have failed them… just I have failed everyone I loved." He began to cry. "I have failed again…"

Kazama was taken aback by the spectacle. He had never seen his old teacher reacting like that.

"They are dead because of me…" Kakashi sobbed. "Obito… Rin… Minato… and now Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto… and so many more… they have lost their life… because I wasn't strong enough…"

The teen put his hand on the man's left shoulder. "My friend… you couldn't do anything."

"If I had been a better teacher…" he trailed off. "If I had abandoned the mission as soon as it became obvious it was so damn dangerous…"

Kazama bit his lower lip. "We all make mistakes…"

"I have done more than you could ever possibly imagine," the man whispered, before eying the knife. The world wandered immediately hid it in his pocket.

"Kakashi… I don't know your life story, but if you're willing to commit suicide, it must be pretty bad," the blonde said. "You don't have to keep your burden for yourself… you have friends to help you, to listen to you." He sat next to the jounin, on the bed. "Why don't you explain me why you are so… troubled?"

The man stayed silent for a few seconds, taking away his tears with his hand. "I am the son of Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang of Konoha," he began, "one of the greatest ninja of Konoha, and of his wife, Hikari, who died in childbirth. I was considered a genius, graduated early, and had a loving father… until his reputation crumbled."

"Why?" If he was so strong…

"During an important mission," the jounin explained, "he chose to save his teammates instead of sacrificing them to accomplish his goal. When he returned, he was a disgrace… even in the eyes of those he had saved."

Kazama snorted in disgust. "Ungrateful bastards… somehow, it remembers me of a Jinchuuriki's situation."

Kakashi nodded sadly. "But unlike you, my father couldn't live with this hate. One day… one day, he decided to end it all. He committed seppuku, while I was at school. I was the first one to find the corpse."

Before the blonde could say anything, the jounin wavered his hand. "He was a coward. A coward, that took the easy way, and who, in his blind despair, left me alone in a cruel world. Now, I see his qualities, and know that he did the right thing in saving his friends… but for most of my childhood, I hated him with passion. Since I was still a child, the Hokage assigned me a ward…"

Kakashi's eyes flared with hate. "Ayatsuri Kenta," he spat with scorn.

The teenager stiffened. "I heard Madara speaking this name…"

"He was a jounin of Konoha," Kakashi said angrily. "He was in charge of an orphanage, for the children whose parents had died during the Shinobi Wars. He was a well-known philanthropist, and respected… but it was simply a mask. In reality, he was a monster. A psychopath."

Kazama frowned. "He hurt you badly, did he?"

"He twisted me," the man declared. "For years, he trained me to be a killer who followed the rules at all costs. Because of him, I became the ideal of the ninja: an emotionless tool without any goal beyond the mission. Your father, Minato Namikaze, saw that Kenta's treatment was unhealthy after working alongside me, and successfully convinced the Sandaime to take me away from the bastard. Minato became my ward, and assigned me to his team."

"I assume Kenta wasn't happy."

Kakashi's look darkened. "I was his toy, his greatest success, and he didn't want to share. He tried to recuperate me legally, but once the Hokage refused, he turned to more… extreme ways."

He closed his eyes. "After being promoted to jounin, I was ordered to destroy a bridge, during the Third Great Shinobi War, with my teammates, a kunoichi coming from a civilian family named Rin, and my best friend, Obito Uchiha. Kenta became informed of it, and contacted our enemies, the ninjas from Iwagakure. In exchange from info, he tasked them to bring me alive to him."

Kazama's eyes flared with anger. This man was willing to betray his home simply to get his tool back?

"They complied… sort of. They captured Rin, and tried to lay a trap, but at the time I was… a total asshole," the man sneezed. "I wanted to leave her to whatever fate our enemies had in mind for her and accomplish the mission. Obito, on the other hand, attempted to save her, on his own, saying that Sakumo was a hero and that I was worse than trash for leaving my friend to die and spitting on my father's grave. I realized later that he was right, and rushed at his help, attacking our enemies' lair."

His eyes were empty, as if he had left reality for a dream. "During the fight, an Iwa-nin tried to bury us underground. Obito sacrificed his life to save me, and Rin, transplanted his Sharingan to replace my own, destroyed eye."

"This is how you obtained the Sharingan!" The blonde gasped. _And I though the Uchiha were all assholes…_

"Yes." The jounin looked at the window. "During the fight, I fell unconscious, but the enemies didn't kill me, keeping me alive for Kenta. Rin… they molested her. Minato came to save her from death, but she was barely the shadow of her former self after her traumatic experience. I lost two of my dearest people because of Ayatsuri's schemes."

Kakashi sighed. "After an investigation, Konoha found proofs of Ayatsuri's betrayal, and I was sent with Minato at Kenta's orphanage to arrest him. Unfortunately, he had predicted this outcome and bravely fled. It's only when we interrogated the personnel that we realized that his activities were _far_ more terrible than we all thought."

Kakashi locked eyes with Kazama. "He gathered the orphans from destroyed villages, officially to help them… but officiously, to brainwash them. He tortured them. Transformed them into loyal dogs. Those who could fight were sent to the frontlines, and those who couldn't… were used as prostitutes to fund Kenta's activities."

The blonde paled in disgust.

"When I saw those kids," Kakashi whispered, "my Sharingan memorized their expressions. These broken shells, these ten years old whores, these insane soldiers unable to recognize love… I remember them all. They are always in my mind. This is the curse of the Sharingan, being unable to forget. Most Uchiha go insane after watching more than ten battles, and those who don't aren't generally the most sociable people around."

_In some twisted way, this can explain why Sasuke and Madara are so fucked up in their head_, Kazama thought. _The first saw his family getting killed in his brother's illusion, and simply can't let it go. The second survived through multiple wars, witnessing horrors all the time and being unable to erase his memories of them… seriously, the Sharingan's downsides are terrible._

"After that, Kenta vanished for years. The searches ended, as most people believed he had died. In the meantime, I helped Rin overcome her traumatic memories, and we… grew to love each other. Our relationship ceased to be platonic… and she became pregnant with my son, a short time after the Kyuubi's attack."

Kazama's jaw dropped. "You have a child?"

Kakashi glared at him. "I _had _one." He closed his eyes again. "It was during her late pregnancy that Kenta returned, or at least his spawns. Brainwashed children showed up in multiple towns, infiltrating families, before assassinating them, apparently just for the thrill. I investigated, and discovered that their objective was simply to attract me… away from Rin. When I rushed back at our home, she had vanished. I tried to find her trace, but even Pakku didn't succeed. One month later… I received a special gift."

Kakashi raised his eyelids, and cried. "A dead baby."

Kazama couldn't say anything. Horror had paralyzed him.

"My son," the jounin confirmed. "Strangled to death by Kenta himself, right before Rin's eyes, while he was only a week old. Ayatsuri kept him alive for so long uniquely to better break her. With the corpse, there was a letter, where Kenta invited me to Rin's execution, at an abandoned castle. I came… with an ANBU team. They fought the bastard's henchmen and mercenaries, and I infiltrated his lair alone. What I found inside… was so unspeakably atrocious that no word will ever be able to describe what Kenta had done in his basement." Kakashi locked eyes with Kazama. "He tried to recreate me."

"He trained children to be like you?" the blonde asked weakly.

"No," the man shook his head. "He didn't try to create _someone _like _me_. He tried to recreate _me_. He tried to make _another _Kakashi Hatake. By modifying children's bodies so they looked _exactly _as me… and he almost succeeded, after a lot of failures. I saw boy whose face had been mutilated because they weren't like mine. I saw kids chained to table, suffering from infections and the aftereffects of Kenta's operations. I saw incomplete copies of me, breed in test tubes, or baby left to rot, because they weren't _perfect_ copies of me."

The demon vessel was now repressing the urge to vomit.

"When I finally reached Kenta… he greeted me… by showing me Rin's body," Kakashi sobbed. "She had died the day before, tortured to death. Her… disfigured corpse… I still remember it too well. I attacked Kenta to avenge her, and during our battle, he revealed me his goal: to _fix _me. After failing to recreate a perfect ninja, the monster decided to remake me as I was before… by destroying everything I loved. I killed him. Slowly. Painfully. But he simply smiled. He thought he had succeeded."

He stared at the floor. "After that… I buried Rin and my unnamed son in a remote forest… near the house we had bought… the place where we thought we could have founded a family."

Kazama stayed silent.

"After that… I don't know what happened. I lost the will to live. I took the deadliest assignments possible, all of the time… hopping that maybe, one day, one enemy would get lucky and kill me…" he sneezed sadly. "Unfortunately, I suck at dying. I hadn't even the courage to end it all myself."

The jounin closed his eyes. "After years of successful suicides missions in the ANBU, the Sandaime suspended me from my duties, and ordered me to take genin teams. I failed them all, fearing they would one day die and join the many people dead because of me… until I met Team 7. I saw my sensei's son, Obito's cousin, and the Yondaime's legacy. How could I have resisted the need to make things straight again? How could I have resisted the need to redeem myself in the eyes of those I hadn't been able to protect?"

Kazama had no answer to this.

"But now, I have failed at that again," Kakashi said. "Life has once again given me the middle finger. So, please, respect my wish, and let me do what I had never mustered the courage to try."

"Kakashi…"

"I'm tired of living," the man cut through the teen's worries. "I have lost everything I lived for. Now… what do I have left?"

"Us."

The jounin frowned.

"We will never be able to replace the people you have lost," Kazama stated. "But you can always… I don't know, find a home and a family with us. If you die… our chances to win against our pursuers will drop. The ones that caused so much suffering are going to escape justice. But as long as there is life… there is hope. You can restart your life from scratch… find a new family… maybe see your loved ones again, in another universe… the possibilities are endless." He locked eyes with the broken man.

"You have a chance to search happiness again. Please… do not waste it."

Kakashi stayed without word for a few minutes. "Naruto-san… do you really think so?"

"Of course I do!" The teen affirmed. "'Never give up' is my motto."

"I... I do not have the same willpower as you," the jounin said. "I am sorry, but I don't."

"Kakashi..."

"However," the man interrupted him, "you are right. I am... selfish. You have saved me multiple times, and I am being ungrateful. I..." he trailed off. "I will stick with you, and help you as much as I can. It might not be much... but I will do my best not to hinder you."

"You never did that, Kakashi," Kazama replied. "And you are always welcome."

The jounin seemed to smile under his mask, albeit only slightly. "Thank you, then."

"It's natural."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Prince<strong>_

"Are you sure?" His mother asked to the group. "I mean, you are going to face them alone..."

"Certain," Kazama replied. "It is between them and us. A battle will only bring more deaths and suffering... but not if we can avoid it. And who knows how they would react, if they ever realize that there is a new successor to the Senju? You will have enough problems in time with the citizens of _this_ universe. Rather, enjoy your life and happiness."

"But what are you going to do?" Naruto asked. "I mean, fleeing is only a temporary solution. They _will_ track you down one day."

"We will train," Naruko answered evenly. "Train, train, until we are able to keep up with them." She looked at her oldest counterpart. "Naru-sensei, I want to work with you like never before. Please..."

"Okay," the blonde said. "I intended to do so anyway."

"This will be the occasion of testing your abilities, Kazama-san," Sasori pointed out. "We do not know anything about your seal's possible limits and applications. It might contain the secret of our victory against the Uchiha."

"Perhaps," the teen complied. "But how do you want to study my seal's powers?"

The puppeteer smirked. "I have my own ways."

"Also," Kakashi began. "Before we leave this universe... I have something to ask. Sasori, do you still have my students' corpses?"

The puppeteer nodded. "You want to give them a funeral?"

"Yes," he confirmed. "For them, and Sakura… even if it's only symbolical. I mean, they can't rest peacefully without it."

"Mmm..." the puppeteer put his fingers together. "I think we can do much more than that..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Ice Princess<strong>_

The lake was big and the water pure. In some way, it looked like the place where Kazama's group had fought Zabuza and Kisame for the first time. The moonlight was reflecting on the liquid's surface, making it shine beautifully.

Lightened candles were floating on the water. They were many, and of different colors. Names were engraved on them. Kisame, Sakura, Tsunami, Inari, Tazuna, Kimimaro and many more. All the regretted people that died at the Land of Waves, known or not. Chibaku and Sasori added one with the name of Kabuto on it, eying it sadly as it went to join the rest.

On two little embarkations made of wood, the partially restored bodies of Kakashi's students were floating without a sound. Putting his hands together, the jounin breathed fire on them. The flames consumed them, allowing their soul to rest.

The assembled ninjas stood still, silently observing the spectacle. Even if they had been once enemies, Zabuza and Kakashi were still united in mourning. Haku herself was standing beside Naruko and her counterparts. A bit away, the Senju matriarch was observing the scene with her apprentice and her son.

After one minute, the silence ended, and Kitsune stared at Haku and Zabuza. "Are you sure you want to follow us?"

Her master's snickered. "Little boy, do you really think I'm going to forget what happened to Kisame? I will wash his honor with Amaterasu's blood. That, and I hope to see something specific in another world."

"May I ask what?"

"No."

_A free Kirigakure, _Haku thought. _A Land of Water that isn't ravaged by racism and pointless cruelty. Zabuza-sama's vision… a Land of Water freed from the name of Bloody Mist._

Kazama then stared at the ice-user. "And you?"

"I will follow Zabuza-sama until the end," the young lady replied firmly. _That, and I hope I will meet my mother alive, somewhere…_

"Then it's settled," the blonde boy stated. "Welcome to the Arashi Clan."

Haku bowed respectfully, while Zabuza only grunted. "Why Arashi? The _Momochi Clan _sounds better."

"Hell, no!" Chibaku groaned. "The _Arashi Clan _is much, much cooler."

Zabuza sneezed. "Guys, even the _Ramen Clan _sounds cooler."

Kakashi snickered. "You know what… I think that the _Hatake Clan _is much better than any of your options."

"It sucks!"

"It's the most crappy name I've ever head."

"Seriously, no. Just no."

"Mmm… why not the _Kyuubi Clan_?"

"Kitsune… I'm afraid to say that, but my Bijuu is actually agreeing with you… and that's why we can't take it," Chibaku grinned malevolently.

"I'm not a Jinchuuriki, and proud of it," Zabuza pointed out.

"Me too," Kakashi said. "So the _Hatake Clan _is still the best option."

"NEVER!" They all shouted.

"Never say never…"

"Gentlemen, please," Sasori said as he interrupted the debate. "This argument is completely pointless."

Haku nodded, happy to hear that at least some of them had common sense…

"Because, obviously, you can't deny that the _Sasori Clan _is the best name possible."

The ice lady repressed the urge to groan as the others glared furiously at the puppeteer, before _loudly _voicing their disagreement.

"Naru-sensei," Naruko said, blatantly ignoring the stupid debate. "May I ask you something from you?"

Kazama blinked. "But of course! What do you need?"

"The next time that you have to name something, don't forget to add _Naruko_ to it. It will prevent this kind of debate, since it's the most awesome name of all."

Haku put her hand on her face, and Kazama only smirked. He then stared at Tsunade's group, slightly bowing. "I assume it's time to say goodbye. Thank for your help."

"The knowledge you gave us on Akatsuki and Orochimaru was a big enough payment," the Senju matriarch replied. "Take care of yourself, gaki, and look over your family for me... especially Naruko."

"Don't worry," the girl smiled. "I'll be fine."

"It's just that I already saw you die once," the woman declared. "I simply hope you won't meet the same fate."

"I will protect her," Kazama promised. "No matter the cost."

"Then... you have my blessings."

"I'm sure they will succeed in defeating their pursuers," Shizune said. "They have a strong will, and they're strong."

"Really?" the Senju boy asked with a mirthful smile. "Or is it just your crush on Kazama-san that's talking?"

The young woman became as red as a tomato, and embarrassment spread over Kazama's face. "Naruto-kun!"

"What? I'm only telling the truth!" The wood user declared, before locking eyes with his eldest counterpart. "You must understand her. She's still a bit worried about not having found a boyfriend at her age. You should have seen where she making a pass at that Sun-"

The blushing medic put her hands on the boy's mouth, preventing him from continuing. "So-sorry! He's always indiscreet and shameless!"

The blonde teenager grinned warmly. "He reminds me of myself at the same age. I hope you will find love one day, Shizune-san."

"Thank you," she said with a little smile.

"Anyway," he said, "It's time to leave." He rotated and eyed his companions. "Prepare for the travel!"

"_Momochi Clan_!"

"In your dreams!"

"_Hatake forever_!"

Haku finally snapped. "Oh please, _shut the hell u-_"

And, in flash of light, they vanished from this world, never to return.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Prince<strong>_

Three days after his counterparts' departure, a blonde boy screamed in his sleep.

"Naruto!" His mother took him in her arms. "Calm yourself! What's going on?"

_They not natural! _The forests of the Land of Fire were screaming. _They have come! The empty ones are here! They are three, and they are evil!_

"Mom…" Naruto trailed off. "I think our friends' pursuers have just arrived."

Even Tsunade's gaze wasn't as frightening as the crazed howls of the plants.

_The void is looking at us, observing us! It will destroy everything, until nothing but itself remains! The darkness are growing, and they are empty! The void is coming, and will consume everything!_

_The darkness are eying us, and they are going to devour us!_

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Deceiver, Tsukiyomi<strong>_

Madara was staring at the breach in space, before a beautiful lake. Not that he cared about the background. Only the damaged fabric of reality intrigued him.

"From what I have observed," the Uchiha said to his two counterparts as they materialized behind him, "they have left this world days before our coming. The leftover candles and bodies have been burning for a long time." He turned on himself to face them. "What about our counterpart?"

"Dead," Susanoo stated. "I violated the mind of ninjas present during the Kyuubi's attack. He has been killed by Hashirama's granddaughter."

Madara frowned. "This is… unfortunate. It the second time we are dead in the multiverse."

"We should stop worrying about recruiting our alternate selves," Amaterasu declared. The man was now wielding Itachi's eyes, and was comfortable with them. "I mean, we are already strong enough to pawn our preys without any help, and they are going to distance us…"

"I agree with you," the Rinnegan wielder said. "We are wasting a precious time. The more we spend our days trying to find people that may or may not be dead, the more our enemies are going to prepare themselves and increase their strength."

Tsukiyomi blinked. "Okay. Anyway, we can always recruit them by traveling backward, after finding Uzumaki Naruto. Some might even follow us, who knows…" he smirked, as an idea came to his mind. "In fact, I have even an idea to bolster our number, without recruiting anyone."

The two others looked at him strangely.

"My Nagato had developed a very interesting technique," Tsukiyomi explained, as he looked at the burned corpses he had extracted from the lake. "The Six Paths of Pain..."

Really, this chase would be very interesting…

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's notes:<strong>_

Yep, it will be a big game of cat and mouse. Who will won?

Anyway, I tried, once again, to fix some of the plot points in canon. I mean, really, why is the Kyuubi helping Naruto, if he can be reborn? Simply letting him die from the fall from a certain cliff would have spelled _freedom_ for it...

By the way, Nagato is now officially a SS-Rank ninja. Anyone able to fight an undead Itachi, Killer Bee and super-powered Naruto at the time, beating the crap out of them and _almost_ defeating them all deserves the title.

Also, before you ask, yes, Ayatsuri Kenta is an OC. I added him to explain why Kakashi is so messed up, and why Rin is nowhere to be seen in the manga.

Zabuza... I have rarely seen a truly heroic Zabuza, and I honestly think he has the potential to be one hell of a noble anti-hero. I mean, he's like a darker Naruto: he is obsessed with the Kage title, never surrender (even in exile he is still gathering funds for another coup), took a child under his wing because he has 'the same eyes as I' (what did he mean by that? Somehow, it makes me remember of Naruto and Konohamaru), and fought a Kage-level ninja without any bloodline or clan techniques... only a few jutsu (like some blonde fought a certain Six-man army).

Really, the similitude between Naruto and Zabuza is glaring. In fact, I think that all the main villains are evil mirrors of Naruto himself. Gaara, Orochimaru, Danzo, Pain, Sasuke, Kabuto, Madara... really, they have many things in common with our favorite ramen addict. They are what he could have been... or what he could become.

Anyway, please review and tell me what you think of this chapter, and write you soon!


	13. Chapter 13: Asking For Troubles

**_WARNING: since people are not happy about the inclusion of the characters of Yet Again at the end of the chapter, and in the next, I suggest skipping the last POV and chapter fourteen if you don't like them. The Author's Notes in at the end of the fourteenth chapter contain a summary of what happened. But if you do like them..._**

**_Finally, here is the new chapter! Enjoy it a lot!_**

_**Special thanks to Third Fang, ABitterPill, and Alpha142, for betaing this story. Especially thank you Third Fang, for allowing me to borrow some special characters at the end...**_

_**Traveler/Original Naruto: Kazama Arashi.**_

_**Pupeteer Naruto: Chibaku Arashi.**_

**_Werefox/Hybrid Naruto: Kitsune Arashi._**

**_Deceiver/Original Madara: Tsukiyomi._**

**_Destroyer/Rinnegan Madara: Susanoo._**

**_Warrior/Collector Madara: Amaterasu._**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. And I don't own some of the OCs at the end...**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Thirteen: Asking For Troubles<strong>_

Kitsune was in a dark cave. The walls were leaking water, and a red smoke was burning his lungs.

In front of him was a large cage made of stony pillars and covered with complex seals. On the center of the structure was a large lock with a sheet of paper on it, keeping the voices imprisoned. Behind… three pair of eyes were staring at the boy, each radiating with malevolence, sadism and cruelty.

_"You have finally come, vessel,"_ a three-tailed white fox declared with a monotone voice. He was wearing a blue, expressionless mask. "_We were waiting for you_." He seemed polite... but Kitsune knew it was only an illusion. Under this apparent civility, there was only a heart of stone.

_**"You have broken the deal,"**_ another three-tailed fox, gray this time, added with a falsely happy tone. He was wearing a yellow mask, looking like a smirking human face.

_**"YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT!"**_ The last three-tailed fox roared madly. He was black, with a red, demon-like mask._** "YOU DARE TO BETRAY US!"**_

"I didn't do anything!" Kitsune protested. The voices had gone silent after the beating Amaterasu had given him, and he had foolishly hoped they had vanished forever...

_**"LIAR!"**_ The black one shouted, and a powerful headache made Kitsune fall helplessly on his back. The white fox stayed motionless, while the gray one seemed to delight in his vessel's suffering.

_**"You have allowed an impure being to help you, while you promised us your eternal devotion and fidelity in exchange for our power. You were already close to breaking our deal, when you joined this Arashi Clan, but now, you took this fish with you…"**_

_**"YOU MUST LOVE ONLY US!"**_ The black one shouted._** "ONLY WE ARE REAL! WE GAVE YOU THE POWER, THE FEAR AND THE REVENGE YOU CRAVED SO MUCH! AND YOU DISCARDED US!"**_

_"Do you have any idea of how powerful we are?"_ the white one declared emotionlessly, while it stared at Kitsune as if he was some kind of vermin. _"We have no beginning, and we have no end. We are the three faces of a demon… the expression of your madness, and the embodiment of your will."_ It looked at his black brother.

_"The Rage."_

It stared at his gray self.

_"The Selfishness."_

It touched its torso.

_"The Pride."_

_"Together, we have shattered mountains,"_ the Pride continued. _"We have burned forests, vaporized seas, unleashed tsunami, and brought down empires. In your insanity and isolation, you split us and infected us with your insanity and inner desires, making us stronger, more intelligent, and given us individuality, a goal and a purpose. We have become one, and we have cohabited in perfect harmony. We have roared with you, and killed with you."_

_**"We have offered you a chance to join us, to become one of the faces, an aspect of the Kyuubi,"**_ the Selfishness declared._** "We offered you power, revenge and company, in exchange for freedom and feelings. You were supposed to love us, and only us, to rely on us, and only us, to fight with us, and only us. And yet… you betrayed us for mere humans."**_

_**"YOU ABANDONED US!"**_ The Rage roared. _**"YOU AND THIS FISH CONTAIN US HERE! WE ARE NOT AS FREE AS WE WERE! THE WORLD HASN'T BURNED YET! THIS IS INTOLERABLE! YOU WILL NOT BACK-STAB US!"**_

"And why not?" Kitsune declared as he rose up, determined to stand courageously before his eternal tormentors. "You betrayed me first! You forced me to kill innocent people!"

_"There is no such thing as an innocent,"_ the Pride replied with a smug tone that could put a human noble to shame. _"Only different degrees of guilt. All sinners must be punished. Punishment brings fear, and fear always brings control."_

_**"You were jealous of them,"**_ the Selfishness declared with an insidious voice. _**"You wanted to torture them!"**_

"It's wrong!" The demon vessel shouted, crying as the headache returned. He put his hands on his temples, but the voices didn't stop.

_**"IT'S TRUE!"**_ The Rage roared. _**"YOU BEGGED US TO PUNISH THEM! YOU HATED THOSE KIDS, FOR HAVING WHAT YOU DIDN'T HAVE! YOU HATED THE HOKAGE FOR DEFENDING THE HYUUGA! YOU HATED EVERYTHING, AND YOU CRAVED FOR AIMLESS DESTRUCTION!"**_

_**"You are a part of us,"**_ the Selfishness quickly added. _**"Your desires were and still are the same as our own. You created us, and you haven't destroyed us. Even if you refuse to admit it, subconsciously, you still need us. You are still one piece of the puzzle."**_

_"You are simply another face of a greater being, vessel,"_ the Pride continued, _"and we will not allow the rebellion of one aspect. You will become one with us once again, and give the world the suffering it deserves. Our tyranny shall be renowned, and the humans will cower in fear before us, as they have done before."_

Kitsune glared at them. "Never! I won't let you control me again! I won't let you hurt my friends!"

The three snorted._** "You can't compete with us,"**_ the Selfishness sneered._** "We are you. We are the real you."**_

_**"WE ARE ALL-POWERFUL!"**_ The Rage screamed._** "WE WILL DESTROY WHAT YOU HOLD DEAR, THE WORLD, AND EVERYTHING THAT IS NOT US!"**_

_"As long as we exist, we are not powerless,"_ the Pride finished, as the cave began to be filled with light. _"As long as there will be desires inside of your heart… we will control you__**. **__As long as your mind will stay shattered… we will live on."_

And Kitsune brutally awakened, as someone threw a whole bucket of cold water on his face. Shocked and disoriented, the boy ended up locking eyes with his aggressor.

Zabuza had one hell of a scary, sadistic gaze.

"Good morning, little fish," he said with joyful glee. "It is time to begin your training…" Kitsune simply cringed, briefly hesitating between running away and obeying.

Not that the older swordsman left him any chance.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Gatherer<strong>_

_**"WHY DID YOU SUMMON US!"**_ The Rage screamed with a crazed voice. _**"WE WERE ABOUT TO GIVE THE LAST ASPECT A LESSON HE SO DEEPLY DESERVES!"**_

_**"Antagonizing your vessel is harmful in the long term to all of us,"**_ the Kyuubi replied calmly from behind his cage. _**"You are not on a position of force yet."**_

_**"WAITING IS FOR THE WEAK!"**_ The Rage shouted. _**"HE MUST SCREAM!"**_

_"Enough,"_ the Pride ordered with its ever-monotone tone._ "His punishment will come in due time, but not now. I assume that you didn't gather us for something this trivial."_

_**"No, it was for a poker party,"**_ the Kyuubi behind the portrait deadpanned. _**"Of course it's important."**_

_**"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!"**_

_**"Please, calm down,"**_ the Kyuubi behind the cage declared. One minute, and already a dispute?

It had called upon all its counterparts to discuss something important, but if they were simply going to kill each other... well, they were tailed beasts, after all, even if they were as fragmented and corrupted as the trio lurking in Kitsune's mind. If a container could affect its tenant to such extant, the Kyuubi in Naruko was worrying about its sanity...

_**"These futilities are for humans, and certainly not for superior beings like us."**_

_"I agree,"_ the Pride replied, while making a sign to the Selfishness. The gray fox put its paws on the Rage's mouth, preventing it's from speaking, much to its fury. _"I will talk for the three of us, other-we…"_

_**"Can't we find nicknames instead?"**_ the portrait-Kyuubi snorted. _**"Our containers did and it's apparently useful. Heck, even the Uchiha did!"**_

The Pride didn't even blink._ "We already have names. You heard us talk to our container, so you know how we define us."_

_**"Then we will choose our own names,"**_ the caged Kyuubi declared. _**"Being the cause of this reunion, I will take the alias of 'the Gatherer'."**_

The demon in the portrait sneered._** "And what am I supposed to call myself? The Nicknamer?"**_ The stares of his counterparts only made it sigh. _**"You gotta be kidding me…"**_

_**"The matter is settled,"**_ the Gatherer announced. _**"Now, we can begin our first conclave. The topic will be… well, this,"**_ it said, as he gazed into the direction of the man nicknamed Kazama's mindscape. The others imitated it, slowly turning their head toward the darkness.

A web of mirrors was shifting, surrounded by a beautiful, clear sea. But above it... a nightly sky full of stars, which was slowly but surely expanding, darkening Kazama's mindscape more and more with each passing second. At the center of this sky, there was an immense and brilliant purple sun, radiating with what could only be called pure malevolence. As they stared into it, the different Kyuubi felt an evil, domineering, and insidious will watching back. They quickly moved their eyes in another direction, before being completely enthralled by the sentient luminary.

_"Amatsu-Mikaboshi…"_ the Pride whispered in horror and dread, its arrogance having been instantly overwhelmed by survival instinct. The Selfishness was shaking, and even the Rage had fallen silent. The Nicknamer eyed the sinister star the longest, before gazing at its counterparts with a mix of fear and seriousness.

_**"Now you understand why I convoked you,"**_ the Gatherer said._** "I noticed it's presence only recently, but it has been infiltrating Kazama's mind for some time. I think that Madara is somehow responsible for this… disaster in waiting."**_

_"How is it possible?"_ the Pride wondered, terrified. _"Amatsu-Mikaboshi is a deity, a dark, primordial force, an entity predating creation itself! A mere human shouldn't be even attract its attention, let alone tap into its power!"_

_**"It is entirely possible,"**_ the Nicknamer said._** "As long as it corrupts something, Amatsu-Mikaboshi shouldn't care less about who is using it, or for what. And really, Mikaboshi is pure nothingness. It doesn't really think or plan... it simply is. Madara probably found a way to create links with it, harnessing the power for his own ends."**_

_**"I doubt he even understands what Amatsu-Mikaboshi really is,"**_ the Gatherer added._** "He is using a fuel without knowing its composition and origin."**_

_**"It does explain many things about that cursed Uchiha,"**_ the Selfishness realized. _**"If he can harness the dark force's power of control, then it can probably impose his domination over our minds…"**_

The Gatherer nodded. _**"No normal Sharingan should be able to hypnotize us. The Mokuton can, because we are part of nature, but the Sharingan is just a mutated eye. But if it is enhanced by the curses of the August Star of Heaven…"**_

_**"That's why he's immortal!"**_ The Nicknamer shouted. _**"And that's why he can control space! Amatsu-Mikaboshi can bend the rules of the universe in its favor, if not outright ignore them when it suits its needs!"**_

_"Do you all realize what it means?__**"**_ the Pride asked. _"If the dark force is involved, then it can't be good, for any of us. The one time the Kami of the stars got involved itself it almost caused Earth to end… whatever are its intentions, its presence is only synonymous with doom and oblivion."_

_**"I suggest we kill Mikaboshi's vessel before he turns into an avatar of the dark force,"**_ the Selfishness declared._** "Or worse, learns to harness its power and uses it to control us!"**_

_**"WE REFUSE TO BE CONTROLLED AGAIN!"**_ The Rage roared, as it broke free of its other aspect's restrains. _**"WE MUST PREVENT THE RISE OF ANOTHER MADARA!"**_

_**"So,"**_ the Nicknamer said, _**"we all agree to murder the human at the first opportunity?"**_

The Gatherer shook its head. _**"There is… another option. One that might even benefit us in the long term,"**_ he added with a sly smirk.

All the Kyuubi stared at it._** "What… possibility… do you have in mind?"**_ the Selfishness asked.

_**"Waiting and observing,"**_ the Gatherer explained. _**"I don't know how exactly this link, curse, or whatever works, but it's obviously in its early development. By watching the process, we might discover how Madara's powers works… and if we can counter them."**_

_**"You really think it's possible to exploit and resist the power of the very embodiment of control and oblivion?"**_ the Nicknamer wondered. _**"That is insane."**_

_"The frontier between genius and madness is very thin,"_ the Pride declared. _"I agree with the Gatherer. The dark force might be undefeatable by those on our level of existence, but its users aren't. Learning how they use Mikaboshi might be the key to prevent the Uchiha from ever controlling us again."_

_**"The risk is too great!"**_ The Selfishness shouted. _**"Better kill the vessel, instead of leaving the void grow inside his heart!"**_

_**"ARE YOU AFRAID?"**_ the Rage asked. _**"ARE YOU TERRIFIED OF THE AUGUST STAR?"**_

_**"We should all be,"**_ the Nicknamer said. _**"Have you forgotten that it is because of its influence that our original being became corrupted? Have you forgotten that it was to purge the Ten-Tails from its influence that the Sage had split us, to prevent the total destruction of the world... worlds, since Mikaboshi's existence is apparently multiversal?"**_

_**"MANKIND BROUGHT IT UPON ITSELF!"**_ the Rage roared angrily. _**"THEIR DESPAIR, HATE, AND DESIRE FOR DEATH AND OBLIVION OVERWHELMED THE MOTHER'S MIND, ALLOWING MIKABOSHI TO CORRUPT IT!"**_

_**"It doesn't change the fact that Amatsu-Mikaboshi is something that can and **_**wants**_** to either control or destroy entire universes,"**_ the Nicknamer snarled._** "The decision to allow it to screw with another being must be taken with utmost seriousness. _**The decision is even more important, since Kazama can travel between others plans of existence. Do you realize that we are potentially giving the August Star an ultimate weapon?"**_**_

_**"We all know what the dark force is capable of,"**_ the Gatherer declared. _**"And that's why I think we should observe it from afar, in hope of finding a way to counter it. We won't have another chance, but Madara will have many more."**_

_"I agree,"_ the Pride added. _"As long as the human isn't completely corrupted by Mikaboshi's curse or doesn't harness it, we do not risk anything."_

_**"THEN IT'S SETTLED,"**_ the Rage barked. _**"THE VESSEL WILL LIVE."**_ The Selfishness seemed uneasy with the decision, but did not say anything.

_**"Do we inform the humans?"**_ the Nicknamer asked.

_**"No,"**_ the Gatherer said. _**"When Mikaboshi has cursed someone, there is no way of removing it from the soul... or, at least, we don't know any way to do that. It would be useless to inform Kazama… and cause unknown developments. We should stay silent, for the time being."**_

_"Does anybody have another question?"_ the Pride asked, and the rest shook their heads. _"Then I assume we have nothing to say anymore."_

The Gatherer nodded. _**"This reunion is then finished. We will stay in contact for any new event."**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Traveler, Kazama<strong>_

Barely avoiding being beheaded by Zabuza's blade, Kazama took a step back, before cutting his teacher in half… or rather, trying. The swordsman parried absentmindedly with his blade, seeming almost bored from the look in his eyes. "Your sword is made for fencing, aka _stabbing_ people," he grunted. "It isn't big or heavy enough to slash or smash people. At best, you will inflict only minor wounds by doing so. You must focus, be fast, and give your enemy a precise, deadly blow, by targeting the eight sensible points. You must be like a snake."

_It's not my fault if I have only seen Orochimaru use his blade's piercing ability! _The world wanderer then tried to pierce the Kiri-nin's chest, a tired and very bruised Kitsune observed them from the sidelines, under a tree.

"Too slow," Zabuza declared as he stepped to the side. "Too predictable." He deflected another attack with his own weapon. "Not precise enough. Not enough close. Your stance is too rigid. Be more swift, damn it! Target the vital points, instead of my shoulders. Protect your legs. Keep your balance. A bit higher. Lower. Try the sides. Do not attack this place, ever… I need it for… recreation time."

At the end, Kazama didn't even wound Zabuza once. He ended up sitting on the ground, panting heavily under the cold gaze of the missing-nin. "You are pathetic," he declared harshly. "A novice. Still, you are better than the little fish. At least, you can swing your sword... sort of."

Kitsune glared at the sadistic man. Samehada came to lick his hand, trying to console him… which made Zabuza snicker. "I meant every word I said. You both are total morons, and it will take time to make you passable… a very, _very_long time. So get up!" The two blonde immediately obeyed. "Boys, the warm-ups are finished! Now, we begin the _real_ training!"

The duo cringed. _This was just a warm-up? _Kazama wondered. _He's even crazier than Lee's sensei!_

Fortunately, salvation came in the form of a familiar grey-haired man. "Here you are, guys!" Kakashi shouted upon entering the clearing. "I was looking for you!"

Zabuza frowned. "What do you want, Hatake?" He asked distrustfully.

"Still as friendly as ever, Zabuza," the jounin replied sarcastically. "Well, I would like to know if I could borrow Kazama-san for a while. I wanted to teach him advanced elemental man-"

"Yes!" Kazama shouted, grateful for an opportunity to escape the hell that was training with Zabuza.

"No!" Zabuza answered, crushing the blonde's hopes. "He sucks so much at swordsmanship that simply watching him wielding the Kusanagi makes me sick. Correcting his many, _many_ flaws is a holy duty for me."

"You're making too much of a big deal of this." Kakashi sighed. "I just need him for a day. It's very important… and having only one student will help you focus on him for longer periods of time so he can progress further."

Kitsune's eyes widened in horror when Zabuza seemed to ponder the jounin's words. "Well, he does suck even more…" he trailed off, before apparently reaching a decision. "Alright, take the brat for the day. It should be enough to put them on the same level… if you can call _that _a level…"

"Good!" Kakashi eye smiled as he grabbed Kazama's shoulder. "We should leave quickly before he changes his mind," he whispered to the blonde's ear, who was readily agreeing. The duo left as fast as they could, sending a look full of compassion toward Kitsune. The boy had gone pale, and Zabuza was apparently licking his lips under his mask, eyeing the blonde like some kind of prey.

"Thank you!" The world wanderer wept happily, as they stopped before a large rock.

"It's nothing," Kakashi replied. "Where are the rest of us? I slept in late, tired as hell after using too much chakra, so when I looked around everyone was off doing their own thing…"

"Haku is currently teaching Naruko how to use senbon as weapons," Kazama explained. The two had become very close… so much that he had mercilessly teased them about 'being on an unofficial date', much to their embarrassment. "Sasori and Chibaku are currently infiltrating Konoha, to see if my counterpart is abused or not." He hoped he, or she, wasn't, but he wasn't so optimistic… even if he there was _at __least_ one happy Naruto in the multiverse.

Kakashi nodded in understanding. "So, whether or not we will recruit him, we leave this world before night, that's right?"

"Yes," the teen answered. "It will stay like that for a long while, to prevent the Madara from tracking us down. Their travel takes longer than our own: the more worlds between them and us, the longer it will take for them to reach us."

"It's possible?" The jounin raised his eyebrows. "Even teleporting once is already a feat. Doing that multiple times in quick succession..."

"I don't know if it can work. Sasori is supposed to help me make tests, but only when he returns." The teen wondered how they could do that, but the puppeteer had already negated Susanoo's superhuman abilities after only witnessing them once. He had a plan in mind… or at least Kazama hoped so. "What do want to teach me?"

"Well, from what I've gleaned, you have completed the exercises to control chakra's shape, and to develop a Wind affinity," Kakashi explained. "I'm going to teach you how to use yours in combination with the Rasengan, and perhaps to increase your normal abilities."

The world wanderer raised an eyebrow, Orochimaru's words resonating in his mind. "Someone told me once that my fath… the _Yondaime's _jutsu was incomplete." The word left a bitter taste in his mouth, as if it was a loathsome insult.

Kakashi briefly blinked, before correcting his expression. "Yes, it is. Minato-sensei never finished it, but I'm sure you will. The basis is to infuse the Rasengan with your wind chakra, manipulating the element of the sphere, as well as its shape. Basically, it's what I do with the Chidori." He stared at the rock. "Once you think you've created a 'wind-Rasengan', slam it on this. If it is done well, the traces should be sharp, precise and ordered. If it is imperfect, my Sharingan should be able to notice the flaws."

Kazama nodded, before remembering something. "Kakashi, before we begin… might I ask you some questions?"

"Of course. About what?"

The teen bit his lips. "About Kenta."

The reaction was immediate. The man scowled, his gaze hardening. "What do you want to know about… _him_?" He spat the word with a mix of hatred and disgust.

"Some elements ticked me off, during your story," he replied. "How could his atrocities stay unnoticed by the authorities for so long? Why didn't anybody discover that half of his orphanage was a brothel and the other a training camp for young killers? Why didn't the children crack and reveal his actions? Why had he been allowed to make jounin if he was this psychopathic? I mean, it's obvious that he was very messed up in his head. Somebody, anybody, should have seen him for what he really was."

"Oh, but they did," Kakashi said darkly. "Nobody is able to conceal such activities _alone_. Kenta had connections in Konoha's institutions who closed their eyes on his 'profession' in exchange for money or some of the children, depending on whether they liked gold, flesh or assassins. Those who did want to bring him to justice generally ended up being killed in action in mysterious circumstances or were convinced to gently shut their mouth if they wanted their family to live. Kenta had no morals, no fetters, no code of conduct. He could and would do everything, go at any and all lengths, to save himself."

_The more I hear about this guy, and the more I think he's the worst person to have ever lived_. "And the people that helped him?"

"Either executed or imprisoned for life," Kakashi replied. "Kenta left before we could get to him, and we found many journals in his office… including the lists of his clients, helpers or victims. The children… were unable to say anything bad about Kenta. His brainwashing was so strong and thorough that they couldn't even remember their abuse, kills, or mistreatments. In their minds, they had grown up peacefully in the orphanage under the protection of their loved father-figure, Ayatsuri Kenta. Some had become ninjas of Konoha, others had become merchants, and others… but none could remember what he had done to them, until the Yamanaka managed to unlock their memories. To be honest, most didn't want to remember… their whole life had been a lie, and they preferred the illusion over reality. Even their friends and coworkers knew that something was wrong with them, but they were so delusional..."

He stared at the sky. "Even me… I don't fully remember everything that he has done to me, but it was so nasty that I'm not sure I really want to get back all of my original memories."

Kazama frowned sadly, but said nothing.

"About his psychopathic mindset… he was able to hide it well. He could fake affection like no one else, charm people easily, lie without any external sign… he was popular, and even had a girlfriend. You couldn't help but like him… until you realized that behind that veneer of civility, there was only sadism and cruelty. Most psychological evaluations… well, why do you think Sasuke has been allowed to enlist? Why me? Why Sakura, who was hiding terrible problems behind her fake smile? It was because there is no meaningful psychological evaluation, that's why."

"But…" Kazama trailed off, quite taken aback. "The authorities can't ignore that!"

"Of course they don't," Kakashi replied. "But I think you gravely misunderstand a ninja village's mindset. Here, just about everyone has lost someone. Everyone is dysfunctional to some extent. When someone has problems, the answer is 'deal with it'. Take Sasuke: he has lost his whole family, his idol has betrayed him, tortured him with an S ranked genjutsu, basically told him he was not even worth his time to kill, and advised him to hate him as much as he could. But as far as most people are concerned, it is something he has to deal with alone, to become though enough to be a ninja."

"That's crazy!" Kazama shouted.

"I know!" Kakashi snapped. "But ninja villages run on this way of thinking. Normal people can't be ninja. Being a ninja means sacrificing your happiness and very sanity on the altar of war and bloodshed. Do you really think that you can serve as a ninja more than ten years and stay sane? Ninja villages need cold, emotionless, immoral people that will do everything and everything in order to accomplish the mission. Nothing less, nothing more."

Kazama remained quiet, unable to truly think of how to argue against that logic.

"Take the ANBU," Kakashi continued. "Most people think they're some kind of super-soldiers, the proud defenders of the Hokage and of the village, the elite… well they are Konoha's black ops. They aren't chosen because of their skills, but because they are completely loyal to the Leaf and have… flexible… moralities. Protecting the Hokage is only their official role. In reality, they accomplish acts that the public must never know about, like false flag operations, sabotage, spying on our own allies, supporting resistance movements in enemy countries, kidnapping… the ANBU mask has a special device in it, supposed to crush our face, should we were to die with it, to protect our identity and prevent our victims from connecting the dots between Konoha and their own problems. Not because it's cool." He locked eyes with Kazama. "I have done many things I'm not really proud of either, things that I hope you will never have to do. The ninja world isn't a nice place, Naruto."

"I know," the blonde replied, even if he had believed it was, before jumping worlds. Before his whole life had changed forever.

Kakashi looked at the rock. "Now, enough talking. We have a jutsu to make, or else Zabuza is going to think I was just screwing with him… which I was."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The puppet master, Sasori<strong>_

Sasori knew he wasn't especially the kindest, nicest person around.

Having been born and grown up in Sunagakure during the eras of war, Sasori had been recruited early in the ninja corps and became genin at seven. He was promoted to chuunin a few years later after successfully poisoning an enemy platoon's water supplies, causing the death of around fifty people, thanks to his grandmother's precious teachings.

One day later, his parents were murdered by the White Fang, Sakumo Hatake.

His grandma, Chiyo, took him under her wing, teaching him puppetry. At first Sasori only saw the art as a way to gain the power necessary to one day kill his parents' murderer, but the man's suicide deprived him of that pleasure. He had still celebrated the news with his grandmother and about the whole village, getting drunk for the first and only time in his life. It wasn't an experience he particularly liked, having done some... disgusting stuff, while under the alcohol's influence... or so he was told the next morning.

Before he reached fifteen Sasori had become an expert at puppetry, creating multiple designs that allowed the rise of a whole caste of puppet-users. The original puppeteers, the successors of his idol, the great Monzaemon Chikamatsu, were only using individual original and complex puppets that, while powerful, needed special treatments to stay utilizable. Sasori became a legend when he created basic designs of dummies that could later be customized while being repaired easily. Basically, he made puppetry accessible and affordable to everyone, allowing the rise of new talents that would have stayed ignored otherwise.

… But his glory and fame turned when the Sandaime Kazekage decided to label human puppetry, the new step in his art, as a kinjutsu.

For Sasori, puppetry was to be done for puppetry's sake. It was an art, something that shouldn't be limited to human morals. So when Sasori had discovered a way to turn living people into living puppets, giving them a form of immortality and making them living masterpieces, he immediately came to see his leader and almost _begged _him to give him the funds necessary to develop the idea. If he had accepted, Sasori would have basically given death the middle finger, preventing the Shinigami from taking anyone ever again, and created a monument to eternity.

Instead, the leader of the village confiscated Sasori's schematics, put him under supervision, forbade him to teach, and privately labeled him clinically insane. Unofficially, of course. For Sunagakure, the great puppeteer had simply retired for a while so he could work on another brilliant project.

It was then that he understood that he had nothing to gain anymore by staying in the village. Evolving puppetry to a next level was a holy quest for the puppeteer, one that his former superiors had tried to hinder in their foolishness. They had betrayed him… so it was only justice he betrayed them in turn. After massacring the ANBU sent to watch him, he reclaimed what the Sandaime had stolen and left the village, leaving only a slashed forehead protector and a letter to Chiyo behind him.

Soon after that, he ambushed the Sandaime while the man was training alone in the desert, challenging him to a duel for revenge and to prove once and for all puppetry's superiority over bloodline limits. In his pride and arrogance, the man accepted believing his iron sand to be invincible. He hadn't memorized the lessons taught in the Academy... that so many people wielding 'invincible' or 'unbeatable' bloodlines and techniques died in battle against opponents that were considered harmless. True most puppeteers were at a disadvantage against the iron sand wielder as he could use the dust to jam up puppets and simply perform larger scale ninjutu than what most puppeteers could possibly dream of… but there was no such a thing as the impossible, and Sasori proved it this day by assassinating the Kazekage with his latest invention.

Nerve gas.

As the previously "unbeatable" Sandaime Kazekage agonized before him, Sasori took off his cape, revealing his new mechanical body. His gas couldn't affect someone without a brain, making him immune to his own weapons and poisons. Only his heart was still made of flesh. It was unfortunately necessary. People's memories and identity weren't contained within the neurons, contrary to the popular belief, but within their chakra, the link between the soul and the body. The brain was simply the organ that commanded the others… and a puppet body had none. It only needed some seals to work.

Taking the Kazekage's body to create another masterpiece, Sasori retired from society, gathering the funds needed for his studies by creating a private spy network and selling information to the highest bidder. The irony was that his own old village became one of his recurring clients… during the war he unwillingly helped in starting when Sunagakure began to accuse all the nearby nations of having kidnapped or assassinated their leader.

At least the war gave him large supplies of bodies to work on and the funds to do so for a while.

It was during his travels after the war that he found Naruto, sleeping on a road in the Land of Fire. It was mostly curiosity that pushed him to examine the boy instead of simply ignoring him… an action that made him realize that he had just found a Jinchuuriki, far away from any village. Intrigued, Sasori questioned the boy when he woke up, and after hearing how he had escaped from Konoha, the puppeteer jumped on the opportunity. Recruiting a willing Jinchuuriki was not something that happened every day, and it would allow Sasori to study the boy's seal.

Not once did he regret his decision.

Naruto proved himself to be a very loyal and gifted person with multiple flourishing talents that only needed to be polished. Months of travel with him awakened something in Sasori. The boy had a spark in his eyes, one that the puppeteer knew too well. The thirst for knowledge, the desire to create new things, the will to explore the unexplored. The same spark that animated Sasori himself, and that had animated Kabuto, while he was alive.

It was this spark that convinced Sasori to teach the blonde puppetry. Unlike Kabuto, who preferred medicine over mechanics, Naruto showed a deep interest in the art, and a great talent in it as well. Perhaps one day, he would be able to surpass Sasori himself, and complete his work. The great puppet master wasn't as arrogant as the Sandaime Kazekage, and knew that someone or something could one day kill him. Naruto was his contingency plan… his legacy.

When Kazama and his female counterpart had showed up, Sasori had jumped on the chance to explore new worlds. How could he have resisted? The possibility of meeting doubles of himself that had evolved differently, other puppeteers, and perhaps even puppet masters better than himself was simply too tempting. If things had gone as planned, Sasori would have perhaps made his art evolve to another level once again...

But then, the Uchiha attacked, killing Kabuto. Sasori wasn't an emotional person, but after spending years working with someone, you couldn't help but value and respect him. His death didn't really sadden Sasori, but rather angered him. Years of work and studies had been ended, the results of Kabuto's research stolen to be better used by one of his murderers. It was an insult, that had to be washed away. His defeats and the threat of losing his legacy only hardened his resolve to one day find a way to kill their pursuers… even if he had to wait for years to do so. Even finding other puppeteers had become a secondary goal. No one pissed him off and lived to tell the tale about it.

So, no, Sasori really wasn't a nice person.

And yet... and yet, he couldn't help but feel inwardly happy when Kazama smiled at the photos the puppeteer had taken in Konohagakure. Empathy was still screwing with him again, no matter how hard he had tried to repress it in the past...

"So the Inuzuka adopted us?" Kitsune asked.

"Yes," Chibaku said, as he stared at a picture of a Naruto riding on a large black dog and wearing facial markings. "Apparently, he is Kiba's best buddy and a respected chuunin. Some still dislike him for being a demon vessel, but he has friends... and a loving family."

"Cool dog!" Naruko exclaimed. "Why can't we have one?"

"I had dog summons," Kakashi said. "But apparently, I can't call them anymore…"

"Not cool," Chibaku said. "I really want to be able to ride a dog like this Inuzuka Naruto. It would be so badass…"

"Anyway," Haku declared, while Chibaku was trapped in his fantasies, "I assume it means we have nothing more to do in this world? Are we going to leave it?"

"Yes," Kazama answered. "As soon as possible."

Sasori scoffed. "This time, I will put some recording seals on you to analyze the way your seal works. We will be able to leave in one hour, right before noon. Please, prepare your bags in the meantime. I would hate to wait for you."

The rest of the group nodded, and left one after the other. Naruko briefly locked eyes with Kazama, before walking away. In the end, only Kakashi stayed with the two, much to Sasori's irritation.

"I asked him to be there beforehand," Kazama said. "I have something to talk about with you two… there are things that need to be discussed."

Sasori raised an eyebrow, and began drawing seals on sheets of paper he had prepared. "I'm listening."

"During my fight with Tsukiyomi," the teen began. "He tried to convince me to join him. I obviously refused, but during our talk, he showed me a recorded meeting of an organization called the Inner Council… aka, the conspiracy responsible of most of my, and my counterparts', problems."

Sasori stopped writing, and Kakashi's eyes widened. "You do realize it's an enemy that showed you that?" the redhead frowned. "He isn't the most reliable source of information."

"I know. He had already lied to me once, and it's why I want your point of view."

"The Inner Council was an organization that formed during the Shodaime's rule," Sasori started slowly. "It was composed of powerful clan heads that thought he was unfit to rule after giving the Bijuu to other countries. It got wiped out by the newly created ANBU, under the direction of the Nidaime Hokage when it refused to disband after he inherited his brother's job. It reformed during the Sandaime's late term after Orochimaru's betrayal and Danzo's actions in Amegakure…"

"Danzo?" Kazama asked, frowning.

"ANBU's former commander," Kakashi explained. "He was one of the Sandaime's teammates, and his rival for the title of Hokage. After serving as one of Konoha's generals for years, he was forced into retirement after the Sandaime discovered he had secretly founded his own, personal ANBU, an organization called Root."

"Officially," Sasori corrected. "Unofficially, Root still exists, even if it is only a shadow of its former self. And really, the reason why he has been forced to retire is that he tried to forge an alliance with Hanzo, Amegakure's leader, without Konoha's consent. They can't have rogue elements like him acting freely without consulting anyone."

"How can Root still exist?" Kakashi wondered. "The village cut Danzo's funding and arrested most of his old allies or forced them into retirement."

"A shadow of its former self I said," Sasori responded. "At best, there are three hundred members, a tenth of the ANBU's number. Little cells are easier to fund and maintain, and they probably are recruited in early childhood. With the number of talented and unclaimed orphans on the roads, it is very easy to find and craft powerful and loyal soldiers…"

Kakashi's expression darkened, and the puppeteer immediately understood why. Sasori had, of course, some knowledge of the man's life, and had learned the general lines of the Ayatsuri's case from some outside sources. He was even doubting that the man's journals had been all destroyed, despite what Konoha had claimed… but such information would only anger the man greatly, and he had no need to prove it, so the puppeteer kept his doubts for himself.

"This new Inner Council repeated the mistake of the old one, and refused to disband when the Yondaime came into power, and ended like the older one. The Inner Circle you're talking about probably appeared soon after the Kyuubi's attack. I haven't enough information on them, since I haven't been able to contact Homura Mitokado for a long while… my version of Konoha had increased its security and military after Chibaku's departure, so it was too risky to approach him."

"He was one of the members that Madara showed me," Kazama said, as Sasori finished writing sealing arrays on four sheets of paper. "Along with Koharu Utatane…"

"Predictable. They are always together… in fact, they had had an affair in their youth. They are more firm and authoritarian than Sarutobi, so it was kind of obvious they would try to affirm themselves. They have large bank accounts and many allies and contacts in the Daimyo's court."

"Hiashi Hyuuga…"

"The strongest clan in Konoha, after the Uchiha massacre. We already know that they were the drive and masterminds behind the conspiracy, so no surprise."

"Shibi Aburame…"

"Head of the Aburame clan. Polite, but a firm believer in discipline and a close ally of Hiashi. When one is nearby, the other isn't far away… he also has allies in some minor countries, and possesses many shops in the Land of Fire. "

"Shikaku Nara…"

"Master strategist and planner. Probably the brain of the whole operation. Though I wonder why is he helping such a takeover… he must know that antagonizing a demon vessel and the Hokage is harmful in the long term… perhaps is he simply not confident enough in Konoha's rulers' abilities."

"Inoichi Yamanaka…"

"Shikaku's best friend, a spy master, and a great psychologist. Probably the second brain of the operation. Is the owner of many florist shops that are a front for information gathering operations and possible assassination."

The rest of the names involved some jounin or merchants that Sasori knew enough about to say they were simply opportunists, powerless without the great clans to back them up. They didn't bother him. The leaders, however…

"Why isn't Danzo among them?" Kakashi asked, giving voice to Sasori's doubts. "I thought he would be a member, being willing to undermine the Hokage and all…"

"Perhaps…" Sasori trailed off. "But this man is fanatically loyal to Konoha itself, and the Inner Council is weakening it. He probably sees himself as Sarutobi's closest ally, even if he is willing to ignore his wishes and order to 'help him'. And he is probably one of the only people in the village that wouldn't mind Naruto getting stronger, as long as he is loyal… at least, if he is the same person there as he is in my world. Is my information correct in your universe too, Kakashi-san?"

The jounin nodded. "But it doesn't mean they're right in all of them."

"This might be problematic," Kazama said. "If the conspiracy differs in all worlds…"

"Then we will punish those that cross our path," Kakashi announced. "At least, after we correct the Madara problem."

"I agree," Sasori added. "Dealing with them and testing the validity of Tsukiyomi's claims is a secondary objective." Kazama clearly wasn't happy with that, but reluctantly nodded. "The first, now, is to outmaneuver our pursuers." He put the sheets of paper on the blonde's shoulders, forehead, and belly. "These seals will memorize everything that happens to you: modifications of your chakra, interferences, sounds, visions… it will give us some insight into your ability. How it works, what are its limits, and if it can be used in another way than simply teleporting to another world."

Getting up, the puppeteer locked eyes with the world wanderer. "Our first test will be simple: checking out the precision of your teleportation. You can already transport us at places like 'the forest near Konoha'. Now we will test if you can teleport 'near this person' or 'near this thing'."

Kakashi blinked. "Like a Sharingan?"

"Like a Sharingan," Sasori agreed. "We will test if you can go near a Sharingan, _but _one that doesn't belongs to Uchiha Madara. First, to test the precision, and second… to prevent our capture. At this time, we should have two worlds of advance, but we can never be sure…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Girl, Naruko<strong>_

"Is everyone ready?" Naru-sensei asked. Seeing them all nod, Kazama smiled. "We are going to go near a Sharingan… one that, I hope, won't be Madara, or even hostile. Still, prepare yourselves for battle… just in case."

Naruko nervously took a few senbon between her fingers, quickly imitated by Haku. The Yuki had shown her where to put them on someone's body to paralyze some nerves, but she hadn't tried to do that for real… at least, she had all her other techniques to make up for her lack of experience.

Sideway, she saw Zabuza grab his sword's grip, and Kitsune doing the same. Chibaku took a kunai in hand, and Sasori simply cracked his fingers, being ready to use his flamethrower anytime. Kazama unsheathed the Kusanagi, and closed his eyes.

A flash of light later, they found themselves standing in the middle of a field… of red flowers.

"What is this place?" Naruko wondered out loud, looking at her surroundings. The sky was made of yellow clouds, and the field was circled with completely black trees. Looking beneath her, the blonde girl noticed that all the flowers' petals were intertwined, protecting the core of the plant from the outside world.

"Well, no Sharingan around," Zabuza grunted. "You suck at accuracy and orientation, brat."

"I don't understand," Naru-sensei replied as he scowled. "I pictured a Sharingan in my mind. We should have teleported near one…"

Naruko's eyes was immediately attracted by one of the plant, that was slightly moving.

"This place is freaky," Chibaku said. "Something is bothering the Kyuubi. Something like…"

The petals opened…

"A predator."

… revealing a Sharingan with one swirling tomoe.

Before Naruko had even the time to pale, all the flowers opened, all revealing a red eye in their middle... each of them staring at the group.

Chibaku blinked in surprise. "Shit."

Immediately, dozens of long spiky vines whipped out from the ground, trying to seize the humans like they were some kind of snake. The ninjas quickly dispersed, stepping back as new vines erupted to capture them.

At the same time, multiple Sharingan began to appear on the trees' bark, eyeing the fleeing Shinobi. Their roots rose out of the earth, and lifted the plants above the soil. And then, they began to walk through the field, balancing their branches menacingly.

As Naruko avoided a vine, her mind worked frantically to try to understand the situation. Plants weren't supposed to be hostile, or even have bloodline limits!

One of the trees reached her, and attempted to hit her with one of its appendages. Gracefully jumping above it, Naruko then leaped on the bark, and tried to ram a senbon in one of its eyes. But instead of adhering to the surface, the blonde's feet slipped. Successfully landing safely on the ground, the girl then threw her weapons at the bark, hitting two Sharingan. The eyes began to shed black blood, and another one gazed into her own, twisting into a shuriken-like form.

The world turned red, full of tears and screams. Her death was inevitable. Her friends and family would get smashed and turned to shreds, their blood feeding the plants like countless before them. They would soon join the multiple devoured bodies, hidden under the red field…

An animalistic roar resonated in her mind, and reality returned to normal, the tree's Sharingan glaring hatefully at the blonde. _Kyuubi? _The girl wondered.

_**Yes, **_the Bijuu responded. _**I don't know how, but these plants can use the Sharingan and one of its advanced techniques, Tsukiyomi. I can break any illusion ensnaring you, but you should gather your friends and escape as quickly as possible before being outnumbered.**_

_I know, _the blonde replied, as she pierced the tree's last eyes, before rotating toward her companions, who were struggling with the vines and trees. Zabuza was cutting them one after the other, Haku had transformed one into ice, Kakashi and Sasori had just set two on fire, Kitsune, Chibaku and Kazama were fighting two trees all wrapped into twisted armors of yellow chakra. More walking plants were slowly but surely closing the distance between them and the Arashi Clan, like an advancing sea of branches and leaves.

_Why are they trying to kill us? _the girl wondered, as she rushed at her allies' side.

_**To nourish themselves, **_the Kyuubi replied. _**They suck their victims' blood to feed on it. When you have been put under the tree's illusion, I've briefly connected with its… mind. What I've found in it is disturbing, to put it simply.**_

_Why is this forest like this though? _She asked, as she took a kunai and slashed a vine with it.

_**The forest has a mind of its own, **_the Bijuu explained, _**and it really, **_**really **_**wants to kill everyone passing through it. You and your friends are the lasts of a very long list of prey and victims, including the forest's creator… some kind of crazy scientist that thought creating Sharingan-producing plants was a good idea.**_

"Guys!" She shouted. "The forest is trying to kill us!"

"No, it's just trying to hug us!" Chibaku deadpanned, as he finally found an opening in the tree's armor, making an explosive kunai passing through it. The plant was instantly reduced to ashes.

"Everyone, gather around me!" Kazama shouted. "I'll teleport us out of here!"

"So soon?" Kakashi asked. "That's probably risky!"

"It's either crossing worlds or facing _that_," Kazama declared, as he stared at an advancing army of Sharingan-trees, most of them clad in chakra armor.

"Okay…" the jounin trailed off. "World jump?"

"World jump," Zabuza agreed, as he avoided getting smashed by a large branch. "To whe-"

"Now!" Naruko shouted, as the whole group got encircled. Kazama closed his eyes, and red light filled the clearing…

An invisible force made the girl crash on a rock. Difficultly rising up and trying to deal with the pain, Naruko stared at her surroundings.

She and the rest of her group were either standing or laying on a plain, under a blue sky and near a big mountain. On it, a little village was constructed. Helping Naru-sensei getting up, the girl saw that the teen's skin had turned white.

"Boss, are you alright?" She asked worryingly.

"I… feel sick…" He muttered, touching his belly with his palm. "The seal… is burning…"

"This is… worrisome," Sasori stated. "Perhaps we have overloaded it…"

Kitsune's disturbed murmurs interrupted them. "Guys… I think you should look at that." He pointed his finger at something before him.

The air before him was… breached. A tiny crack was spilling foul-smelling smoke, and slightly growing with each passing second. The tear into space seemed to bleed, spilling molten metal on the grass below, slowly starting a fire.

"What is this?" Zabuza wondered. "Doesn't look good…"

Suddenly, the breach widened, growing to take the size of a large gate. Beyond it, Naruko could see large rocky islands, floating on a sea of lava and molten gold. Also, multiple pairs of yellow, shining eyes, were glaring at them malevolently.

An instant later, the ninjas jumped backward, as a large form crossed the breach and landed where they were previously standing, creating a small crater as a result. As dust filled the airs, Naruko saw other shadowy figures passing through the gate.

When the girl could see clearly, she gasped and paled. They were facing… monsters.

The very large thing that had almost smashed them was a large, bulky creature looking like a bull standing on its legs and having hands. It was wielding a large iron mace, and his eyes were like two suns. When he opened his mouth, he revealed two sets of fangs. A twin of the beast was standing behind it, glaring ferociously at Kazama.

At his sides, two humanoids wearing red armor and holding two-handed blazing swords. The opening in their cuirasses only revealed black bones and two green glows in place of the eyes. They weren't moving, as if they were dead... which they probably were, in a way.

Behind them were standing two ogre-like beasts, blue and red, with horns, large fangs, wild white hair, and six fingers. They were wearing black kimonos, sandals, and iron clubs. They smirked at Naruko and company, as if they were trying to appear nice, while they inwardly weren't.

The last creature was… bigger. In fact, it overshadowed _everyone_. It was around twelve feet tall, and looked like a humanoid lizard. It had a purple, thick skin, a dart at the end of its tail, and two yellow wings without feathers. It had a long neck, impressive caws, and a green substance was dripping from its fangs…

The lizard stared at the ninjas, making them straighten and stiffen. _**"You,"**_ he declared with a raspy, deep, inhuman voice, _**"you are the summoners. Thank you for having called us. You have the Makai's eternal gratitude."**_

Naruko's jaw dropped. "Euh… it's nothing," she replied lamely.

_**"You will be handsomely rewarded for you help,"**_ the lizard continued._** "Money, love, power, immortality… you will have whatever you want. I, Kishin, ruler of the sea of fire and son of the great Kiryu, will make sure of it."**_

Nobody had any idea of what to respond to that.

_**"Take your time to think about it,"**_ Kishin said. _**"We have all the time in the world, now that you have opened the gate. I have no idea of how did you succeed at opening a permanent breach between our two plans of existence. It's quite the feat."**_

Kazama smiled uneasily. "Well, it was quite hazardous..."

_**"It is still very impressive," **_the lizard praised him. _**"I don't sense any residual magic or chakra, which means you have done that with your will alone. Only gods have that power, young son of man. I'm sure that with enough training and adapted techniques, you will be able to open bigger breaches, or make your abilities ascend to another level."**_

"Thank you..." the teen trailed off, not sure what to say. Naruko could understand. It wasn't all days that you were praised by some kind of winged reptile...

Kishin seemed to smirk. _**"I think we can begin today. I know a ritual that, with a large number of human sacrifices, should be sufficient to widen the breach, and allow the invasion force to annex this dimension."**_

Naruko's eyes widened. _Invasion force?_

"Invasion force?" Kazama asked out loud.

_**"Well, yes, the invasion force," **_the winged beast smirked. _**"Who do you think we are? Unorganized savages? Our legions are already gathering from the other side of the portal. Within seven hours, this world will be Hell's property." **_He stared at Kazama._** "As a reward for your help, you will be of course given dominion over this plane, and perhaps even others, if you can open more gates. The size is a bit problematic, but we as long as there are local settlements nearby it, it won't be a problem."**_ It looked at the town on the mountain.

_**"Like this one... I smell some fresh blood… young, tasty children."**_ It licked its lips, immediately imitated by the other creatures._** "I'm already hearing the screams of their parents when I will eat their progeny and burn their home to the ground."**_

_**"MAIM!"**_ The other creatures singed, ignoring the terrified expressions of Naruko's group. _**"KILL! BURN!"**_

_**"We will lose sweet destruction, my dears,"**_ Kishin promised. _**"This village will be the first of our never ending conquest."**_ It stared at the humans._** "Would you like to participate? It will always be possible to discuss the terms of your allegiance to Hell, rewards, obligations, rank in the legions and all that stuff later. Believe me, killing innocent people is a good sport. Especially when they can't fight back."**_

Naruko's eyes widened horrifically, she prepared herself to fight. "In your dreams!"

"Yeah," Chibaku declared, as he unsealed Uke Mochi. "No way I'm going to let you destroy this town!"

"Who the fuck are you?" Zabuza growled.

The lizard seemed to frown. _**"Who am- wait,"**_ it blinked. _**"You didn't summon us on purpose, did you? You are not demon summoners?"**_ The other monsters grinned, seizing their weapons, quickly imitated by the humans. But then a deep sound began to resonate.

Kishin was laughing.

_**"It's really a lucky day!"**_ the creature roared. _**"I thought you were already corrupted! Now, I have to tempt you, making this all the sweeter!"**_ It smirked. _**"You have absolutely no idea of who I am, do you?"**_ It asked, as his eyes glowed even brighter. _**"Let me present myself: I am the Demon Lord Kishin, emissary of the Makai, and top general of the forces of hell!"**_

_And crap, _Naruko thought.

_**"My dear friends..." **_It announced._** "I am a representative of the Makai, the great and beautiful realm where all corrupt souls end and suffer when they die! Always seeking to enslave other planes of the existence, the Demon Lords ruling it are thereby offering you, accidental summoners, a chance to tag along for the ride that is the great and glorious conquest of everything that is!"**_

Its wings moved, began to fly, roared, and then breathed a blue fire at the sky. _**"In exchange for your precious help, the Makai will offer you whatever you want: immortality! Riches! Women and men! Slaves! Territories! Power! Knowledge! Vacations in our dominions! I especially counsel the last, we have some wonderful beaches and hostels in Hell..." **_It added with a smirk. _**"In exchange, we only need your eternal allegiance, and some annual sacrifices. No need to offer your soul, since you will immediately be promoted in the demonic hierarchy once you're dead, in case you don't choose immortality! We are nefarious, not treacherous."**_

It stared at the humans below. _**"How can you refuse such generous offer? You know, no need to mind about the many, many people you and we are going to kill, devour, enslave, torture and/or oppress, depending on the preferences. They will understand that you couldn't have let such opportunity like this slide!"**_

The ninjas' answer was a series of hand seals.

_**"Well," **_the lizard trailed off. _**"We can always force you to cooperate… or you're just that masochist. Demons, attack! Capture the summoner, and kill the rest of them!"**_

_**Really, **_the Kyuubi whispered in Naruko's mind, as the other demons charged at her. _**The next time your counterpart creates a dimensional gate to somewhere in the cosmos, tell him to open the way to heaven instead.**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Dragoness<strong>_

In some world, where distorted angels were fighting giant creatures protecting mankind, a dragon-demon-god… thing, stiffened. She had been tranquilly resting on a paradisiacal island, taking a break from her container's insane adventures… not that she didn't enjoy contributing to the chaos herself mind you… when she had sensed someone messing with the fabric of reality… in the bad sense of the term.

Even if she had never considered herself a card carrying member of the fiendish races, demonic blood still ran strongly in her veins. She could listen to the whispers of the abysses, and her mind was still connected with those of her unstable and corrupted relatives… and one of them, a powerful demon lord had just been summoned in an unregistered universe by some human and was inviting every available fiend to help him conquer it…

Idiot.

Under normal circumstances, the dragoness would have simply left the locals deal with the threat, but two things were… unsettling. The first was that, well, it was an undiscovered universe, and there was always a chance that the natives had no way to deal with a trans-universal demonic invasion. It wasn't that she went out of her way to help random universes every time one looked like it needed help… just the opposite, quite frequently she just stayed on the sidelines and watched the shows unfold, but she wasn't cruel enough to let her grandfather's spawn ravage a defenseless world unchecked when said spawn was doing such a sloppy job of just getting into the world. It would let the demon's heads get too bid… as if many weren't big enough.

The second was that, well, the summoner hadn't used any known spell or technique to call upon her relative. He had just… torn space apart. That… was neither normal for dimension travelers… nor good.

None of the demons of the invading world knew how exactly the fabrics of reality had been breached, but they were all aware that the opening of a _permanent_, if small, portal between a fiendish plan and a human world had been made. Anyone with any education in the field was aware that this was no small feat, that only incredibly powerful people or creatures could even _hope_ to accomplish something like this. The mere possibility of allying with an evil summoner able to open gates through the multiverse was exciting to the demons… terrifying for almost everyone else…

And very annoying for her.

The dragoness was not going to allow someone with that power to join the forces of evil... or at least the forces of impulsive rampant destructive evil. Smart evil bad guys at least had some self control when it came to matters like these. The multiverse had already enough evil overlord wannabes. No need to have another troublemaker… especially if this one was a menace to multiple worlds. Dealing with him now would spare the dragoness future hassle so she could do her own thing… which was mess around with the heads of obnoxious and clueless unknowing figures of great power that couldn't jump between worlds.

Flying away to another island, the deity decided to pick a couple of her servants along for the ride. Dealing with demons and malevolent humans was an activity she was doing all the time, and a sport that she really enjoyed since her targets were almost as creative and varied as her 5 servants, but she wasn't an expert at sealing interdimensional portals. Traveling and making them, yes, that was easy, but torn portals required a certain… touch…

Quickly finding her container lazily sunbathing on a beach, the dragoness dive-bombed her, literally. It was good for the woman that the otherworldly being was only the size of a sparrow at the point in time. The woman only got a small concussion from the blow that left her inside a 10 foot deep crater.

"Zuzushi, you stupid lizard!" The girl spat out irritably as she picked herself out from the hole in the ground. "I was having a good dream full of candy! I actually managed to break my record of chewing on 8 jawbreakers at once in them!"

_**"We can pacify your sweet tooth later,"**_ the dragoness purred. _**"I need you and Ghost, and perhaps even his apprentice: we have work to do."**_

The black-haired girl, also known as Shadow, growled. "It's a _vacation_ damn it, offered by _Gendo Ikari_, of all people! Willingly! We didn't have to blackmail or bribe or do anything for him this time somehow which I am still trying to figure out how Ghost managed to pull off! It's the reason why I actually bothered to travel here in the first place! We are _not _supposed to work!"

Ignoring her conatiner's childish wrath, the Sky Mother bolted off into the sky, and as such was quickly followed by said irritated vessel. Faster than the wind the two flew toward the dragon's strongest servant and his blonde apprentice, who were eating ice cream with a blue-haired girl and a male teenager… and dive bombed him in the same manner as her apprentice. The impact launched the local teens away hard enough that they were knocked out, but the apprentice managed to land unharmed.

"What the f-" A physically 14 and a half year old Naruto Uzumaki, otherwise known as Konoha's Feral Gale, nearly swore before realizing what had just happened. "Why the hell can't anything you guys do be subtle for once?"

"My ice cream!" The second immortal shouted in pain and loss as he looked at the melted and discarded frozen dairy product several feet away from him. "He had a future ahead of him with a wife and three children! Why!"

_**"One of my demonic cousin's was summoned to an unregistered universe near the boy's by accident… and the idiot is calling out to literally every demonic presence that can possibly make it to see if they want to join in the fun."**_Zuzushi explained, ignoring her strongest servant's temporary moment of insanity._** "The portal is permanent and unstable, so we have to fix it while kicking his ass so that he doesn't get ahead of himself, and maim the idiot who foolishly made the portal in the first place."**_ The dragoness explained.

"A permanent portal?" Shadow raised an eyebrow. "That's new."

Naruto sighed, resigned to be used to solve another problem that he shouldn't have any part of. This was the third random excursion that he had to take since his master took him dimension hopping for his training. "Why do we always have to do crazy stuff? I though your training trip was simply going to stay that, a training trip. And people thought that shit only happens when I'm the one in charge of the missions…"

"There is a good reason for that," the God of None grunted as he picked himself up, reversing time on his body so that the several dozen broken bones that he received didn't exist anymore. "It's called Murphy's Law. That, and the multiverse hates my guts for some obscure reason."

"I gathered." The boy sighed before looking at the knocked out Rei and Shinji. "Uh… shouldn't we do something about them? You know… make sure they aren't dead and stuff?"

"They'll be fine." Ghost waved a hand lazily. "Shinji's an optimistic idiot, so he heals quickly, and Rei is the silent cold type. They always get back right up no matter what."

"Fine," Shadow sulked to the dragon as she covered herself in darkness before her natural casual attire materialized from the empty substance, "After this you better not bug us with chores again Zuzushi. Scare one of the local gods to do your work for once instead of dumping it on us."

The dragoness snorted as she opened a portal in front of the group of three. _**"Sure. Whatever you say slave…"**_

"… Fucking walking purse…"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's notes:<em>**

Yes, Zuzushi and co are appearing! Those who love them, rejoice! Those who don't, don't worry, they are only here for this chapter and the next. A cameo, really.

They, of course, belong to Third Fang... and they're awesome. I especially recommend his story, it is a damn good one (**Yet again, with a little extra help**, for those who don't know).

Now, please review/give your point of view, and write you soon!


	14. Chapter 14: Insight

_**WARNING:** _after a few reviews about the cameo of the characters of Yet Again, it appears that not everybody is happy with it. If you do not like them, simply skip the chapter and look at the Author's Notes, for a summary of the important plot development. I am NOT going to rewrite this chapter or anything. It might not be as good as you people hoped, but it still represents a lot of work from my part and Third Fang. That, and I still like the cameo.

Ps: however, if you like the characters, like, rejoice!

Special thanks to ABitterPill, Alpha142, and ESPECIALLY Third Fang for betaing this story. The last one did an awesome job with this chapter, and a third of it wouldn't have been without him.

Traveler/Original Naruto: Kazama Arashi.

Pupeteer Naruto: Chibaku Arashi.

Werefox/Hybrid Naruto: Kitsune Arashi.

Female Naruto: Naruko Arashi.

Deceiver/Original Madara: Tsukiyomi.

Destroyer/Rinnegan Madara: Susanoo.

Warrior/Collector Madara: Amaterasu.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Chapter Fourteen: Insight<em>**

During his life, Zabuza had fought many opponents. He had massacred a hundred soon to be genin before he had even reached the age of 12. He had murdered his sensei to impress a swordsman of the Mist and convince him to take him as his apprentice, inadvertently making him a chuunin in the process. He had killed said new master in a duel for the Beheading Knife, the sword he currently wielded. He had faced the Mizukage alongside three other allies, and barely escaped alive, bleeding profusely on Kisame's back as they had run away from an enraged Jinchuuriki. He had survived the assaults of entire teams of hunter-nins, and continued walking. And, more recently, he had fought a group of SS-Ranked enemies and lived to tell the tale about it.

But it was the first time he was fighting animated skeletons.

Deflecting a simple boring slash attack, Zabuza wondered if they were really demons or just some dead souls having been conscripted in the forces of Hell. He just, well, expected more from devils. The two he was dealing with at once were simply using their blades with skill that couldn't be compared to his own. If they were the best weapon masters the Makai had to offer, then no wonder they needed to recruit ninjas. These two could put a good fight against average samurai, but against one of the best swordsman of Kiri? They were cannon fodder.

Time to remind these clowns who was at the top of the food chain here…

In a flash, Zabuza smashed one of his enemies' head with his blade, breaking the helmet, the skull, the thorax, the spine… well, everything in one blow. The skeleton crumbled into a pile of bones, the glow in its eye socket vanishing. Its companion tried to flank the missing-nin… only to lose his head as Zabuza punched it so hard that the skull shattered in many parts. The body fell, the green glow disappeared, and the former Kiri-nin began to look for new prey.

He soon found one… sort of. One of the ogre-like creatures was glaring at him, holding its iron club menacingly… while being imprisoned inside a block of ice. Zabuza locked eyes with his adopted daughter, who smiled sheepishly. "Well, I thought it would be a good paperweight…" she feebly tried to excuse herself.

The swordsman snorted. "Too ugly," he said as he shattered the snowman with his blade, killing the monster inside in the process. "Find something else." Haku scowled, but gave no verbal reply.

To his side, Zabuza saw the head of the second ogre being propelled in the air by pressurized water, Sasori quickly sealing the beheaded body in a scroll, probably to dissect it later… or do something even worse, something the swordsman had no intention of witnessing. He had listened to Chibaku's stories about his master's… special puppets, after all.

A bit away, one of the humanoid bulls _cried_as the aforementioned blonde puppeteer made his puppet unleash a concentrated stream of gas right at the creatures' eyes. Fortunately for it, Kitsune decided to give it a merciful death… by having Samehada absorb its chakra until it was reduced to a dead husk.

The last minor demon probably cried a bit too, but Zabuza couldn't see it as the beast was pinned to the ground by a true mountain of Naruko clones, while Kazama and Kakashi slammed Rasengan after Rasengan into its stomach. After a while, the two stopped, leaving the cadaver behind as they walked toward the rest of the group, the army of Naruko right after them.

All in all, Kishin's flunkies had lasted less than five minutes.

**"Well then,"** the Demon Lord said, eying the massacre from the sky, his wings beating the air every few seconds, **"that was quick."**

"I don't know if you feel the same, guys, and girls," Chibaku muttered, "but I expected something more… difficult."

"Yeah," Naruko agreed. "For demons they were certainly easy to beat."

**"Blame demonic politics,"**Kishin grumbled**. "Most Demon Lords are so focused on keeping their position, not to mention the fact that the majority of them are amazingly stupid and ignorant, that they kill everyone that could present a danger to them… or in a nutshell, anyone that shows any intelligence, strength, or competence. Hell is now composed of armies of cannon fodder and a few really, really powerful generals ****that cannot grow any more powerful than they already are lest they develop the potential to destroy planets and thus increase the odds of destroying our own forces and property in fits of rage. ****Why do you think we haven't conquered the universe yet?"**

Zabuza snorted. "Well, that's Yagura's Kiri taken to its logical extremes."

"I don't understand," Kitsune declared. "If you are so afraid of having competition, why do still want to recruit strong people?"

**"Strong mortals,"** the creature corrected**. "Here is the trick. As long as they don't die, our mortal allies are out of the demonic hierarchy, which means that they can't command or steal our large armies, lacking the link that unites all fiends. This also means that they can't kill Demon Lords permanently. You see, each time we die, we recompose ourselves in the Makai and are reborn, but if the murderer is a fiend like us, it instead absorbs our energy and becomes a Demon Lord. You kill it, you keep it."**

"That's… a bit freaky," Chibaku muttered. "Are you implying you're cannibalistic?"

**"Well, we are demons, not vegetarians, ****unless of course you are counting demonic plants only diets of course****."** Kishin replied. **"Since most demons are weak, conquering other universes has become quite hard, so we have to make deals with mortals to keep our reputation as fearsome as ever. So… are you sure you don't want to help these poor, poor creatures defend themselves against the cruel and nasty heroes and celestial beings that always screw with us?"**

Zabuza feigned pondering the offer. "Well… how to tell you that politely… _no_."

Kishin shook its head**. "We are offering you the chance to correct a great injustice… we are desperately trying to recuperate what is rightfully ours from the claws of these loathsome, disgusting overconfident creatures that have yet to repent for their sins! But you can't just stop thinking about yourselves. I'm hurt,"** he spoke with an almost sincerely sad tone, **"so deeply hurt…"**

"Is it me, or is it trying to guilt-trip us?" Naruko wondered.

"It appears so…" Zabuza replied, watching the spectacle without really knowing how to react to it. "Really, I feel almost sorry for it. Key word: _almost_."

**"Of course I'm trying to guilt-trip you,"** Kishin declared with a suddenly angry voice. **"You cannot be corrupted, so appealing to your inner goodness might work…"**

"At least he's honest and straightforward." Naruko deadpanned.

"It could have, if you hadn't menaced to burn a village to the ground some minutes ago," Kazama pointed out. "And also ordered your soldiers to either kill or capture us. That doesn't tend to earn points with most people."

**"Well, the villagers would have attacked us first! It's self-defense! And by 'killing and capturing you', I actually meant 'convincing you to work for us through special techniques'."** He made finger quotes on his redefinition of the term. **"Especially****_not_****torturing you or using very evil rituals to resurrect you as efficient, if stupid, members of the demonic legions…"**

Everyone in the group rolled its eyes. "You know, why haven't we killed him yet?" Zabuza asked.

**"Because I'm really convincing?"** Kishin tried hopefully. The glares of the humans made it sneer. **"Okay, okay, you don't want to settle this diplomatically… well, if you want a fight, you will have it."**

The swordsman snorted. "As if you had a chanc-"

He never finished his sentence, as Kishin dive-bombed them like a meteor, almost crushing them all under his body. The ninjas' reflexes saved their lives, making them jump backward to avoid the attack, but the shockwave made all of Naruko's clones explode. Zabuza barely had the time to blink before Kishin closed the distance between the two of them. The creature, despite its size, was even faster than Haku herself.

**"I'm a Demon Lord,"** the monster growled with all the social part of his personality gone as his claws pierced the air toward the missing-nin's heart**, "which means that I am one of the best the Makai has to offer in terms of power! Don't underestimate me simply because I****_was_****willing to attempt to be nice about converting you!"**

Quickly, Zabuza protected his torso with sword, shielding himself… or so he thought. Instead, the claws drilled through the metal, creating holes in it, and then went through the man's flesh as if it was butter. His damaged blade saved his life, preventing the claws from touching the vital points, but he couldn't help but crash helplessly on his back heavily wounded and his vision already blurring.

Before losing conscience, he heard Haku shout his name and Kishin roar cruelly.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Traveler, Kazama<em>**

"ZABUZA-SAMA!"

As Haku rushed to her mentor's side, Kishin turned around and charged at her. Acting quickly, Chibaku projected a lot of gas at the demonic lizard from his puppet. The creature didn't seem to be affected by the poison, but changed target and punched Uke Mochi, demolishing the puppet in one blow. As the blonde puppeteer cursed inwardly, Sasori used his flamethrower, and Kazama enhanced it with the Heat Wave. The result was a massive inferno which engulfed Kishin completely.

"Chibaku, go help Zabuza!" The world wanderer ordered his younger counterpart. "Kitsune, follow and protect him! Naruko, Kakashi, help us with long range techniques!"

As his friends took their position, their enemy got out of the fire completely unscathed, still charging at a speed that could be compared to Lee's. Since flames apparently didn't work, Sasori switched weapons and shot pressurized water at the demon, which was deflected by the creature's dense hard scaled skin. Before the rest of the humans could begin their techniques, Kishin had closed the gap between them and swung his arm, attempting to tear the group apart with his claws. While they dispersed, the beast's tail moved swiftly and its dart pierced Sasori's body below the heart, breaking his body in half.

Acting quickly, Kakashi exploited the opening by ramming a Chidori on the monster's left limb… only to see the electricity absorbed by its body. The silver haired man only had time to blink before Kishin seized him and smashed the ninja into the ground, making a small crater in the process. As the demon approached the stunned jounin, Kazama unsheathed the Kusanagi, pointed it toward the creature's head, and activated the blade's piercing and stretching ability.

The sword impaled the demon's left eye, making the beast shed black blood and release its prey, who fell on the ground. The monster roared angrily, opened its muzzle, and breathed a green fireball toward the blonde. Naruko jumped into the attack's path and made hand-seals, transforming the remnants of Sasori's water into a wave which evaporated as it made contact with the blast and stopped it.

And then a dart shot out of the steam, pierced Naruko's belly, and sent her flying away.

His eyes widening in horror, Kazama gritted his teeth and unleashed the strongest Cold Wave he could create at Kishin. The lizard opened its wings, and then flew in the air, avoiding the blast of wind… only to become the target of multiple ice shards thrown at it.

"Keep him back!" Haku shouted as she rushed in Naruko's direction. "I saw liquid dripping from the dart! It's probably poison! I can slow it down by partly freezing her, but I need cover!"

"Go!" Kazama replied, as he projected blast after blast at the demonic flying lizard, who avoided them all. "Where are Chibaku and Kitsune?"

"The first is treating Zabuza-sama's wounds!" She put her palms on a groaning Naruko's torso. "The second, I don't know!"

"And shit!"

The lizard dive-bombed him, while flaring his claws. Acting quickly, Kazama activated his chakra chains and jumped to the side. The flying bastard barely missed him, but the ephemeral restraints captured his wings and tied them, forcing the demon to crash brutally into the ground. The blonde's chains winded around his enemy's body, and both Kishin and Kazama struggled. The first to break free, the second to keep the demon contained.

And then…

"Samehada, rip them apart!"

And then Kishin screamed as Kitsune jumped above its tied wings and slashed them with his sword. The fish-like creature shredded the wings apart, reducing them to the state of bleeding tatters of skin. The monster roared, and whipped the boy with its tail, sending him fly away. The young Jinchuuriki landed near his teenager counterpart and quickly got up. "I hope I'm not late?"

"No," Kazama replied. "I assume you were waiting for an opportunity?"

"Yes, I figu- WATCH OUT!"

The Demon Lord had opened its muzzle in their direction, and didn't seem so happy. **"DIE!"** He roared, before shooting another green fireball at them… or at least they thought. Instead, the blast was sent… toward Haku and Naruko.

Acting quickly, the world wanderer rotated and intercepted the attack with the Cold Wave, deflecting it. But in doing so, he ceased to focus on the chains, and Kishin seized the opportunity to shatter them. As Kazama turned around again, the Demon Lord was standing on its legs, and deeply inhaling.

**"BURN!"**

And then, it unleashed a green inferno at them. As an ocean of fire advanced toward them at an incredible speed, the two Naruto could only blink as death came to claim them…

… or not.

Almost as if reality itself had decided to intervene at that moment, the fire that would have immolated the teen stopped, twisted, and extinguished itself… much to everyone's amazement.

And then, something big dive-bombed Kishin. Some sort of silver and pink… thing… hit the Demon Lord, created a crater in the process, and then flew again in the air.

**"Who in their right mind is foolish enough to attack a demon general!? I do hope you are well aware of how incredibly stupid that…" **Kishin got up, looked at its attacker… and paled. Its purple skin literally turned white and its jaw dropped. **"No… it cannot be… Z-Zuzushi?"**

**"Ah… Kishin…"** The creature, which looked some kind of serpentine dragon landed lightly onto the ground and growled lightly as if almost amused. Despite the fact that it seemed to be talking, none of the humans there could tell what the gender of it was supposed to be as it seemed to speak telepathically through their very minds. **"I'm not surprised… out of all the Demon Lords sired by my grandfather, you were one of the few who remained somewhat honest and organized while still maintaining power… yet still foolish enough to jump at any opportunity shown in front of you without making sure that it wouldn't bite you in the long run."**

Kazama shivered as the silver creature whipped its tail onto the ground in irritation and felt… something quake around him. Even though the ground was what was hit, he felt as if something more essential had been what had been impacted. Even if Kishin hadn't been naturally afraid of the new visitor, the teen knew that it was something far beyond what he had encountered so far in his travels.

**"****This**** is a new level of stupidity even for you."** The dragon continued.** "You were actually foolish enough to jump into an unknown world at the call of a random summoner, just because the portal had the potential to be permanent? ****Whatever happened to the expendable minions first rule? Going in head first without grasping the situation is something expected from amateurs. Such haphazard planning**** will only end with your enslavement or crushing defeat in the end, either from me, a god that actually decides to get off of its ass, or another group of copy and pasted heroes…"**

The creature gritted its fangs, clearly swallowing his pride as he bowed. **"****You have a point as always my lady. I may have let my excitement gotten the better of me due to the circumstances, however it will not happen again. Regardless, I am confused. ****Great and respected Sky Mother, what are you doing here? I thought you don't go out of your way to aid most other worlds that are endangered. Quite the contrary… you are rather known to destroy a few on occasion…"**

**"Don't mistake my appearance to be for mere charity,"** the creature, apparently female, replied irritably. **"Even you should be able to tell that your summoner used an unknown and unstable power. Something like that should not be in the hands of ones such as yourself for obvious reasons. You are lucky that I got to you first. If the gods and other higher level existences heard of what you were about to do ****with the child****, ****or had they discovered your gross abuse of this portal to unleash far more greater demons than is appropriate,**** then getting maimed on levels that only I can deliver would be the least of your problems. As for your summoner… if he truly is willing to call stupid, irrational, destructive demons to do his bidding, then he is either a misanthropic genocidal maniac, an evil overlord admirer, overly ambitious, insane, or really, really ****stupid****. In all cases, allowing him to grow in power and menace other universes ****unchecked**** would be extremely annoying for me,****_especially_****if he boosts your ego." **

Kazama was never one to assume things based on colors, however even he would admit that he had never expected to see the color pink such a malevolent form as he did now while observing the dragon's eyes glow.

**"Time to remind you who really calls the ****shots**** in the multiverse."**

**"But!"** The lizard shook its head vehemently. **"But you are mistaken! The summoning was an accident!"**

**"Of course it was…"** the flying thing declared with blatant sarcasm. **"It's always an accident. Like the time my container woke up and found herself naked next to three women and an albino midget dressed as a chupacabra…"**

**"But it's the truth!"** Kishin complained, before eyeing Kazama. **"You, tell her the truth!"**

"Uh…" The teen trailed off, his mind not working properly. "I would like too, but I don't understand a heck of what it's going on."

"Me neither," Kitsune added sheepishly. "Is this a family reunion?"

**"Of sorts,"** the flying dragoness mused before eyeing the humans there… or more specifically the alternate versions of Naruto there. **"Oh? … I guess that this incident may truly have been a mistake considering who is involved…"** She chuckled. **"It will be rather amusing to see the boy's reaction to this… I see that many of you are wounded… my servant will attend to you..."**

**"Your ****servant****?"** Kishin squeaked, turning paler if possible. **"You brought ****one of**** your guardians Lady Zuzushi?"**

**"Not all of them,"** the dragoness shook her head with a hint of amusement. **"Only my container, Ghost, and that blonde apprentice of his."**

The lizard was pissing himself. **"The Second Origin and The God of…"** The demon almost blurted out before looking around warily, almost as if checking to see if he was almost caught saying the worst thing possible.**"… I mean the Cursed Memory?"**

Kazama and Kitsune had no idea of who, or what they were talking about, and silently agreed to shut up and wait to see what will happen.

**"Indeed."** Zuzushi nodded casually as she looked at one of her claws, inspecting them as if she had nothing better to do. **"And Ghost's apprentice as well…"**

**"… So the rumors were true, he has taken another student…"** Kishin uttered ominously. **"A boy was said to have been traveling with your strongest servant recently. Gold of hair, eyes as blue as the deepest ocean, the mind of a cunning and morally deprived genius… and the physical and mental durability of one that could remain sane after staying with your servants for extended amounts of ****time."**

Kazama didn't know why, but he had the distinct feeling Zuzushi had cringed at the description. **"The physical description is accurate… his endurance is also rather remarkable for a human… but his intelligence is more…"**

"He is a moron, isn't he?" The world wanderer guessed.

**"****Not**** as much as that as he is impulsive and somewhat cunning…"** The dragoness nodded sadly. **"… and loud. Very****_loud_****."**

"Here is the great Feral Gale!" Someone shouted before several figures landed right between the two demon entities. When the dust settled, a trio of humans was… posing.

On one side was a woman/teenage girl wearing a pink tank top, tan shorts and a very long sleeved black trench coat, with long hair of the same color and emerald eyes.

On the other stood a strange man in a white t-shirt, tan cargos and a short sleeved black trench coat, with long brown hair tied in a ponytail and wearing black glasses. In the middle was…

"The great ninja," a familiar teenager began, this time clad in a black short sleeved sweater that had a stained spiral on the front with a long sleeved white shirt underneath it. His hands were encased in what seemed to be fingerless furry gloves but they could be gauntlets since the white shirt covered his arms. His shorts were tan and had many pockets, and he was wearing his head protector on his large collar, leaving his longer spiked hair to fall forward to shadow his slit eyes and slightly thicker whisker marks. "The most badass ass kicker in this entire multiverse. The Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, and the future Hokage of Konoha!" He smiled overconfidently at them all. "Naruto Uzumaki! Bwahahahahaha! Hahaha! Ha… Ha?"

The world wanderer paled in shock, as his new counterpart locked eyes with him… and dropped his jaw, quickly imitated by the other copies of them that were still conscious to see what was happening.

"What the fuck?" They all wondered out loud… before the new Naruto's companions began to wail on him.

"Where the hell was our introduction you selfish brat?" The woman roared as she stomped on him.

"You? The most badass ass kicker in the multiverse? That's one of MY titles you retard! You think you're actually strong enough to take on the guy who taught you all the tricks you're currently famous for?" The man shouted in rage as he pounded on the boy comically.

"**Just… just give them a minute…"** The dragoness said to the others present, as a bead of sweat ran down the side of her head. **"They'll pay attention to the situation soon enough…"**

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Feral Gale<em>**

Getting back up after his minor… episode… the new blonde finally had time to think about his current situation. The boy had seen many things in the multiverse thanks to his master, eternally labeled in his mind as Ero-Nii, literally dragging him to wherever he felt like hanging out next. Monstrous angels, super-powered pirates, a demonic and bratty overlord, and many, many other strange creatures and people. But never once, never, did he have met… well, another himself.

Two, in fact.

"Who are they?" The youngest of the two asked. He was wielding _Samehada_, of all things.

"I don't… oh, screw this," the oldest replied. "You! Are you enemies or allies? One of my friends really needs a healer!"

**"They are my servants…"** Zuzushi trailed off. **"And, technically, your allies. Now that I ****am looking more**** at you, I must admit I'm surprised. I certainly didn't expect to see multiple alternate versions of Ghost's apprentice there." **The dragoness locked eyes with Shadow. **"The blonde girl at my distant left has been poisoned by my cousin. You have treated demonic toxins before, so get to work."**

"Wait!" The immortal girl shouted. "Before we go!" She looked around and saw all the different versions of Naruto around. "There're a lot of variants here… There's even a Naruko…" she mused before turning to her male companion who had no doubt noticed the same thing. The immortals glared at one another for several seconds before she struck first. "50 bucks says one of them is gay for Sasuke!" She shouted quickly.

"Fuck!" The male wearing sunglasses swore before relenting and shaking the girl's hand, no doubt he was against the odds in the bizarre bet. "Lucky little…" He grumbled under his breath as he walked away sulking.

"… What?" Blinked everyone else within hearing range of the two, clearly not knowing or wanting to understand what the odd pair was thinking about at the time.

"**Shadow. Healing. Fairly important…"** Zuzushi spoke up with a clearly tired look in her eyes. **"Do it or I'll find more work for you to do."**

The girl's jaw clenched. "Sadist…" She muttered, before furiously eying the two other Naruto. "You, follow me. Try anything stupid and I'm going to put a leash around your neck and make you my pets."

"OBEY HER!" The Feral Gale advised them hysterically. "She actually did that to me once when I ate some candy in front of her! It sucked!"

The duo was apparently too stunned to say anything, but something (probably survival instinct) pushed them to obey the angry Shadow.

**"Ghost,"** Zuzushi began as she looked for her other servant. **"I want you to deal with that portal…"**

"Did it."

**"… Huh?"** The dragoness blinked, finding the man standing casually with his hands in his pockets right next to her. **"When?"**

"You're talking to the guy who is on top of the multiverse's list of people/gods most likely and able to fuck up the entirety of the space time continuum. Remember?" The man deadpanned. "Of course I could tell that the portal was going to be trouble if it was left alone. I fixed it when you first popped up and spent all that time speaking to that demon guy there."

**"… Well, that's one major issue dealt with…"** The dragoness mused, as she eyed the Demon Lord.

The creature almost pissed himself. **"B-But Lady Zuzushi, I am family! Surely you can be lenient! Even your guardians are known for their rules regarding their own kin!"**

**"You have obviously not seen how they treat one another then."** She scoffed. **"But… since you are nowhere close to being a truly arrogan****t, annoying, ****and ignorant pride filled fool that many of our kin… I'm not going to erase you from existence."**

The demon seemed relieved, its white skin becoming purple.

**"I will simply let my servants beat the crap out of you, kill you, and then allow you to reform in the Makai instead with your powers intact. Since your rank and power will remain, your reincarnation will take a long time… most likely several hundred years…"**

Purple became white again.

**"You have five minutes to prepare, heal yourself, summon the help of whatever minor demons that are bound to your will, whatever you need to slow down the inevitable,"** the dragoness declared as she lay down on a hill**. "After that… well, I am expecting for a good show to occur soon. Do not disappoint me…"**

The new Naruto turned to the strange man that came with him and looked at him with a tired expression, not paying attention to the fact that right behind him three clones of himself had appeared without any seals in a lotus position and began to meditate. He on the other hand made a dragon seal and held it while talking. "… You did this on purpose didn't you? This is some trippy alternate world with even more alternate versions of me running around isn't it?"

The master chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Actually I'm not responsible for this, for once." He turned to see the demon lord tearing a massive temporary portal into the fabric of time and space, calling forth an army's worth of minor demons to aid him while frantically regenerating the damage he sustained earlier. "So which one do you want? Tall dark and gingivitis, or the several thousand inbred rednecks of the netherworld? Remember, you probably won't have another chance to fight such an army, since Demon Lords can only use this summoning spell once in a century..."

The Feral Gale raised an eyebrow. "I have a choice? Scratch that, I actually have a shot at beating that guy? He's 12 feet tall and has armor as skin for crying out loud."

"Didn't stop you from kicking the Sanbi's ass while barely relying on sage mode and none of the Kyuubi's chakra after getting chased down for several miles by Kisame and Itachi and pumping out exploding clones the entire time," the taller of the two shrugged.

"I summoned all three warrior toads and had Sasuke with me for that one and after that I couldn't move for two weeks," the blonde frowned. "Besides, this guy can actually think with an IQ above thirty… I think…"

"Relax," Ghost sighed. "If you can feel his strong presence during a calm period and you can tell that he's generally within your ballpark, then you have nothing to worry about. It's the guys that can hide themselves completely while being absurdly strong that you need to worry about…"

"Like you?" The boy deadpanned.

"Aww, well shucks now I feel embarrassed…" The immortal swooned and giggled like a small girl.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Fine. Screw it. Give me the big one. If I wanted to fight against an army I'd just go to an open area and make a ton of clones anyways. Plus if this guy really was that strong you'd already be hogging him for yourself…"

"Fine by me," the master chuckled. "Word of advice though, against this one it would be best to come out swinging. Your base level attacks without support won't do much against him."

"**Thirty**** seconds,"**the horse sized dragon lying down on a nearby hill yawned.

"No kidding. I wouldn't have figured that with the multiple almost dead versions of me, one of them holding Samehada of all things, Zabuza, Haku, and Kakashi all lying around," the Feral Gale rolled his eyes as he let his hands go. He looked around at something in the air that apparently was only visible to him and his master. "You think this' enough?"

"Eh. If it isn't you'll know soon enough." The man shrugged.

"As always you've proven yourself to be an inspiration to all who wish to be helpful to others in the multiverse," Naruto sighed before standing absolutely still and closing his eyes. Within seconds the skin on and around his eyelids were pigmented red… the same as the clones sitting behind him.

"8 seconds…" the man mused. "You've cut your time by a few more seconds again I see. Not bad."

"Still trying to get to the 5 second marks," the smirking boy chuckled darkly as he cracked his knuckles by flexing them and showing off his slightly elongated canines. "You know, to match that fucking annoying technique Nagato uses and all..." He opened his eyes to show that his pupils were now slit sideways now as well as colored gold, much like a toad's.

"**Time,"**Zuzushi stated with finality, looking to see Kishin fully recovered and standing, albeit a bit nervously if the small twitch in his eyebrow and tail were any indication, in front of an army ten thousand demons strong. **"Well then… what are you two waiting for? Blow something up already."**

"**ATTACK!"** Kishin roared hysterically, no doubt because in his mind if his army and himself did so with all their might he might have a chance to survive.

… A half a second later Ghost had virtually warped past the giant demon in an insane show of speed and was now laughing like a small child at an amusement park with a black and white short sword in each hand, one of which was hilt deep into the eye of a Cyclops that was already dead and falling backwards, before jumping forward being trailed by the creatures spraying blood and casually slaying the Demon Lord's flunkies one by one as if it was an amusing game.

Despite his impressive initial burst to get to the army, the man was now moving almost slowly as he ducked and weaved between skeletons, ogres, devils, and other members of the army, cutting them down with almost lazy attacks that seemed like any human could have done if they had enough experience, stamina, and a fast enough reaction time.

"Hahaha! Swing! Swing! As fast as you can! You can't catch me I'm the crazy-blind man!" He taunted as he ducked in between an ogre's legs while cutting its tendons before jumping on his back and stabbing a vital point before spinning low on one foot to dodge an attack from behind that would have decapitated him and gutted the possessed human in front of him.

As he attacked he also hopped back to avoid being crushed by another ogre's club before jumping on the weapon and then stabbing the beast in the face and through the brain. It appeared that the monster's body would collapse on top of the man, but apparently he had put enough force into the attack to cause the beast to fall backwards, and as it did so he used it as a platform to jump deeper into the army to have more "fun".

"**What sort of…"** Kishin growled both irritated and confused. **"What is he thinking?"**

"Probably that you weren't dumb enough to turn your back on an unoccupied enemy…" Grunted an irritated and significantly less bright and sunny Feral Gale about the demon's eye level with a fist cocked back.

Before the Demon Lord could respond, the boy's fist collided with his head, and the significantly taller of the two was launched back several dozen feet from the blow. "Tch. Great. All power and no freaking experience…" The boy grunted with focused eyes as he watched the beast get up again. "At least he looks like he can take a hit…"

"**I was ****foolish**** to forget about you boy. ****I see that your master is confident enough in your abilities to leave me to you."**Kishin growled as he picked himself up and spat out a tooth. **"****Your alternate selves were rather tricky even though they were weak… no doubt you will be stronger given who you travel with…"**

The monster's wings stretched out and he began to fly into the air, never taking his eyes off of his young looking opponent as he gained altitude. **"I will have to fight ****with my strengths**** against you…"** He smirked as he breathed in deeply, obviously about to breathe out fire again…

The blonde on the other hand just chuckled as he made a dragon seal again and focused a small amount on the chakra he had infused with the air around him… a technique that not only served as a method of absolute air manipulation, but also served as a sort of extra sensorial perception as well.

It was called the 7th Sense… and using it Naruto was currently manipulating the air around the demon's wings so that the monster wouldn't be able to fly… just… about… now.

The moment Kishin was about to attack, the lift provided by its wings disappeared instantly. As such, the flames that he was originally going to use to attack the boy now served as his new form of propulsion… a far more unstable form of propulsion if the uncontrolled and completely random path of flight the demon was taking along with the panicked screaming was any indication. It was rather comical for everyone watching as he crashed headfirst into his army and blew up a good number of his soldiers in a rather impressive green mushroom cloud.

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle. "Heheheh. Wow. I wonder if it will be that funny when I do that to Deidara…"

A loud roar of rage calmed him down again as he saw many weak members of the army between him and the crash zone getting blown away by some massive force heading straight towards him.

"I guess warm-ups are over…" The human fighter smirked as an elaborate blade of wind chakra extended from each his wrists to almost a meter in length. "Round one…"

The huge foe had cleared his army and was now rushing towards his prey with a massive intent to kill. The blonde in turn matched that intent with his own, making the air around him and far beyond alive with his will, becoming his savage ally and weapon that could strike from all angles at his command.

"Fight."

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Werefox, Kitsune<em>**

"So?" The mysterious young woman, apparently named Shadow, began, as they advanced toward Haku and Naruko. "Which one of you wants to screw Sasuke?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kazama replied. "I don't even know who you are, or what is going on."

"I will explain everything once you are all able to listen so I don't have to repeat myself," she replied before an uncomfortable grin made its way onto her face. "But first thing's first. Which one of you is lusting after Sas-uke? There is no way that there would be so many alternate versions of yourself in one place and not have at least one of you lusting for the duck butt!"

"I can't care less about Sasuke," the teen affirmed. "Right now, I only care about my friends. Go help Naruko. I'll bring the others while you do that." And then he left for the place where Kakashi had been recovering.

"You?" Shadow asked, as she locked eyes with Kitsune.

"I killed him," The boy replied ominously, the memories of the Uchiha's brutal murder at the behest of the voices rushing through his mind. "And I ever only loved Hinata."

"Oh… ok then." The girl blinked, before giving them a sadistic, false smile. Clearly she was not at all disturbed or surprised with the boy's first statement. "Then I assume it's Naruko…"

"No," Kitsune said, while shivering. "And definitely not Chibaku either." The guy was a closet pervert, no matter how hard he was trying to deny it. "Sorry, but… you lost your bet."

Shadow's expression became… terrifying. It was some kind of mix between imminent rage, sulking, and nervous breakdown. "Out of four Naruto… out of four different Naruto…" She muttered ominously. "None of you have a Sasuke-centric sexuality. How? That's a statistical anomaly!"

The blonde didn't say anything, waiting for the woman to explode in anger. But instead, she locked eyes with Kitsune. "You have a crush on Sasuke."

"No-"

"You have a crush on Sasuke!" She ordered. "You were stalking him since you were _nine_, and you are lusting after Itachi on the side and hide handmade dolls of them both under your bed back in Konoha! Ghost mustn't know I've lost, so you better repeat this story until you believe it! Either you pretend to have a crush on Sasugay, or I'm going to castrate you!"

Kitsune opened his mouth… and then closed it. "Just heal Naruko, and I'll do whatever you want."

"… Well you're no fun. I expected at least an effort to fight back there." The woman pouted almost disappointedly before giving him a slightly more serious gaze, "at least your care for your friends is consistent. I can respect that."

Travelling a small distance, they finally reached the wounded girl, and Haku eyed Shadow suspiciously. "Who's this?" The Ice user asked with caution.

The elder female simply snorted as she walked right up to the poisoned girl's other side and began to rummage through her coat. "Let me treat her, and she'll be jumping around and everything in less than a minute."

The younger girl locked eyes with Kitsune for confirmation and got a hesitant nod in return. That was all she needed to prompt her to slowly move back and watch what happened next.

"Let's see. Demonic based decay themed poisoning and a giant hole in the gut. Pretty deadly, but not untreatable." The woman muttered to herself as she inspected her patient. "I'm not on the old man's level of healing… but fortunately I got ways around that limitation," she grinned as pulled out an empty bottle from her coat.

Before anyone could ask what she was doing, the woman placed one of her hands over the open top of the container and various materials began to suddenly fall down from her palm into it. Red, black, green, and fluids of indescribable colors and textures filled the container in various amounts for a short amount of time before the bottle was filled. Then as if the container doubled as a blender, the contents began to spin rapidly for a few seconds before coming to a complete halt and turning into a pure gold substance.

The woman posed with the glowing jar immaturely. "Tahdah! I just created a universal tonic made of a delicate and highly experimental composition of Wolverine's cells, medication for an Evangelion, and the blood of a baby dragon!" She then forced the bleeding and semiconscious Naruko to drink the substance. "I have no idea what it tastes like but this should theoretically work! Thanks for offering your services!"

"Wait. Theoretically?!" Kitsune shouted worriedly as the fluid went down his friend's throat.

The blonde girl coughed and woke up completely as a good amount of the potion went down the wrong tube. Despite the rough feeding of the elixir though the results were almost instant. Immediately, Naruko's wounds began to heal quickly, and she regained some measure of consciousness. "What… happened?" She asked to the group, before widening her eyes, and getting up. "The Demon!"

"Ghost and his minion are taking care of it," Shadow declared, as sounds of explosions resonated not far from them. Off in the distance the family could see a black blur destroying countless minor demons left and right while several blonde figures were either blasting out high level wind techniques or making the biggest rasengan that any of them had ever seen. "Don't worry. Other than some some friendly fire, you aren't in any danger at all."

"Some?" A voice wondered, as a powerful blast of green fire passed near them. Kazama had returned, helping a wounded Kakashi walk. Chibaku and Zabuza were following them, the first supporting Sasori's damaged top and the second struggling to keep his balance with the help of his damaged blade. "That's a bit of an understatement," the teen observed. "The landscape is burning."

"Some," Shadow repeated. "Believe me, they can do far more damage. Ghost is perhaps the strongest the entity in the whole multiverse, and his blonde copy of you guys is already so strong that he's taken Gaara, the Sanbi, and the container of the Gobi out already." The group frowned, and the raven-haired girl raised an eyebrow. "You're not surprised? Normally the people of your worlds tend to be a bit caught off guard by learning that."

"We have already met someone able to kill Bijuu," Chibaku muttered ominously. "We even fought him… or to be more exact, were beaten by him."

"Huh…" The woman muttered, clearly more curious than surprised by this supposedly outrageous fact. "Was it a ninja?" They all nodded. "Fuck. Wonder who the hell managed to get that big of a power boost. I mean our brat's version of Madara has other half of the Kyubi in him but still he shouldn't be able to actually truly kill a spiritual entity with that much power."

Kitsune frowned as he observed the battle raging between Kishin and the self-proclaimed Feral Gale.

The boy this time had just made a massive runed sword composed of solid wind chakra out of his arms that was at least ten times the size of the monster he was fighting and was about to deal some serious damage to the already wounded demon lord.

The monster managed to barely get out of the way of the attack which seemingly had no trouble tearing through the earth and creating tremendous torrents of wind in its wake, which in turn scratched and blew back the creature in the process. Kishin managed to regain his bearing however, rode the jetstream as it continued to scratch his body relentlessly, and countered with a fire attack that was more akin to unleashing a sea at the boy rather than a simple blast.

In turn, the boy managed to weave multiple seals at a rate that matched Kakashi's and created a thick black wall of rock to block the attack. Despite the overwhelming power of the green inferno, the wall somehow managed to do the impossible and split the sea into two streams that flooded outwards way from him.

Had the watchers not been safe on the hill situated to the side of the battle, they would have without a doubt been killed in the backlash as anything caught in the path of the emerald sea was immolated without a trace. The grass that covered the earth went up so quickly that no one had a chance to see it burn, and the trees that littered the area turned into giant vertical stalks of burning charcoal. The very idea that the blonde's wall had managed to hold up against such an attack and even divide it into two streams was nothing short of absurd.

Yet despite the severity of the situation, the boy surprisingly enough did nothing more about it as he was surrounded on most sides by the green flames and instead casually crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall as if he was napping.

Kishin saw that his attack wasn't doing anything soon enough and stopped trying to melt it reluctantly by shutting his mouth with a large clack. Growling angrily, the beast attempted to maintain his distance and shoot several of his tail darts at the structure to see if it was strong enough to take a physical attack… but much to his surprise halfway through the projectile's flight path they all veered in odd directions and missed the target completely.

To most people the feat wouldn't have been that interesting if it weren't for the fact that each spike tore up the earth a great deal when it landed. By the time all the spikes had stopped, there were at least half a dozen trenches that could easily hide a platoon of men spread out in several directions

"Holy crap you suck at this!" The kid behind the wall laughed loudly and naturally, as if what he just saw was the funniest thing he had ever seen. "How the hell were you made a demon general with aiming like that?"

Finally loosing enough control over his temper to realize that his next decision was probably a bad one, Kishin let loose a savage roar and charged forward at the structure in front of him, attempting to plow through it with his bare claws and get to the source of his frustration. However this indeed turned out to be the wrong move as somehow the blonde on the other side of the wall could tell what the hell it was doing. By the time the lizard had reached the wall, he was hammered by another massive rasengan even bigger than the demon that plowed through the structure that he was going to destroy.

It did not surprise many when the ball exploded loudly and launched the very wounded demon very far in the opposite direction he was travelling just moments before.

"Damn it… this version of the kid is ridiculous…" Zabuza grunted, probably remembering how easily he and his allies were taken out at once by the monster. He turned to the newcomers. "Who the hell are you?"

Shadow's response was a large smirk… one that chilled Kitsune to the bone.

"Me? I am the Second Origin, the Voice of Zuzushi, the ruler of shadows, one of the True Gods, and one of the strongest beings in the multiverse… but you can just call me…" Her smile widened. "Shadow. Your Bijuu, if you have them, must know who I am. The minion's nearly shit himself when I talked to him for the first time."

There was a long silence, and then…

"… Never heard of you," Chibaku said sheepishly, making Shadow fall on the ground comically.

"Yeah, my Kyuubi has no idea of who you are either," Naruko added.

Kitsune himself had no idea of what the voices were thinking, and honestly didn't care. "Sorry, but…"

"NO SORRY!" She snapped, red with childish rage. "I'm a freaking legend! The container of the Sky Mother! I freaking kick gods' asses when I hit that time of the month! Dude where's my respect!?"

Everyone dropped their jaw at the outburst.

She pointed her finger at the creature that had identified herself as Zuzushi. "That is the SKY MOTHER, granddaughter of the first dragon, one of the oldest demons EVER, a god so ancient that most gods don't remember what he looks like, AND an existence that is so ambiguous that it is beyond your… and still my… comprehension and ability to pronounce correctly! Gods and otherworldy beings tend to scream like small children when she shows up without warning!"

And then, she pointed at her brother who was still manually stabbing each and every demon he came across in the face without issue as if the activity was natural as breathing. "That's Ghost! THE CURSED MEMORY! The only mortal based being in the Multiverse able to beat Zuzushi without help! Hell, he's practically the apocalypse incarnate! Last time I checked, the other gods were still spreading propaganda about that!"

She glared at the Arashi clan. "How can you _not _have heard of us? I thought all high ranking demons were supposed to have some sort of links to their world's gods and other mutiversial information sources! Ethereal existences are worse gossips than elderly British women! This shouldn't be new news!"

"You… didn't create the universe… nobody did…"

The woman looked sideways dangerously and locked eyes with a fearful Chibaku. "Come again?"

"At the dawn of time…" He muttered. "There was only emptiness… darkness were ruling in absolute control and order… but in a one brief instant… chaos came in the form of the movement of In and Yo, positive and negative… shattering the darkness' control forever… giving birth to life and action, to matter and existence, to the Kami," the boy continued stubbornly, "and in the end… to humanity." He smirked. "No god created the universe, it only… came into being by itself, and then created the Kami. At least, that is what the Kyuubi says," he quickly added as Shadow gritted her teeth.

"Same thing with my own," Naruko declared. "Gods are only inventions of man it says."

"Bullshit," Shadow cursed darkly. "I'm actually CONNECTED to the beginning. So much so that in some circles I am actually considered another source for all there is that has yet to come. There's no way what you said is right unless… unless…" Her eyes narrowed as her mind went down a series of thought processes. "Unless… no, that would be impossible… but if your absolute power is an unknown factor instead of…"

She looked around with a sharp look in her eyes, absent of any of her childish demeanor that she had before. "Which one of you is responsible for this mess?"

Kazama frowned. "I am."

"How did you tear space apart? Did you create a large enough fourth dimensional resonance that reality temporarily deconstructed and reconstructed itself into a wormhole phenomena, or are you able to push and influence fifth dimensional flows enough that you can jump? Obviously you aren't using a subtle approach or this clusterfuck here wouldn't be happening in the first place." She rapidly inquired spewing out multiple scientific terms as she stared at him analytically before pausing and shaking her head. "No… never mind. We'll talk shop later when things calm down a bit. There are still a few almost dead ones here after all."

Not bothering to watch the woman heal Kakashi and Zabuza, Kitsune stared at the battle in the distance. He was… impressed…

The counterpart and the demon had forgone elemental warfare and were now just attempting to kill one another manually. Normally one would think that this would be fairly simple for the demon since he was literally over twice the size of his opponent…

But that didn't seem to be the case as the smaller of the two seemed to control the fight completely.

They watched as the boy stepped inside the beast's guard when it tried to swipe him with one of his monstrous claws, and used its attempt to knee him with his tree trunk sized legs as leverage to rapidly gain height until he was right in front of the demon's face and blew a raspberry into the creature's eyes.

For a moment it looked like the fight was over for the boy when Kishin attempted to crush him in between his massive claws, causing a loud boom that could be heard and felt by everyone there. However at the last moment the blonde somehow managed to suddenly push himself back out of the monster's reach and hover just outside of his massive claws. Oddly enough, despite being so close to the source of the minor explosion, he did not seem phased in the slightest if the confident grin on his face was any indication.

The assault didn't end there though as the hands in front of the demon's face opened to reveal Kishin in the process of breathing out another massive torrent of flames at point blank range… but the boy once again somehow moved in mid air without any sign that he was going to, though not unmarred as his left arm got slightly scorched by the fire that he barely dodged. This time the boy dashed in a circular motion to find himself behind his opponent, missing the attack that continued forward taking out another good portion of the army he had summoned and torching half of a nearby mountain in the process.

Still, Kishin was not a Demon Lord due to strength alone. He had been caught from behind enough times to develop a natural reaction to an enemy there, and it was shown as his barbed tail almost instinctively whipped to attack the foe to his six. Unfortunately for Kishin, his opponent was far stronger and more durable than the majority of the demons he had encountered in his life as the blonde actually caught the massive tail.

Skidding back a few dozen feet from the blow before stopping, the boy gave no sign of slowing down his counterassault and gave the demon a severe case of whiplash as he spun the beast around his head and displaying monstrous strength before slamming him onto the ground with enough force to crack the earth several times over. Not stopping there, the blonde kept up the assault and conjured up several dozen clones that jumped up into the air. Each of the copies then created a massive wind blade above their heads by clasping their hands together before pointing them all down and nailed the beast into the earth, causing it to roar in rage and pain that could clearly be heard by anyone in a ten mile radius of the event.

The original stood to the side and watched Kishin with what the observers could only assume was a contemplative look before sighing to himself and slowly and somewhat shakily… rising up into the sky until he was several dozen meters above his opponent. While the execution wasn't that impressive, it didn't help distract the others from realizing that the person in front of them was actually _flying._

As if that wasn't enough, the boy then held out his arm and grabbed it with another and began to channel a massive amount of chakra to it. Slowly a massive rasengan appeared in his hand… but there was something different about it. It began to emit a high pitched shrieking sound. It was powerful. It was terrifying. It was…

Unstable and blew up in the user's face with a blast that could be felt by everyone, launching him a good distance away and forcing him to hit the earth hard.

"Log damn it!" The watchers heard the teen yell in obvious irritation as he picked himself out of the crater his body had made. "I had it! I fucking had it that time! I was so close to using it one handed in the field! GHAAA!" They blinked in confusion as the boy jumped into the air with rage and flew to his previous spot above the now struggling and raging demon.

Unlike last time though, the boy made a clone that floated in the air next to him before once more conjuring up the massive rasengan… however the clone seemed to be helping by adding… "wind chakra" Kazama muttered in confusion. "A two person technique? But he already used a clone to make rasengan…"

The teen's eyes widened as he realized what was off about what he just said. This version of didn't need a clone in order to make rasengan or any of the larger versions… did this mean that stably adding an element to it would require another clone to perform? Does that mean that it is possible to reach that level himself just by mastering the element and using another clone in the process?

He was broken out of his musings when he saw the sphere grow larger and larger with what seemed like a rapidly spinning rotor of blades around the ball, shrieking with power and intensity. He could feel the wind from where he was and without a doubt the traveler could tell that the demon recognized that this was a finishing move. The ball was as large as the boy now as he held it above his head and each blade was nearly 5 times the length of the diameter of the ball. The wind was so severe near the boy that the beginnings of a small twister were taking form around him, fueled by the monstrous technique.

"Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!" The powerful variant cried as he actually THREW the massive spinning disc straight at the frantically struggling demon…

Incredible.

That was the only way that Kitsune could describe the explosion and storm that was created from the technique once it struck the demon and was set off, unleashing all the energy that had until then been focused into the form it had been in. The discharge had even taken the shape of a massive contained sphere, but despite the light it gave off the watchers could still see everything inside of it get torn and ripped to shreds piece by piece. The blonde could see the roaring silhouette of Kishin in the middle of the sphere disintegrate right in front of him before the wind the attack kicked up reached him and he had to cover his eyes or risk getting blinded…

… They had only bothered to risk looking again when the air had calmed and the noise had finally died down. What met their eyes was their counterpart was standing, albeit a bit winded, in the middle of a massive crater where Kishin had previously been pinned down.

"He is so strong…" Kitsune whispered in disbelief.

Kazama nodded. "Yeah, he is. Stronger than all of us." Then he scowled. "This power… should have been ours."

Something in the teen's gaze chilled Kitsune to the bone.

They were so focused on their counterpart's display, none of them noticed that the summoned army of Demons suddenly get slashed to miniscule pieces in a single instant… and their remains disintegrate into dust in the wind in the next. All that remained was the supposed immortal man that had been fighting them, yawning widely and standing unharmed…

* * *

><p><strong><em>The puppet master, Sasori<em>**

"So… let's see if I got this right," the 'Feral Gale' -another stupid nickname, in Sasori's humble opinion- said, "you are, like us, a group of dimensional travelers… and like us, you have been forced into insane adventures and fight against really powerful beings. Unlike my end, though, you have no idea what the hell what you are doing, what is going on, and so far have had no one to give you all the details on why this is happening."

"Unfortunately," Kazama replied. They had, after the events on the plains, entered the village Kishin had attempted to destroy to begin his conquest of ruling this dimension. After reserving the whole terrace of a restaurant with the money of the one called Ghost, much to his dismay, the whole group, including Zuzushi had sat and ordered for food. Obviously the presence of the latter had scared just about everyone except the cook and the waitresses away. This was obviously not a place that hosted many supernatural creatures.

Not that Sasori really cared. Chibaku was currently helping him rebuild his body, much to the waitresses' horror, and he had listened to the discussion with utmost concentration. He had too, since these people were apparently to him what the puppeteer was to ants.

"Three Uchiha Madara…" Ghost muttered. "That blows. One's bad enough for you guys given your current levels, but three… and one of them has the Rinnegan, and another a Bijuu-killing technique. Talk about overkill." He smirked. "Reminds me of the time I messed with Aizen, Sephiroth, and Darkside at the same time. Ah good times."

"Who are you talking about?" Kakashi asked, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"No one of importance," Ghost shrugged, as he devoured a small cake. "What is more important is how the hell did you ended up here. More importantly, how you managed to open a permanent portal to one of the fiendish plane by accident, just like that. But of course," he smirked, "Shadow is taking care of figuring that out."

"Does it hurt, boss?" Naruko asked, concerned about her elder's current situation.

Kazama shook his head. "I have been in worse situations before."

Well, Sasori certainly didn't doubt about that. The teen was surprisingly calm for someone strapped on a table, without a shirt, and having his belly examined by a raven-haired woman who was apparently not so interested in his well-being. If the puppeteer hadn't known better, he would have seen the scene as some kind of sadomasochist relationship… or something worse.

"And, honestly, it's not really unpleasant," he added, as Shadow touched his skin, "as long as you ignore the fact that everyone is watching you."

Zuzushi snorted as she tore into a slab of meat. **_"Believe me, it happens more often than one would think."_**

"But generally there is blood involved," the Feral Gale nodded as if there was nothing wrong with what he just said. "Still, I wonder what you went through if you actually somewhat enjoy this situation. I mean with Ero-ni…"

"What happens in kinky sex time with Anko and Hana stays in kinky sex time with Anko and Hana!" Ghost shouted with authority.

"And forever more I will knock on doors before I enter someone's room…" The strongest blonde there shivered, traumatized by his memories.

"Let's just say that having Orochimaru break your seal while you are in the middle of a transformation is a little more painful." Kazama sighed, resiging himself to the fact that his new friends were more than a bit touched in the head.

"A good thing that Sarutobi killed him in our world then. Second time's the charm." Ghost shrugged before turning to his sister. "You should feel yourself lucky, brat. The last time she was so focused on a man's belly was when she was with her ex… shit."

Zuzushi raised her eyebrows in horror, the Feral Gale paled dramatically… and Shadow did nothing. Obviously whatever the man had just said was taboo.

The 'Cursed Memory began to shiver. "She's not responding. Tis a bad omen. Normally a slip would leave me absolutely…"

**_"Annihilated?"_** Zuzushi suggested.

"Maimed and ripped to shreds… several times?" His apprentice added.

"Yeah, something like that…" The master laughed nervously before turning to Kazama. "… Damn kid, your seal must be one hell of a clusterfuck on your gut if she's so focused that she didn't hear me."

Sasori frowned. "Care to elaborate?"

"Believe me, you're better off not knowing," Ghost laughed. "Unless you want to share the pain I'm bound to suffer soon, it's better not to ask."

Silence.

"So…" Haku trailed off. "You are, if I understand well, the equivalent of gods?"

"Sort of," the man replied. "We are members of the Oogakari clan, or well, that's what we're calling ourselves for now. We're monstrously powerful humans that are further boosted by Zuzushi, making us… sort of human shaped deities tasked to keep her company and rein her in if she does something stupid. Zuzushi, on the other hand is a monstrously powerful goddess, the creator of the multiverse…" He raised his hand as Chibaku and Naruko opened their mouths, "and it has already been proven. I don't know what your Kyuubi are talking about, but they are either lying or ignorant of the truth."

"But… what is exactly the multiverse?" Kakashi asked. "We journeyed through it without really understanding what it is…"

Sasori was immediately all ears, much like the rest of the Arashi clan.

"Basically, if a single Universe is like a tale… then the Multiverse would be accurately described as multiple "tales" that run along one another without intersecting most of the time, like a giant library of stories," the god-like man explained. "It doesn't stop there though, as each story can have multiple, if not infinite variants which also qualify as their own individual universe."

The immortal paused and looked around to see that only roughly half of his audience was actually getting the full picture.

"Ok, let me put it in a different way. Imagine that the history of the world is one that is narrated orally. Everyone that listens to it will then narrate his own version, with some modifications. It can vary from details to whole plot twists to an outright different tale with another conclusion and none of the characters are the same, but the core fact is that they are always different from everyone else's. Each universe is a version of one reality consisting of one of these stories, and they are all different in one way or another. Basically, it all boils down to the ever present 'what if'."

"What if?" Sasori asked, beginning to understand.

"What if a rock had fallen on this person's head, what if a doctor had chosen to become an artist instead, what if a god had chosen another person as his champion, what if someone had lifted his finger while sleeping, what if you guessed "true" on a test instead of "false"… the list continues on indefinitely." He smirked. "Basically, for each possibility and chain of possibilities that can possibly exist, a new world is created."

**_"And as there are many, many tales in existence, each with their own _****_variants_****_,"_** Zuzushi continued. **_"The end result is an infinite number of different tales, each with an infinite number of variations, and they all form a great tapestry we call the multiverse. _****_… One that I take all credit for making, thank you very much."_**

"So…" Chibaku trailed off. "To put it simply, were all like characters from a tale escaping from our version and inviting ourselves into another?"

"Like us," Ghost confirmed. "We are like, living, self-aware pieces of a chess game inviting ourselves onto one chessboard, and introducing randomness and the unknown factors to an otherwise completely ordered and planned game to make a new variant. We are immune to fate, or the people that move and influence the other pieces, and thus its worst enemies." He paused before grumbling to the side about fate being an ugly assed bitch and not leaving him alone.

"Cool…" Chibaku muttered.

"That's awesome!" Naruko shouted. "Naruko Uzumaki: the multiverse's most surprising and unpredictable ninja of all times!"

Haku, Kitsune and Kazama grinned sheepishly at that… but Sasori only frowned. "I assume it's not always a good thing."

"Of course not." Ghost snorted. "When you screw with fate, anything can happen. A hero's planned death can be averted… but a bastard's awaited defeat can also be prevented by accident as well. You have to remember that even though that there are multiple worlds and themes, literally anything can still happen, both pleasant and not. Thankfully my family has had enough experience that we know what the hell we're doing now so that we can keep cluster fucks to a minimum, but trust me on this, things have still gone horrifically wrong on us more than we'd like to admit."

He smiled sadly. "Believe me, it really sucks when you have tried really hard to help someone you actually like, and instead accidentally not only caused his death, and the death of just about everyone, but you wound up saving some evil overlord asshole who then proceeded to take over the reality you were trying to save."

_It would be indeed be crushing, to see a lifetime's worth of effort being all for naught,_ Sasori thought. I_t's exactly what I had felt when the Sandaime had broken my dreams._

"But anyway," the Cursed Memory continued, turning to Kazama again. "From what I've pieced together, your story isn't so different than the one of my apprentice, though with a few key differences. Orochimaru and the Akatsuki are still doing their thing, Jinchuuriki are still treated like crap, and the civilian council and Danzo are still out for your blo-"

"This is mostly true, except the last part," Sasori interrupted. "There is no civilian council… and Danzo is not so hostile, or at least our information doesn't indicate he is. Many clan heads, like Hiashi Hyuuga and Shikaku Nara, are the masterminds behind a conspiracy targeting the Kyuubi's vessels."

Both Ghost and the Feral Gale raised their eyebrows, with different degrees of surprise. "Hinata's dad?" The new Naruto wondered.

"Well I did say there were differences," the Cursed Memory muttered, before looking at his disciple. "Don't worry, they aren't bastards at your home. Pretty nice guys… when we aren't screwing with them at least… and so long as we keep Crypt away from them."

Kazama didn't seem to agree, but kept his mouth shut… for a short moment. "By the way, how did you end up helping my counterpart?"

Ghost grinned. "Well it all started when I teleported into his soul while being drunk out of my skull."

Everyone dropped their jaw… well, except Shadow, Zuzushi and the Feral Gale. The first didn't even react, the second smirked, and the third grinned sheepishly, completely embarrassed.

"What?"

"Well, in case you haven't understood yet, Shadow is a bit bipolar," Ghost chuckled. "I made a joke on her weight…" He briefly stared at the girl, who was still ignoring him, "and ran the fuck away, escaping to another dimension when she cornered me. Long story short, I ended up interrupting a Bijuu-extracting process… with Naruto in the middle."

"I was pretty much dead because of Danzo's betrayal at the last second and Akatsuki ended up capturing me." the Feral Gale continued darkly. "Ero-ni," Chibaku raised an eyebrow at the nickname, "then used his powers to make us jump back in time, and helped me avert many future tragedies, while training me. I may look like I'm 14, but mentally I'm closer to 18." He paused before glaring at Kazama. "… I miss being tall damn it…"

Under normal circumstances, Sasori would have said that time-travel was physically impossible, but since it was a deity (or someone as close as you could be) that was talking, it was probably the truth…

"Finished."

Everyone stared at Shadow, who leaned back into her chair and began compulsively eating the pile of candy in front of her. "I'm going to devour the whole restaurant's reserve… no, the whole town's," she muttered to herself before locking eyes with Kazama.

"Congrads, mister 'I stole the power of a god'. You can officially warp reality to the fifth dimension, and if you can't yet change the way the world is pieced together, then you will soon."

Silence. The girl continued to eat, apparently unconcerned with the current situation.

"… Care to explain?" Ghost asked curiously. "Other than you being able to create on the seventh dimension and me being able to destroy on that level, I don't think I've heard of anyone with the ability to accidentally get anything that screws around with the fabric of reality above the fourth."

"The kid has drained a part of Death's power," Shadow explained before eyeing the traveler's lazily. "You all know that the Shinigami is responsible for the creation of the seal, right? Well, apparently, in this kid's particular multiverse, the Shini-"

"Multiverse?" Ghost blinked, surprised. "Shit, that explains a lot..."

"Yeah, you heard that right: they don't come from our multiverse, but from _another_," the woman commented.

Sasori blinked, and he wasn't the only one. Zuzushi's eyes narrowed. **_"… Hmm… that makes sense. There are infinite multiverses in existence that share common phenomena much in the same way that alternate realities do so… however traveling between that particular gap is rather… uncommon. I just happen to be one of the few entities that is capable of manifesting a multiverse, however I am not conceited enough to actually believe I am the only one able do so, nor do I doubt that some may have manifested by sheer chance … I just never bothered to look around to look for others…"_**

"It does sound crazy," Shadow continued, "but just as there are an infinite number of variations of one universe, there are an infinite number of variations of the multiverse, where some deepest core rules are different as well. What if the Shinto creation myth were correct? What if Zuzushi wasn't the one that created the multiverse? What if no god had created the multiverse? What if a god-like maniac had succeeded in annihilating the multiverse? Etcetera. Etcetera. The base foundation of simultaneous balanced energy, physical, and temporal manifestation can be pretty finicky at times so it does make sense theoretically."

"Euh…" Naruko bit her lip. "I haven't understood everything…"

"Me too," Kitsune pointed out.

"I don't care," Shadow replied. "Now, can you just shut your mouths and let me finish my explanation?" Her tone indicated to everyone that refusal to obey would have deadly consequences, so everyone fell silent. _Again._

"The general version of your _universe's_ Shinigami in OUR _multiverse_ is, well, not weak, but simply incompetent at his job," Shadow continued, "and while he did make a seal as strong as your own, there were some… small complications, although that may have been another 'what if' scenario. The Shinigami of your _multiverse_, which is what your _universe's_ version is a fragment of is first, far more powerful than ours, and is more importantly constantly powering the seals holding back the Kyuubi instead of simply slapping down the mark, twisting the rules of time and space with the seal to do the hard work for him, putting in a bit of power to keep everything in place, and calling it a day, which is what ours did."

She looked at all the blondes in the room. "This goes for all of your seals, and it completely prevents the Kyuubi from tearing it apart or controlling its container. But when Orochimaru twisted your seal… he created an imbalance within it."

She sighed, and eyed Kazama. "From what I can tell, your Kyuubi had more or less passed half of its chakra through the seal in your fight, and a good lot of its mind as well. But the shit hit the fan when Orochimaru closed it literally on top of all that power. It created an unstable void inside the seal, one that had to be filled. So the seal, to stay in place, acted like a pump, and filled the void with the only energy it had a full access to: the Shinigami's power."

She touched the seal. "Then, your parents managed to fix the seal while it was still draining the god's power and open it up again to pull back the rest of your demon's juice. This sent the Kyuubi's chakra back into the seal, inadvertently causing a massive feedback and overload. This in turn forced the Kyuubi's chakra that the seal had been slammed closed upon to rage around into the very foundations of the seal itself, messing with it even more."

The woman stretched and leaned back into her chair with a tired sigh. "In the end, despite the odds of it literally blowing you up with both demonic and god based power, it managed to regain its stability by adapting its form with the Yondaime's help… but this time, the locations of the energies inside you had been reversed. The _Kyuubi's_ chakra is now powering the seal holding back the _Shinigami's _essence."

Shadow then touched one of the nine circles with a spiral inside. "These nine drawings are the sealed tails of the Kyuubi, who has been reduced to a state of mindless chakra. The 'eye' is the trapped Shingami's essence." She smirked. "Your seal isn't a transportation device. It's a filter that prevents the formidable energy kept behind it from overwhelming and consuming you, much like the original seal did for the Kyuubi."

The Cursed Memory nodded in comprehension. "Makes sense. It's unlikely as hell but it does sound logical. Explains the strange void in your soul that I sensed earlier too."

"Anyway," Shadow coughed. "The basic functions of the seal are still there, it's just what is kept inside has changed. It still has the functions 'tap in the power when the wielder is in danger', or 'tap in it if the wielder wants it'."

Kazama, meanwhile, had gone pale. "You mean that…"

"Teleporting between worlds is simply one of the Shinigami's many abilities that you are instinctively using by channeling the power kept in the seal because it is the easiest to control," Shadow confirmed, before beginning to eat another chocolate bar. "But since you aren't born with it, your hold over it is… fragile. The more you are using it in short succession, the more the seal assumes you're in danger, the more it taps into the power, and the more your transportation becomes hazardous."

"When you tried to escape from this 'Sharingan-forest', you pulled out so much power that instead of jumping into an alternate universe, you teleported in another multiverse, badly damaging the fabric of reality in the process," she swallowed her food, "and opening an unstable yet still permanent side portal between this reality and a fiendish plane, aka _HELL_." The girl smirked. "You should consider yourself very lucky… you might have created a black hole instead, or fused this plane with hell, or even destroyed them both altogether."

She gave the boy a cold and unwavering glare. "Listen well kid. You must never, and I say never, use your power when it is not safe to do so, or else the consequences would be cataclysmic for you and the world around you." A pot containing ink and a brush appeared out of nowhere. "I'm gonna make another seal for you that will act as a timer, indicating how much time it will take for you before your current seal is ready to allow you to safely travel..."

"How much will I have to wait, approximately?" Kazama asked curiously.

"Depends," she replied with a careless shrug. "It can go from a few hours to days. It's quite difficult, since most of the seal's working is still a bit mixed up from the initial breakdown, even to me. My brother Crypt could have probably found the pattern, stabilized it, and given you a pretty sweet upgrade, but he's off doing who knows what right now..." She sighed. "Damn freaking idiot and his obsession with the floor..."

Sasori scowled. "If jumping into different worlds in quick succession is now impossible-"

"Then Madara is going to track us down sooner than we all expected..." Kazama finished. The teen stared at the self-proclaimed Oogakari clan. "Can you help us deal with them?"

Ghost's expression immediately told Sasori that the answer was going to be negative. Shadow briefly blinked, and Zuzushi had frowned. **_"No," _**The dragoness declared. It was not a decision. It was a fact.

"Why?" The teen asked vehemently, the rest of his group staring at the scene silently.

**_"You are out of my jurisdiction,"_**the deity replied. **_"Under normal circumstances, I would have gladly aided you, since your enemies seem to be quite the challenge and interesting fight... but as long as they haven't put a foot in_****my****_multiverse, they are not my problem. If I were to go into_****your****_multiverse, whatever pantheon ruling it could interpret it as an attempted invasion and respond with force. It could easily end up escalating to a cosmic war, or worse, bring the attention of alien evil deities upon us all,_****possibly****_as strong as myself, though I doubt there are many existences that fit that category."_**

She glared at Kazama.**_ "Despite my position as this multiverse's creator, I am far from omnipotent. There are other gods here that require that I keep an eye on lest they do something stupid that will take forever to correct. Leaving, even for a short time, might encourage them to strike and damage the stability here while I am away... and let's not talk about the fact that your simple presence here is increasing all these possibilities with each passing second. So no, I can't help you."_**

"I don't mind a good fight," Shadow declared, "but, honestly? I think that you should leave as soon as possible... or at least, only you, mister Kazama."

"Why?" Sasori asked.

"Because the divine essence he contains is an alien element here," she explained. "No one knows what sort of anomalies a prolonged leak of it can cause in our multiverse, since it hasn't really happened before. Crypt might have created a good filter, but..."

"He'll take too much time to find and get off his ass, especially when he doesn't want to do anything," Ghost finished.

The Feral Gale frowned. "What about me?" He asked. "I'm not bound by anything. I can help out."

"You are not at the level needed to fight one Madara yet, let alone three," his master said. "You're strong enough to take out a biju and maybe a Kage with some luck, but you still need time to grow, mature, and gain more experience. I can probably follow these guy's trails to their multiverse if needed with my powers, but for now they're on their own." He put on a small grin. "Well… on second thought, we can mess with the route they take if they travel to our multiverse so that the Madara will take longer to get to them… I'm thinking of rerouting them through a care bear world…"

"I... I see..." Kazama trailed off with despair in his voice. "I understand..." He muttered. "I understand too much well... and I have to act on that..." The teen stared at his group. "Everyone... you will stay in this world."

"Bos-" Naruko began, but her teacher interrupted her.

"I'm the only one that the Madara are after," he declared. "We won't be able to defeat them, that is sure, but here... here, they won't come after _you_, and you will be safe." He stared at Shadow. "I need to be a bit alone for a while... could we get some privacy?"

She nodded… before grabbing her brother's arm in a vice like grip. "Ghost."

The man began to sweat profusely, knowing that something painful was going to happen to him soon. "Yes?"

"It will take me around twelve minutes to find this guy and put the seal on him, but it will take at least twelve _hours_ of torture for you to atone for insulting my weight and speaking about the my relationship with the _prick_. Please, patiently follow us and wait for your punishment while I finish working."

The Cursed Memory paled…

And then ran away as fast as he could... or rather, tried, since his limbs didn't move.

"… Idiot," Shadow muttered, as her… shadow… fused with Ghost's. "You really think that after spending so much time teaching Shikamaru about the true nature of darkness manipulation, he wouldn't remind me of some of the older tricks I used to do?"

"FUCK!" The doomed man shouted frantically. "FUCK FUCK FUCK!"

"Yeah, sucks to wait, but don't worry, I'm going to keep an eye on you!" She chirped, before teleporting away with Kazama and the Cursed Memory before anyone could react.

Sasori hated to admit it, but the look on Ghost's face was... terrifying, to say the least.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Traveler, Kazama<em>**

Kazama was staring at a nocturne sky, trying to ignore Ghost's screams, as he was receiving a brutal beat down from Shadow. Strangely, despite the sheer insanity of the two, he couldn't care less about them. They didn't want to help them, so they didn't deserve his attention… he had the power he needed.

_I have the power of a god,_ he realized._After years of depending on the Kyuubi… now I am depending on the Shinigami. Is it fate? Divine intervention? Pure luck? But if for each possibility there is a world born of it, can we really talk about luck? Are we really free to decide our future?_

**_I have free-will,_** he thought, as a mechanical squeak resonated inside his mind. **_If the world is guided by fate, and that I am free of it, then does it mean… that I am really human? Am I not closer to godhood? When I have the power and the freedom of a god, who is to say that a god am I not?_**

… _What am I thinking?_ He wondered, as the sound ended. _I am raving… it's only a disillusion. I am beginning to think like Orochimaru, and I know how it turned out for him. I am just human… and it's better off like that. I wouldn't trust myself with the role. With great power comes great responsibility, after all… and I don't even control it that well to begin with..._

His head jerked to the side, and he saw Naruko standing behind him. "Boss… it took a lot of time to find you," she began. "Can I sit with you?"

"Of course," he complied, while ignoring Ghost's desperate high pitched screaming in the background. Kazama didn't know what Shadow was currently doing to him, and actually didn't want to know. Trying to reason with these mad, egoistical gods was a waste of time…

_Though they have been a bit helpful,_ Kazama admitted as he looked at the seal on his left palm. It looked like an eye, with the number twelve inside. Naruko also stared at it. "How does it work?" She asked.

"It indicates the number of hours before it's safe to teleport," he explained. "When hits zero, then the 'different energies are balanced'," he quoted Shadow, "and then I can teleport without any problem."

"It's quite precise," the blonde girl trailed off. "I mean, I can't still believe you have the power of a deity sealed in you." She bit her lip. "Though it's just as incredible as containing a Bijuu."

"I know," he responded. "But with all the craziness that happened, I can't find the energy to be troubled. Nothing is going to surprise me anymore after that."

"I wouldn't bet on it," a new voice said. "Believe me, this day was only borderline normal for me. Ever become the leader of three revolutions overnight without knowing it? Trust me, it sucks." The duo tilted their head to the side, just in time to see the Feral Gale sit down beside them. "Sometimes, I wonder if I did a good thing by accepting that training trip… no Hinata, no rookie twelve, only insane companions and a lot of problems that I have no idea how to approach…" He smirked. "Though we are somewhat alike, about that last part…"

"Yes…" Kazama trailed off. "But unlike us, you can actually defend yourself properly against your enemies."

**_Your power… Naruto Uzumaki's power… should have been ours,_** he thought, as insidious, secret whispers resonated inside his skull. **_It should have been our own by right. It should have been_****mine_._**

"I am a bit envious," he declared. "I mean, I am older than you, and yet I'm still weaker than you." His look darkened. "I wasn't strong enough to fight Madara."

**_But with the Shinigami's power, everything will be fine… with it, I will erase them from creation, and everyone that will oppose me shall be crushed under my heel… with it, I will reach true perfection..._**

"Technically, I'm older than you," the Feral Gale pointed out. "I was brought back in time right after fighting, and loosing, against Madara and virtually half of Akatsuki at once with practically half of Konoha's strongest at my back, meaning that I have three to four more years or so of experience than you… and you didn't get the same training I did. You can still become a badass if you work at it though. You are me after all." He smirked before putting on a serious face.

"But seriously… don't do what I did." He began to shiver. "Being locked in an industrial freezer in only my boxers for over 12 hours at a time and forgetting to tell me what the hell I was supposed to be doing in order to survive… getting thrown off a cliff constantly for over two weeks… and then there's the mental conditioning… those guys are evil…"

"He's right!" Naruko exclaimed, ignoring the new addition's temporary mental breakdown. "Keep confidence in yourself, Boss! We aren't able to fight the Madara yet, but it doesn't mean we will never be able to do so! We hurt them, matched them! They are not invincible… with hard work and determination, one day we will be able to defeat them!"

… _She's right,_ he realized, and the whispers vanished._I don't need the Shinigami's power to defeat them… I just have to develop my own way. I have to keep my hope up._ "It will take a lot of time," he declared, "but in the end, I..._we_ will overcome them. With or without the Oogakari's help."

"That's the spirit," the Feral Gale replied, somehow already back to normal. "If people are too dependent on saviors to rescue their ass, then there will never be any change. The general populace will just be spoiled assholes that way, and tyrants will always continue to show up and rise in power. You have to learn to earn your happy ending instead of waiting for someone to give it to you, or else you will never be able to control your own future."

"And so, I will shape my own," Kazama concluded.

The Feral Gale smiled before apparently sensing something and turned his head to the side to look back. "It seems that you are going to have some company… I should leave," he said. "Just remember you have friends here, and listen to what these guys have to say. See you next time." And he vanished in a puff of smoke.

Seconds later, the duo received a visit from the rest of the Arashi clan.

"Everyone?" Kazama wondered. "What are doing here?"

"Doing our job as family members," Kakashi said, before putting a hand on the teen's shoulder. "Naruto… I know that you must be quite disappointed by not receiving help and the like, and pretty disturbed by the whole seal deal… I am too, I still don't understand everything… but you can count on me. Who cares if they don't help us? We are more than a simple group… we are family, not by blood, but by unbreakable bond. Whatever obstacles and dangers the world will place on our way… we will overcome it together."

"I just want to say that this day won't change anything between us," Zabuza growled. "Even with all the power in the world, you still suck… and I will do my best to correct that. So I'm still going to continue traveling with you."

"Now that we know the limits and potential of your abilities," Sasori said, "it is obvious that the option of simply outrunning our pursuers is gone. I have a few ideas on how to beat them, or at least how to analyze their abilities, but you, and only you, are able to control your power… and I trust you with it. One day, you will be able to use it safely, and I will be at your side to witness it."

"Kazama-san…" Haku trailed off. "I have known despair as much as you do… and I have learned that there is always hope. It doesn't matter if we are alone… as long as we still fight and continue advancing, our future will always be better." She put her hand on his other shoulder. "I will do my best to help you gain your future."

"You gave me a purpose," Kitsune declared. "You gave me what I always desired. A family. Friends. Love. I will stay at your side until the end, and even after if I have to do so…"

"Yeah, same here," Chibaku said. "Guys, I know I'm not the most idealistic person around, but I am an eternal optimist. You will find a way to make things turn for the better… and I will help you with it."

"Yeah… me too, Naruto-nii-san…" Naruko whispered, as she hugged him. "I'm going to stay at your side until the very end."

"Everyone…" he muttered, tears rolling from his eyes. "Thank you. Thank you very much."

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Broken Man, Kakashi<em>**

"So you are leaving already? Together?" the Cursed Memory asked. He was covered with bandages, and eying Shadow fearfully, as if she was going to give him a repeat performance…

Kazama nodded. "I think it is time for us to return to our multiverse. We still have some problems to correct, back in our home worlds. … Personal problems."

"I see… too bad," Shadow muttered.

Ghost snorted, before glancing at the Arashi clan and scratching the back of his head. "Since we can't help you ourselves, I'll give you guys some tips to make things easier for you… somewhat."

Shadow raised an eyebrow amused. "Oh? Be careful brother. Don't want to spoil too much for them."

The supposed stronger of the two ignored his sister. "You will have to be careful with these two pieces of information cause even though they're going to be fairly constant regardless of what world you're in, managing them in each world will vary due to the personalities of those involved and how much of an asshole they can be."

"Get on with it." Kazama grunted.

"You might want to get that temper looked at. Some gods believe it or not, aren't that patient with backtalk." The immortal deadpanned before shrugging and got on with the topic of interest. "Anyways, the first involves getting you guys to master your biju's power." And like that he had all of the family's attention. "Get the help of the jinchuuriki of the Hachibi. He has absolute control of his beast… but you have to be careful with negotiating with the man's brother. He's a bit of an overmuscled emotional asshole…"

Naruko's eyes widened with surprise and hope. "He can help us with controlling our bijuu?"

"Once again it will vary on the mood of the man's brother since he's even stronger than the jinchuuriki," Ghost pointed out, ignoring the looks of disbelief he was getting.

"I'll keep that in mind." Kazama nodded, probably admitting that the information he just received really was more valuable than he anticipated. "And the other piece of information?"

"That…" Ghost frowned as he looked at all the versions of Naruto staring at him, before looking at Kakashi, Haku, Zabuza... and then... "That… I'm only telling Sasori…"

"Me?" Sasori blinked in confusion. "Dare I ask why?"

"You're the only one in the group that can be trusted with info like this. It's too dangerous to be widely known among the others yet." The immortal stated, ignoring the irritated looks that many of the others were giving him. "This is something that should only be known after the others grow up or stabilize a bit more."

"I need to grow up?" Zabuza growled as the puppet master walked up to the man and they held a private conversation. Unfortunately the immortal had done something that prevented any sound from traveling in their direction… but the look of shock on Sasori's artificial face could not be hidden.

"Are you certain that this will be consistent throughout the worlds?" Sasori asked skeptically.

"Considering what I know and how things tend to play out in your branch of worlds, you're more likely to come across a world where Naruto is a female and Zabuza is Mizukage than this not happening." The immortal nodded. "Just remember, if the man I mentioned is dead, then the other one I told you about almost without a doubt will have one… and regardless of that the latter will always be involved in some way with what you want to know and what you never knew of in the first place. The players may change, but the system will almost always keep several key factors that he will know hands down."

Sasori nodded as he began to walk back to the group. "I will keep that in mind. You have certainly given me something to think about. I will see how fruitful your lead is in our travels… but what price do you demand for this?"

"Oh, just the answer to a question," he said while grinning innocently. "How skilled are you in particular at removing misapplied high-level seals?"

"Pretty good," he responded skeptically. "But not as much as I would like. I'm more competent at putting them than removing them."

"Ok..." His smile widened. "Thank you very much..."

"What did he say?" Kazama asked in an almost demanding tone, his eyes hungry for information as the redheaded puppet master returned.

"You will find out in time," Sasori mused, his eyes showing that he was thinking of something that interested him greatly. "This is something that needs to be addressed… delicately…"

Zuzushi snorted. **_"Since there is nothing to say anymore, I'm going back to my island. All that love me, follow!"_** And then she passed through a newly opened portal.

"Not going to be many people," Shadow grumbled. "But since I have already lost one day of vacation..." She briefly looked back at the Arashi clan. "Goodbye everyone… and the next time we meet, you better give me a lot of candy as a payment for my work! You're indebted to me!" She shouted before leaving too.

"Duly noted," Kazama said, while both Ghost and the Feral Gale cringed. _Why do I have the feeling that we are going to suffer for that?_ Kakashi thought.

"Dude… you have no idea of how much screwed you are all…" The Feral Gale shuddered. "It's like signing you own death warrant."

Ghost shook his head. "Another man condemned to serve Shadow's sweet tooth for all eternity… such a shame."

"… Okay, maybe I just did something stupid…"

"Unfortunately," the Cursed Memory confirmed. "But, since you just offered me a good source of amusement in the future, I'm going to be nice and prevent you from wasting your juice for this first jump."

Before anyone could follow his movements, the man took out one of his swords from seemingly nowhere and literally sliced open a nice and clean portal in the middle of the air in front of them. "This should bring you back to your multiverse, if my calculations about the dimensional resonance are right, which they always are." He smirked. "I'm one of the leading researchers when it comes to natural slash metaphysical oscillation and wave pattern physics! So, what kind of world would you like? Would you by chance be interested in one where clothes are not invented? Those are always fun to visit at least once while dimension hopping."

"I suggest the Sharingan-Forest world," Kakashi stated, attracting everyone's gaze. "I have enough experience to know that a Sharingan is one of the only ways to counter another. Grabbing a few before teleporting away can be the key to defeat Madara."

"Too risky," Sasori said. "Just think for a second. What if that the 'Godly Trio'," he sneered, "managed to reach it?"

"I have a way to test that," the Cursed Memory declared as the portal changed form and colors a bit. "This portal will show us if the way is cleared or not."

"Thank," Kazama said. "But why is it... red?"

The Cursed Memory raised an eyebrow before turning to look into the portal. Kakashi imitated him, expecting to see a forest...

Instead, there was only an inferno.

The whole Sharingan forest was burning. The field of flowers had been reduced to a sea of ashes, and the trees were being consumed by flames of different colors. As one of them crawled on the ground toward the portal, its eyes crying black blood and covered with blue fire, even Kakashi shivered.

It got worse when something big stomped on the tree's bark, shattering it. The… creature… looked like a giant mass of black threads having taken a humanoid, bulky form. A red dragon mask served as the monster's face, and was breathing blue fire from the muzzle, quickly incinerated the tree. A few meters away, a similar creature, wearing a purple featureless mask, was butchering armored plants by tearing through their armors with big shuriken made of a black metal.

"What. The. Fuck." Chibaku wondered. "Has someone decided to weed this place?"

"Is it Kakuzu?" the Feral Gale wondered as he narrowed his eyes. "That guy was a pain to kill the last time…"

A sinister chuckle answered their questions. A new figure appeared beside one of the masked creatures, and Kakashi scowled as he recognized the man's mismatched eyes. "I can see you... dear prey..."

"You!" Naruko growled.

"Me," Susanoo declared. "I certainly didn't expect to be able to see you through the veil of space, but, apparently Fate has decided to smile to me. Were you looking for the Sharingan? If so, then I'm sorry to disappoint you," he said as he stomped on a dying flower, "but you won't find one in this place. We couldn't let these disgusting fakes live after so foolishly trying to eat us, after all."

"Well, then I assume we have nothing to say to you anymore," Kakashi said. "Ghost, you can close the portal…"

"You are going to leave so early?" The Uchiha wondered from behind the gate, as he tried to pass his hand through it, only to pull it back severely burned.

Ghost smirked. "Sorry numbnut. People I don't like can't pass through my portals. I would like to say sorry, but it is so hard to resist the temptation to taunt you instead. How's the sanity thing going for you by the way? Just between you and me, I hear that mass domination and destruction is considered boring and stupid by most megalomaniacal standards. You might want to change your goals if you want to stay with the cool kids."

"Little vermin," Susanoo muttered, before staring at Kakashi. "And I took _so_ much time to prepare this little student-teacher reunion for you, Kakashi-san. Don't you want to see your students again?"

The man scowled. "You are insane. They are dead, madman," he stated, not noticing the Feral Gale gazing at him with sadness. "As dead as you can be."

"Really?" said madman asked, amused, as two new figures jumped at his sides. "They beg to disagree."

"Kakashi-sensei…"

Kakashi felt his blood freeze in his veins.

"Kakashi-sensei…" Naruto and Sasuke repeated, their Sharingan and Rinnegan coldly eying the jounin. "Why have you abandoned us?"

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><p><strong><em>Author's Notes 1:<em>**

Before you ask:

Kishin summoning his army was a temporary power. He can't use it all the time... hence, why they need portals to invade other worlds. Also, the characters of Yet Again _might_ appear again, but not before a long, very long time. But honestly, it's not very likely...

Same thing as before, give your point of view and review, and write you soon.

**_Author Notes 2:_**

After reading a few reviews, I decided to clarify some things. There will probably some errors, since I wrote this in a, well, hurry. A quick summary of chapter

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><p>Beforehand, let me explain you who are the characters of the cameo.<p>

They are the characters of Third Fang, and are actually the gods of their own multiverse, helping the forces of good within individual worlds. The characters present are Zuzushi, the original dragon deity, which the other lesser gods serve and follow. Ghost is the strongest of them all, and has the habit of training heroes, like his current apprentice, Naruto (in Third Fang's story). Shadow is Zuzushi's host, much like a jinchuuriki... except that the Bijuu is the boss and can actually leave his container whenever it wants.

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><p>First thing, I screwed up at the end of the last chapter. I now realize that Sasori grabbed the idiot ball, which goes against his characterization in the story. That's my mistake, and I just corrected it, rewriting the last scene to make it realistic this time. No return to the Sharingan-Forest... not in person, at least. It will also change the next chapter a bit. Error is human, and I want points of views to correct my mistakes and improve myself. Critics are here to make writers avoid this kind of things, or at least correct the error before it becomes irreversible.<p>

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><p>Secondly, trying to create an 'aura of invincibility' around the Madara Trio is intentional. I'm trying to make this story more realistic than canon, by averting the 'overpowered youth' and 'sudden power-up' cliche.<p>

The first is the one that always appears in Naruto: a fifteen years old teen can beat someone more experienced, stronger, older, more intelligent and more prepared, because he suddenly gains the power to overcome all opposition, because the opposition is suddenly made weaker, or because of some deus ex machina.

Do you really think that a century-old man who spent all of his time training, fighting, developing his skills, preparing, witnessing battles, memorizing strategies, developing new ways of fighting, genetically enhancing himself and accumulating all the power he could get his hands on wouldn't crush a team composed of kids, teens, and less experienced people?

Take the example of Kakuzu. The guy is a century-old guy with game-breaking powers, a lot of experience, a brain, a strategic mind, and with a lot of resources at his disposal... and yet, he is beaten by a team of kids and one adult without even killing one of his enemies.

That's canon. In a more realistic work, Kakuzu would have probably killed all of his enemies, or at least taken a few of them along with him to the grave.

In my story, the 'power of the youth' is beaten by 'the power of experience'. A fifteen years old teen practicing judo is dead meat for a fifty years old master in the real world. Same deal in my story. The heroes will win not because of some deus ex machina, not because they are the 'new generation', but because they work hard, because they have a plan, because they cheat, because they have a lot of firepower, because they outnumber the opposition, because they have developed their skills, and because they are ready to make the necessary sacrifices. Basically, they will win in the way battles are won in the real world.

The 'power-up' cliche is the one you always see in Bleach: a enemy pawns the hero; the hero receives a new superpower, never-to-rarely foreshadowed before; the hero pawns the villain back.

You see it in canon too: Naruto works for a little while, gains a new technique, and beats all the opposition, before repeating the process again. You never see long training or progressive improvement.

Try this in the real world. It doesn't work. It's not because you become physically stronger one instant that you are going to be a match for someone with a gun.

I blatantly averted/subverted this cliche twice in the story already: first with Naruko, and then with Kakashi. Despite suddenly receiving her Bijuu's chakra, the first still received a brutal beat down from someone that far outmatched her. The second, despite the Mangekyo, failed to do any long-lasting injury to his enemy, and even then, did not have any mastery over his new power... he can use it, but he can't use it as efficiently as a true master of it like Itachi and Madara can. Brute strength is not useful if it is not backed up by skill.

The story is based on slow building. The characters don't have the power magically given to them overnight. They struggle to gain it or to use their own efficiently. Kazama's power is completely useless because he doesn't know how to use it safely, meaning that he will either have to learn how to do it well, or to develop other skills. Same deal with the other Jinchuuriki.

Basically, the dynamic between the villains and the heroes is like the one between three chess world champions and a group of newbies and decent-to-experienced players: all of the first attempts to defeat the masters are doomed to fail, and the second will only win once they have slowly increased in skill, planned, studied the opposition, and realized that only effort and preparations are going to bring them victory.

The Madara Trio is a group of 'Hero Killers', to retake the Tv Tropes expression: they are villains that outmatch the heroes, who aren't protected by the plot when these villains are around. The Hero Killer kills some of his/her enemies, spread dread in the heart of the opposition, and is far stronger than any of his/her enemies for most of the story. Basically, what Orochimaru and Itachi were during their early apparitions.

If you want a vision of this dynamic, you can replace the heroes with the original, young team 7, and the Madara Trio with an Orochimaru that decided to go serious on the kids, fighting them like he fought the Sandaime. The result is the same: the heroes have no hope of matching the villain, until a lot of time, preparation, improvement, and defeats. Of course the villain will seem godlike at first, like Pain. Of course he will seem invincible. The gap is simply too great... until the heroes manage to close the distance and prove that there is no such a thing as the impossible.

The difference with my story and canon is that the process won't be done overnight, but after a long time. The heroes will have to earn their happy ending.

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><p>Thirdly, I know that the conspiracy bit is certainly not what happened in canon, but it is one of the few explanations that can be reasonable. Of course, there is many other, more simpler, or more complicated answers to the big question of the lack of decent training and efficiency. I simply choose one.<p>

And, with the huge number of alternate realities, the existence of a conspiracy is not only plausible, but also to be expected.

That, and I want to add to this story an element that was not developed enough in canon: realistic politic. Honestly, don't you think that any political organism doesn't have sub-groups, infighting, rivalries, backstabbing and a lot of power-struggle? Don't you think that Danzo is the only one scheming against the Hokage? Many people have reasons to do that too, for 'good' or 'bad' reasons, and yet it's always Danzo's fault, in canon or fan fictions, or the fault of the 'civilians'.

Can't clans be power-hungry too? In fact, they are part of the few people living in a military dictatorship like Konoha with the power to back up their ambitions.

That, and the conspiracy angle makes the Naruto world grayer, more complicated. There is not one responsible for every problem, but a lot of independent people with multiple agenda colliding to create problems.

A dictator doesn't create a dictatorship on his own. He has helpers, backers, allies, support, and a lot of conditions to allow his takeover (hence, why the 'villains can't work normally together' is moot). It should also work like that in the Naruto world. Danzo is not the only responsible of everything bad that happened in canon. Same thing with the Hokage.

It's multiple groups of people, sometimes with different agendas, that led to all of the wars, horrors, and problems in our world, and in the one of Kishimoto.

* * *

><p>Finally, the cameo of the characters of Yet again, with a little extra help.<p>

I know that many of you have disliked this part, and think that it was the worst moment in the entire story, but I wanted to do that for a few reasons. I know that I probably didn't do a good job at managing this temporary cameo, and that many of you didn't understand who the characters were, and why they were here, and you are probably right. I could have done a better job, I know, but it is my first story, so it was kind of obvious that I would do some mistakes.

I included this cameo to show that the world doesn't revolve around the main characters of my story.

I wanted to show that the 'Omniverse', composed of an infinite number of multiverses, themselves composed of an infinite number of alternate realities and worlds, was HUGE, and that even if the villains do win, nothing is lost.

All the time, in normal stories, the world revolves around 'the chosen one'.

He/her, and only HIM/HER, can save the world. If the chosen one dies, everything is lost. The villains' victory will be absolute and ever lasting.

I'm trying to kill this cliche, or to deconstruct it in one of the worst way possible. It will depend on my future plans.

Take the example of Naruto: refereed as the child of the prophecy, he is supposed to bring a revolution that will either save or destroy the world. Can't there be a third option? Do you think that, even if Naruto is dead, the other protagonists are suddenly going to stop fighting and defend themselves? Do you really think that Madara's victory would be guaranteed?

Same thing with Madara. Always refereed as the ultimate evil, the one having caused most of the bad things in the story, with Danzo and Orochimaru, his defeat is supposed to bring about a better world... but do you really think that Madara, Danzo and Orochimaru are the only causes of the state of the Naruto world? Do you really think that with them gone, everyone will live happily even after forever? Do you really think that evil, selfish people will suddenly stop from rising into positions of power?

As long as there is humans, there will always be a conflict. Heroes will always continue to rise to topple tyrants, and tyrants will always rise to impose their power. We call this process History.

My characters' fate won't determine the one of the whole Omniverse. Even if the Madara succeed in exploiting Kazama or turning him to their side, it won't be the end of freedom and peace everywhere. If the Godly Trio is gone, the world won't turn into an eternal utopia. There will always be people to oppose both heroes and villains in their respective quests.

Also, the cameo was a good way to give some insight (hence the previous chapter's title) into many elements of the story: the multiverse/omniverse, the nature of the seal, the way it works... and also, to foreshadow many future plot lines: the future meeting with Killer Bee, some elements of the conspiracy (the vague discussion between Ghost and Sasori), the possible applications and drawbacks of Kazama's power, the Shinigami's role later in the story, Mikaboshi's influence, goals, and modus operandi, Kazama's future questions and characterization, and especially the 'free-will versus fate' question that will be pondered and examined many times in the story.

In the end, I think this little cameo will give more depth to this fiction, which is why I added it in the first place.

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><p><strong><em>Summary of Insight:<em>**

- After beating Kishin's flunkies, the Arashi clan discovered the hard way that Demon Lords are not to be underestimated. As the creature proved itself to be too strong to handle, almost killing Naruko and Zabuza, Zuzushi and co appeared to save the day. While Ghost and his apprentice defeated Kishin and all the forces he gathered, Shadow cured Naruko from her wounds, and got angered once Naruko and Chibaku explained that their Bijuu had no idea of who they were. But then, she realized that maybe there was something bigger behind that.

- While watching the fight between Kishin and Ghost's apprentice, the Arashi saw what a trained Naruto and a Rasenshuriken could do, making Kazama even more bitter, and slightly jealous.

- While Shadow examined Kazama's seal, Ghost explained the Arashi the nature of the multiverse: each possibility, each 'what if', creates a variation of one or multiple worlds. Shadow then explained the nature of Kazama's seal: while trying to recover from the damage of Orochimaru, it pumped into the Shinigami's power and absorbed a small part of its divine essence. The seal is using it to protect Kazama when he's either in danger or ask for it, allowing him to teleport through worlds. But this power is dangerous: the more Kazama uses it in quick sucession, the more he pumps into the power, with possibly apocalyptic consequences, as it has the potential of tearing reality asunder.

- Shadow also explains that, in the same way there are multiple variations of one reality, there are many versions of the multiverse around, explaining why godlike omnicidal maniacs haven't succeeded in destroyed everything yet, and why the Arashi's Kyuubi don't know about Zuzushi: they come from another multiverse, created in a different manner.

- As a result of the recent revelations, Kazama was subtly influenced by Amatsu-Mikaboshi, which attempted to boost its host's pride and ego by convincing him he was some kind of deity... but failed, Kazama being too humble to become a megalomaniac.

- Forced to leave, as the Arashi presence in another multiverse could have disastrous consequences (like attracting hostile entities or damaging reality), the group however did not leave without having gained a few things: a timer-seal for Kazama indicating when the teleportation through worlds could be used safely; knowledge about Killer Bee; information on the conspiracy, given to Sasori only for mysterious reasons; and a free teleportation offered by Ghost. While looking through a portal at the Sharingan forest, in hope of perhaps snatching a few eyes, they discovered that the Madara were already there and torching the place. Noticing the Arashi, Susanoo decided to gloat, and presented his new paths of Pain to them: Kakashi's students, Naruto and Sasuke, much to their teacher's horror.

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><p>If this is clear for everyone, then I have done my job. Write you next time!<p> 


	15. Chapter 15: Lightning and Clouds

_**Hello everyone, I'm back. Studies are quite time-consuming, but I managed to make this... honestly, I think you won't have more than one-two chapters per month... but more probably, only one.  
><strong>_

_**Special thanks to my betas for their awesome job.  
><strong>_

_**Traveler/Original Naruto: Kazama Arashi.**_

_**Pupeteer Naruto: Chibaku Arashi.**_

**_Werefox/Hybrid Naruto: Kitsune Arashi._**

**_Female Naruto: Naruko Arashi._**

**_Deceiver/Original Madara: Tsukiyomi._**

**_Destroyer/Rinnegan Madara: Susanoo._**

**_Warrior/Collector Madara: Amaterasu._**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I would like too... it would make me richer than everyone HAHAHA...**_

_**... okay, daily evil gloating done. Now, back to the chapter...**_

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><p><em><strong>Chapter Fifteen: Lightning and Clouds<strong>_

Passing through the portal, Kazama saw the Cursed Memory closing it a second later, leaving the Arashi clan to fend for themselves. He had already said he would, but the world wanderer was still unhappy to have gained nothing but words out of this whole mess. True, he also obtained another seal and pretty important pieces of information, but still…

Well, at least Ghost affirmed the world he was sending them to was far away from the one where the Madara had rampaged, and that he would mess a lot with their travel. The Cursed Memory had declared that they were going to have a month or so of advance, or be left in peace forever, but Kazama wasn't so sure of it. The Madara could follow his trail through the veil of reality just like an Inuzuka would be able to smell his scent from the other side of the Land of Fire: pretty easily.

Fortunately, this advance would help Kakashi deal with Susanoo's latest… crime.

Eyeing the jounin, Kazama had to admit that the man was coping well for someone whose students had just been reduced to puppets of flesh… in appearance. Anyone with sufficient awareness could see that the revelation had shaken Kakashi to his very foundations. His gaze was devoid of life and determination, he was as pale as a specter, and looked ready to fall unconscious on the ground anytime.

As the group walked toward the mountains where was hidden the 'Valley of Clouds and Lightning', the place where Ghost had guaranteed the container of the Hachibi was training, Kazama approached Kakashi. "Are you alright?"

"I am, Naruto-san," he replied. "I'm just a bit… tired."

It was all a lie of course. A few stray memories rushed through the blonde's mind… the ones that preceded their crossing of the portal.

_Kazama watched, as different emotions appeared on Kakashi's face. Shock. Pain. Horror. And then, anger. Undiluted hatred, and the will to kill._

_Reacting quickly, Kazama restrained the enraged man with his chakra chains, preventing Kakashi from crossing the portal and falling into Susanoo's obvious trap. The world wanderer struggled a bit to keep the jounin under control. "Kakashi-san, please calm dow-"_

_"YOU DARE?" He shouted to Susanoo, a Chidori forming in his left hand. "YOU DARE!"_

_"I dare," the Uchiha gloated. "You had left these two bodies right in front of your last breach. It was such a tempting invitation... I couldn't resist." He chuckled, and put his hands on the two boys' shoulders. "It's not like they disagreed."_

_"Kakashi-sensei…" Sasuke began. "I should have known. I should have known that you were going to betray me, just like you betrayed my cousin Obito."_

_Anger was replaced by surprise, and Kakashi paled deathly. "No… I did-"_

_"You betrayed me," the possessed Naruto interrupted him. "You abandoned me at my birth… deprived me of the childhood that should have been my own. You betrayed my father's wishes."_

_"I…" tears began to roll from Kakashi's eyes. "I never wanted this…"_

_"You were afraid," Susanoo stated. "Ever since you were born, you were meant to be a failure, Kakashi! The son of another broken, useless tool, your fate was written in blood and tears!" The Uchiha chuckled. "You are nothing more than a fraud, a dead man still walking! You bear the eye of my descendant, without deserving it!"_

_"It… it is not true…" he trailed off. "Obito…"_

_"Obito is dead because of you!" Sasuke shouted. "Just as my family is! Why weren't you looking for me? Why didn't you help me, why didn't you train me well?"_

_"Why Kakashi-sensei?" the possessed Naruto asked. "Why were you so selfish? Why couldn't you die instead of my father?"_

_The last sentence immobilized Kakashi, making him look like a statue, much to Susanoo's perverse amusement. "Why indeed? Because it is Fate's will, my dears. Because Fate cursed him to suffer for his own sins, and the ones of his father! Beca-"_

_"Okay, once fate talking starts I have to step in to prevent this from getting all annoying and philosophically irritating," Ghost interrupted him, clearly not as disturbed or into the moment as the other dimension travelers. "I've had enough of this crap. Zombie children loved ones is a nice touch, but it's been done before more times than I can count." The immortal shook his head condescendingly at the three confused Madara. "Have some creativity for once." He smirked and pointed at the portal lazily. "As punishment, you three have to go through a small penalty game."_

_The portal shattered upon itself, and the images of the three surprised Rinnegan wielders vanished._

_The Cursed Memory sighed and scratched the back of his frustrated. "Simply using the dead as puppets is already pretty bad in terms of karma… don't glare at me Sasori-san you know it's true to a degree… but this was done out of pointless cruelty to play mind games instead of doing it out of necessity. You guys have some really twisted fucks after you…" He shook his head. "Waltz would probably have annihilated them a few hundred thousand times over for that shit they just pulled, but I managed to pull up a quick alternative punishment…"_

_"What… happened?" Kakashi muttered, his gaze empty. "What… has he done to my students?"_

_"This is one of the Rinnegan's main abilities," Ghost explained somewhat reluctantly, knowing that he should tone down his aloofness for the scarecrow's sake. "Its wielder can control up to six other dead bodies at once while slapping a different but specific overpowered ability onto each one, see through them, and use the Rinnegan's powers through them. It's a pretty messed up power, but it's still a rather strong one regardless as far as your worlds are concerned." He crossed his arms. "Weird thing was that normally you needed those chakra rods in both yourself and the dead from the Gedo Meizo in order to make it work…"_

_"What kind of powers?" Sasori asked. "We need as much info as we can, so…"_

_"Well, the Rinnegan's powers are divided in six 'paths'…"_

_Kazama ignored the conversation, putting his hand on the jounin's shoulder. "Kakashi-san…"_

_"It's nothing," he said with a hollow tone. "I'm used to this kind of things."_

"You know, if you ever need to talk abou-"

"It's very kind of you," the jounin cut him off, "but I told you it's alright." He sighed. "I have had enough of wallowing the past, enough of receiving shit in the face again and again, enough of whining. This last event doesn't make me sad or depressed, Naruto-san." His only visible eye then stared into Kazama's own.

"It makes me _furious_."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Cat, Yugito<strong>_

The Valley of Clouds and Lightning was arguably one the most beautiful places in Kumo, tied with the snowy mountains in the north of the country. There was also the old tomb of the Raikage, and the Turtle Island, where she had tamed the Nibi, like her fellow Jinchuuriki.

Yugito Nii, the eighteen year old vessel of the Nibi hated to admit it, but she was slightly jealous of Kumo's newest champion. Perhaps it was her cat-like nature, but she envied the boy for managing to dominate his beast faster than she had.

This… boy… was only twelve, and yet no one doubted he would be able to control his all tails-mode. He had just finished the ordeals of the waterfall of truth, fully dominating his Bijuu in the process and returning as the newest hero of Kumo. Some were even whispering he would end up replacing Killer Bee as the Hidden Cloud's guardian, a position that Yugito had been coveting since the moment she began to think for herself…

But Yugito was anything but a coward. Even if she had to beat the Nine-Tails in a duel, she _would _get the position.

Having found her to be compatible with the Nibi right after her second birthday, Kumo's seal masters had immediately sealed the Bijuu within her, hoping her undeveloped body would adapt better to the infernal cat than an adult. Despite the disastrous results of the previous attempts at creating a stable jinchuuriki for the Nibi, it worked well for her. Somehow, the sealed Bijuu and the young girl had been able to socialize over their mutual existence as prisoners, and their confrontation at the Turtle Island had been more of playful duel more than anything.

Being treated as an unstable, yet useful weapon for the village was not a situation Yugito had enjoyed, but finally earning people's respect had been something of a drug. The day she had seen them cheer her, if not outright kneel before her, had been the best day of her life. Finally, her parents were able to rest in peace, seeing their daughter become the hero they always wanted her to be.

But even then… this adoration seemed empty.

She was lonely. Beside her fellow Jinchuuriki, the Raikage and Bee's genin team, nobody could really talk to her. To most people, she was some kind of distant, protecting figure, much like Killer Bee. She only enjoyed the company of very few friends. Her mentor's newest team, Samui, Karui and Omoi, with whom she had fought on the frontlines. The Raikage, A, the first adult to recognize her as a human being. His secretary, and her best friend, Mabui. But most of all, the oldest Jinchuuriki of Kumo, the man named Killer Bee. And finally, there was the young blonde...

_**And me, Kitten? **_the Nibi asked, vexed. _**Have you forgotten me?**_

_Not at all, _the young lady replied, as she watched the calm water from the rock on which she was sitting on. _I like you too._

The creature purred. _**Kitten, I would like to amuse myself a bit… can't we hunt something? Like those big mice from your boss' future grave?**_

_You know we can't, _Yugito replied. _Don't you remember what happened the last time we revealed ourselves in that place?_

_**We activated a lot of traps and got chased by the keepers. Overall, it was a funny experience… especially since they failed at harming us, and then when we rubbed that right at their faces.**_

_It didn't help my popularity, _Yugito thought. _We entered a sacred area and more or less trashed it. We got lucky that the Raikage preferred to laugh off our adventure than scolding us._

_**Well, at least we pointed out that the keepers were doing a crappy job at protecting the tomb, **_the Nibi said.

_I don't want to try again._

_**You're such a killjoy, Kitten, **_the creature snorted. _**Can we at least hunt **_**something**_**? Like one of those savage, disgusting lizards hiding in the corners of this valley?**_

_Maybe, _Yugito conceded. _But only after Killer Bee has finished sleeping under his rock. I don't want to have him interrupt us with his rhymes…_

_**If you can call those horrors rhymes, **_the Nibi grumbled. _**Sometimes, I really pity Hachibi-sempai. I wonder how has he managed to keep his sanity after spending years listening to his container's antics…**_

_Apparently, he can turn itself deaf at will, _Yugito stated.

_**Lucky bastard… **_the Nibi fell silent, and then hissed. _**Kitten, we have intruders coming from the south.**_

The young woman got up, instantly on her guards. _Enemies? How did they manage to pass the great wall without being detected and apprehended?_

_**I don't know, but their souls are quite… **_the Nibi stopped, before growling. _**Three of them are Jinchuuriki.**_

… _what? _Yugito asked, as she stealthily advanced toward the south, intending to obverse the newcomers. _Impossible. Suna's vessel has been captured by Darui's division and is imprisoned within the Vault, the Sanbi is still roaming the sea, and Iwa is our ally. The only enemy vessels are the ones from Taki and Kiri, and we have a ceasefire with the second. How can there be three unknown Jinchuuriki here? Unless… perhaps Iwa has decided to betray us… but it doesn't make any sense, no?_

_**Why are you asking **_**me **_**this? I don't know more than you, **_the Nibi replied. _**However… this strange… I recognize many of the chakra signatures as the Kyuubi's… all of the Jinchuuriki have the same chakra, even if one is completely chaotic and dissociated…**_

This made Yugito pause for a few seconds. _I thought only Kinkaku and Ginkaku had ever succeeded at assimilating the beast's chakra? The last person that tried to imitate them by consuming a Bijuu's flesh ended up dying!_

_**Apparently, those two have gained a few fan boys, or fan girls. After so many people tried the same thing, it was normal that at least a small percentage of them were successful… however, I wonder what are their intentions. They don't seem to want to hide their presence, and do not radiate with hostility… well, excepted one of them. It is even more insane than Shukaku.**_

_Emissaries, perhaps?_ she wondered, before hiding behind a rock to watch the intruders. She carefully studied them, using the Nibi's vision to pierce their disguises… and her eyes widened in shock and surprise.

Two of them were Naruto. Under their henge, they looked exactly like the young blonde, with the exception of their outfit and soul, which looked a little different from the one of her friend. Another looked like the Jinchuuriki's female twin, and also had a disturbingly similar soul to Naruto's own.

In their belly, she could see the souls of the Kyuubi. There was no mistake about that. She could have recognized the creature's aura from miles away. However, like their Jinchuuriki, they looked slightly different from the Nine-Tails she knew. One of them, specifically, seemed split in three parts, even if they were all part of the same soul…

_How is it possible?_

_**I have absolutely no idea.**_

While trying to understand how there could four Kyuubi in existence, Yugito stared at the rest of the group. One was wearing Kiri's forehead protector, and his soul was tainted, even if there was still some shed of goodness within him under this dark skin. She easily recognized the man as Zabuza Momochi, and his sword… both had been annihilated when Zabuza had used a suicidal technique to kill the Yondaime Mizukage years ago. She also recognized another ghost, the mysterious Hyoton user that had died fighting Yagura alongside Zabuza… but Yugito had always thought the dead warrior was a man, not a girl. Her golden, calm and female-like soul was a testament of her gender.

With them, another ghost was walking. Kakashi Hatake had recently been killed by Commander Darui at the battle of Shenlong Fort, in front of a hundred of soldiers from both sides. The man's soul was a tortured purple light, exuding despair, pain, and especially rage.

The last intruder was a redhead… and a total unknown. But his soul was special, and not in a good way. It had literally no moral, no real connection to the world, as if it was a machine… but under it all, there was a huge mass of feelings, repressed by fear.

"Three ghosts, three Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, and a total unknown…" Yugito muttered. "How is it possible?"

_**I'm as clueless as you are, **_the Nibi stated. _**But my vision does not lie. They are all alive, and there are three Kyuubi. I don't understand, but I think you should sound the alert…**_

"I know," Yugito sighed, before biting her finger, drawing blood, and making hand seals before touching the rock with her palm. A small and lean black cat appeared right in front of her, eyeing her with curiosity. "Tell the Raikage that strangers have snuck into _the _valley, that some of them are Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, and that they are followed by Kakashi Hatake, Zabuza Momochi, and another ghost. Be swift and fast, and please assure him that I'm not joking."

The cat nodded, and popped out in a puff of smoke. _**What are **_**you **_**going to do, kitten? **_The Nibi asked with an amused voice. _**You know, we do not need any help… instead of lizards, we can capture, or **_**kill**_**these people. **_The tone clearly indicated the Bijuu preferred the second option, but Yugito inwardly shook her head.

_They are too numerous. We need t-_

"It's not polite, to spy on others, you know?" a male voice whispered to her ears, as her eyes widened in surprise. "Calm down. I'm not going to kill you… that is, if you don't try to attack us."

_How did he sneak behind me so quickly? _Yugito wondered. _Nibi, why didn't you warn me?_

…

… _Nibi?_

… _**I can't see his soul…**_

"… what?" she wondered, apparently out loud. The mysterious speaker took it the wrong way.

"We're not here to fight anyone from your village, Kumo-nin," he declared. "We need the hel-"

Quickly, Yugito slammed the back of her head in the man's nose, before hitting his belly with her elbow. Her attacker staggered a bit, and she used the opportunity to grab his armed hand while increasing her strength with chakra, spin, and, smash him on the ground, doing her best not to make too much noise. Kneeling, she took a kunai and approached it from his neck.

Her attacker was a teen probably of somewhere around her age, with blonde hair, blue eyes… and whiskers. Her eyes widened as she recognized the boy. "Na-Naruto-kun?"

The… Naruto's older twin frowned. "I fear that you mistake me for someone else."

"No…" she stated. "The Nibi's eyes allow me to see through any illusions. Your disguise doesn't work on me." _Who the hell is he? _she wondered as the boy's jaw dropped in obvious surprise.

… _**someone that you should be wary of, **_the Nibi replied. _**He is… not normal.**_

_What the hell are you talking about?_

_**Look where there should be his soul.**_

She obeyed… and saw nothing. But she tried to focus, and noticed that the man had in fact a soul, courageous and determined… but simply looking at it was causing her a headache, and blurred images of a star were filling her mind. She had no idea of what was wrong with this guy, but she forced herself not to look at his soul, as she felt something messing with her head. It was the first time something like that had happened.

But even more strangely… there was something in his belly. The remnants of a shattered soul… holding back a miniature, purple sun. Her eyes were burning and she was feeling sick so much that she nullified the Nibi's vision, years of training allowing her not to show weakness in front of that strange teen.

"The Nibi?" he asked, oblivious to her hidden confusion, and Yugito cursed herself for having been so careless. Surprise had overwhelmed her, much to her shame. "You are a Jinchuuriki?"

Yugito shrugged. "Like your three companions… and you too, sort of…" She trailed off, making his eyes widen. _Nibi, care to explain what happened?_

_**He is the host of a powerful entity, much like you, **_the Nibi responded. _**But it is far more alien and godlike than anything I have ever seen… and it has hidden its host's presence from us by subtly messing with our minds. Do not look at his soul again, or you might be enthralled by whatever is sealed in it, or worse, transformed into a raving shell of a woman…**_

"Who are you?" Yugito asked.

"You can call me Kazama Arashi," he replied, surprisingly calm. "And it is not polite to spy on people, miss…"

"Yugito Nii," she said reluctantly. He already knew she was the Nibi's container, so why bothering trying to hide her identity? Though it was strange for a ninja not to know her name… she was a war-hero, after all. "You asked for it by infiltrating this sacred ground. I still wonder how did you manage to get past the Wall…"

"The wall?" He was obviously faking misunderstanding. "What wall?"

"Oh, you know, the Wall protecting Kumo from all invaders, overseen by the best of the best and impossible to break through," she deadpanned. "He's just the size of a mountain and covered with canons."

The boy grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, no idea of what you're talking about," he said with false sincerity… probably. _Nibi…_

_**I can't see if he lies or not, **_the Bijuu replied. _**I told you, I can't see his soul.**_

_Can't or don't want?_

_**Both.**_

Inwardly cursing, Yugito decided to go on with the man's sort of game. "Well, if you didn't get past the wall, I assume you simply used the Yondaime's technique to teleport yourself here. Am I wrong?"

"It wasn't the Yondaime's technique," the blonde conceded. "But we did teleport in this place…"

Yugito snorted. "And I assume you somehow found a way to negate the effects of all of the wall's seals, explicitly made to counter such a mean of transportation?"

"Well, would you believe me if I told you we are using a god's power?" he asked.

"I would be skeptical, but since the Yondaime already succeeded…" she replied, while thinking fast about the revelation. _It might be a trick… screw it, it's probably a trick. Damn, what is the use of a lie-detector if it doesn't work on some people?_

_**It is cool, **_the Nibi shot back, vexed. _**That, and with it you always win at ninja poker.**_

"Anyway," Yugito continued. "What do you people want?"

"We need to see the container of the Eight-Tails," he said.

She snorted. "To do what? Sing with him?"

"No," he replied. "We need his help."

"His help?" She repeated, quite taken aback. She certainly didn't expect such an answer… but of course, he might be lying.

Really, she had become too dependent on the Nibi's vision.

_**Hey, it's not my fault if it doesn't work well on that one guy!**_

"I suppose you need his help to tame your three Kyuubi, and whatever kind of creature is inside of you?" the lady guessed.

"Yep," the teen grinned. "But to be honest, I doubt he will be able to help me. Heck, I doubt anyone can. If he can help my brothers and sister, however…" he locked eyes with her. "Being a Jinchuuriki from Kumo, I assume you know how painful is it not to be able to control your beast's power and have an antagonistic relationship with it?"

_**Well, if that crazy Kyuubi's state of mind is of any indication, I can understand why they need a teacher, **_the Nibi said. _**This creep is scaring me… it has three personalities, for crying out loud!**_

"I do understand," she replied. "But do you really think Kumo is going to help you with it?"

"Well, it costs nothing to ask politely," he said. "Or maybe we can have a deal."

She snorted. "I don't see how a weakling like you could have anything that could interest the Raikage."

The teen grinned. "I wouldn't be so sure if I was you… I have plenty of resources."

And then, he popped up in a cloud of smoke.

Yugito only had the time to widen her eyes as she felt powerful chains winding around her limbs, seizing her and restraining her in less than a minute. She tried to struggle, but she only managed to make the process faster. Unable to move, she saw herself floating above the ground, lifted by blue chains of chakra, before staring at the teen, who was standing a bit far away.

"And never call me a weakling _ever again_."

_Shadow Clone, _she realized, hissing in shame and defeat.

_**This technique splits the soul of the user, meaning I can't distinguish a clone from the real deal, **_the Nibi whispered. _**You got owned, kitten. Want to go Two-Tails on his ass?**_

Focusing, Yugito felt the Nibi's chakra invading her system… and the chains tightening, making her scoff. "I'm not going to allow you to use your powers," the teen declared. "Tell your Bijuu not to interfere or I will snap your neck."

_**Sorry, kitten, **_the creature whispered while it reluctantly obeyed, _**but I can't help you… for now. However, the second we have an opening…**_

_I know, _she said, trying to stay calm while being enraged. The double of Naruto then jumped next to his friends, the chains carrying Yugito with him. The Jinchuuriki realized the whole group had been silently observing the scene from afar, as if it had been planned…

Which it was, as the teenager's comments confirmed it.

"Was it really necessary?" Kazama asked to the redhead.

"Of course it was," the redhead replied. "A demonstration of strength is always needed. The weak are never respected, and we must show that just because we're asking for help, we aren't beggars. That, and we needed her to alert the Raikage."

"When will they arrive?" the Hyoton user asked, not sounding like a ghost at all.

"Oh, they are already there," the redhead nonchalantly said, as he stared at the north.

The Raikage had come… and he was not alone. The tall and muscled man was followed by twenty ANBU, C, Darui, Mabui, Killer Bee… and Naruto.

The real one of course… who was glaring at them with fury in his eyes. Yugito quickly understood he couldn't see through these people's henge.

"He looks a bit pissed," Zabuza deadpanned.

"Not as much as this wrestler," the 'Naruto girl' pointed out, as she stared at the Raikage.

"RELEASE YUGITO!" The man shouted, his soldiers straightening at his sides. "NOW!"

"Of course," Kazama said, as the chains vanished, leaving Yugito to land on her legs. "No need to be angry…"

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU ALL!" The man roared, taking away his shirt and preparing himself to attack. "AN-"

He stopped, just at the moment when he noticed Kakashi Hatake. His eyes almost jumped out of their socket, and he wasn't alone. Darui had dropped his jaw, the ANBU had stopped moving, Mabui and Naruto had lifted their eyebrows, and Bee…

"A specter, that's so much better!" he rhymed. "I thought it was a band of bastards, but they're just ghosts of retards!"

Then… a long silence.

"… that was… uncool…" Darui muttered. Yugito didn't know if he was talking about the rhymes or the situation, however…

_**The rhymes, **_the Nibi stated.

_The rhymes, _she confirmed.

"That… what was that?" one of the false Naruto asked.

"'Dark skin' check," Kazama began. ""Totally strange' check. 'Absolutely bad rhymes' check. He's the Hachibi's jinchuuriki."

"Good… and the Raikage's brother," the redhead continued, before scoffing. "Everyone, I'm sure you have realized that, while our meeting with your friend didn't go as good as it could have, we mean no harm to you."

"Who are you?" A asked. "How can these dead men still be alive?"

Kazama smiled. "Well, it's complicated. Can we speak in a more calm place? Consider us as your prisoners. Put chains on us or whatever you need, but we won't try escaping."

The Raikage frowned, but Naruto then straightened, as he entered the famous 'Chakra Mode', becoming clad in a golden energy. "They tell the truth," he said. "I sense no evil intention within them." He seemed to stiffen when he stared at Kazama, but then his gaze became empty right before returning to normal. "They're good guys, if not particularly nice."

A snorted. "Restrain them, and keep your guards up," he ordered his men, before staring at the newcomers. "I'm willing to give you people a chance to explain yourself, since Naruto trusts you… but the second you try something, you're dead."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Puppet Master, Sasori<strong>_

The Raikage had been incredibly lenient, in Sasori's opinion. They hadn't been chained, no seals had been put on them, and they even had been allowed inside the man's office, only after being stripped of their weapons, objects, and being checked on just to see if they weren't wearing destructive seals. The face of the Raikage's assistant, when she had discovered Sasori's nature, had been priceless.

Of course, they hadn't seen Sasori's hidden assets, and the objects sealed inside of his puppet body, like the scrolls from Uzushiogakure and most of his puppets. If things were to get ugly, the puppeteer could always give everyone secret weapons, and easily recuperate the confiscated objects. He had expected an inspection more… extreme, after antagonizing one of Kumo's Jinchuuriki.

Of course, since this Jinchuuriki was in the same room as them, glaring at Kazama, with her two fellow vessels, the Raikage himself, the man's two bodyguards, secretary (and probable third guard), while the ANBU was waiting on the other side of the office's closed doors, ready to attack anytime, Sasori knew that Kumo was taking them very seriously.

Somehow, it reminded him of his last meeting with the Sandaime Hokage… and Sasori intended to lead the negotiations his way this time as well.

And he had already begun to, by explaining the situation and ordering Kazama and his counterparts to drop their henge, planting the seeds of confusion and doubt in his opponents' hearts.

Of course, he hadn't revealed _everything_. No experienced political players revealed all of their aces since the beginning. The puppeteer had not lied, but simply omitted some information, like the real nature of Kazama's seal, its limits, most of their abilities, their knowledge… giving a slight portion of truth to get people to believe you, while keeping most of it for a later use, was the best strategy possible. It was way better than lying, unless your truth was simply too hard to conceal otherwise…

Sasori's expert eyes stared at the different protagonists on the scene, watching their face, and their emotions. And, he didn't forget, all the weapons they were wearing, just in case he had to take one hostage or fight his way out. He also reviewed the info he had gathered on them, just in case. Yes, he could already see a few differences between his and this world, like Yugito Nii's age or Naruto's allegiance, but he doubted they would have different techniques… or at least, he hoped so.

The office itself was quite big and looked a lot like the Hokage's. You could look at the whole village through a large window, and probably escape by breaking through it. There were some hidden seals that could be used to dampen chakra around, or increase the potency of lightning techniques, hence giving the Raikage, and Kakashi, a decisive advantage should there be a battle.

The Raikage, A, was a bulky man, with an impressive build. He was dark-skinned, had white hair, beard and moustache, along with black eyes and a stern face. He was wearing a Kage's white robes, black pants and sandals. Obviously a taijutsu and lightning jutsu expert.

His bodyguards were jounin-level ninjas, known as Darui and C, apparently the same as the ones of Sasori's universe, if the way they were acting as was of any indication. The first was the Raikage's right hand, if the familiar way he was addressing his superior was of any indication. A laid-back dark-skinned man with relaxed black eyes, shaggy white hair and a sleeveless uniform, this man was probably Kumo's version of Kakashi, a powerful ninja not taking life seriously (or rather, _appearing _not to take it seriously). The tattoos on his arms, indicating his mastery of the black lightning and the storm release, were a proof of that. The other bodyguard was probably relatively new jounin, with his serious expression and tense muscles. Black eyes, blonde hair, a uniform with multiple pockets… probably a medic-nin or a support-type.

The last, non-Jinchuuriki shinobi was the Raikage's secretary, a woman called Mabui. A dark-skinned woman with platinum hair pulled back in a bun and green eyes, she was wearing a green formal attire that was revealing most of her… physical assets. Sasori wasn't interested in woman, his puppet body freed of the dangers of hormones, but he knew that most men viewed the woman as very pretty. Of course, she was probably aware of it like all good kunoichi and able to use her charms for infiltration and assassinations… she could prove herself to be dangerous.

But she wasn't even half as dangerous as Yugito Nii was. A young woman with long blonde hair bound by a bandage, black eyes, and wearing a black and purple Shinobi attire, this Yugito was far younger than the one from Sasori's world, and probably only slightly older than Kazama, but if she could control the Nibi she was not to be underestimated. Kazama had the advantage of surprise the first time, but the kunoichi would know what to expect the next…

The eldest Jinchuuriki was also slightly disturbing him. The strange man was like a younger, less muscular copy of his brother, with a less serious face and a goatee instead of a moustache and beard. He was wearing black sunglasses, an attire composed of a white flack jacket, ropes and forehead protector, and black pants. He was also carrying no less than seven blades on his back, and the seal on his right arm showed to everyone his state as the Hachibi's vessel… and his incredible competence. Most Jinchuuriki died young, and rarely lived more than twenty years, their beast either consuming them or their village killing them.

And finally, there was the new Naruto…

He was apparently more or less of Chibaku's age, and was wearing a Kumo's flak jacket colored in orange, white pants, and the Cloud's forehead protector. He was also carrying two blades, showing that he had some proficiency in swordsmanship (dual wielding was extremely hard), and his previously seen… alternate form… was the proof that he had a good, if not absolute, control over his beast.

So, yeah, they were screwed if the Raikage ever decided to capture or kill them. But Sasori had been in worse situations before, and would adapt himself.

That was the secret of survival.

After the Kumo-nin recovered from their shock and surprise, the Raikage ordered both his troops to confirm the puppeteer's revelations. Both the Kumo-Naruto and Yugito confirmed sensing the Kyuubi inside of Chibaku, Naruko and Kitsune, Mabui checked their seals and declared they were not fake, Darui repeated he did kill Kakashi Hatake himself, and that there was no way he could have survived, and Bee… was making rhymes.

"My disciple has a swordsman-twin!" he shouted happily. "Which ones is the better nin?"

"Kitsune has only begun training," Sasori replied. _Better make them underestimate him..._ "He is not yet fit to beat this youngling."

Of course, everyone stared at him in shock… excepted Killer Bee who grinned happily. "Oh, you are speaking in the secret language of the bees! Here is another brother of the brotherhood of the awesome poetries!"

"I'm not so much of a master of word twisting," Sasori responded. "More like of a lover of all things interesting… what?" He asked to the blank crowd. "I like art… all arts."

"It's a nightmare," Yugito grumbled.

"It's a cool dream," the Kumo-Naruto smiled. "Today, I can see the sun's beam."

"Be serious damn it!" A roared, breaking his desk by punching it, making everyone fell silent. "It is a very important matter!"

"Raikage-sama, your desk…" Mabui muttered. "It is the third this week…"

"Well, then I will buy a fourth one," he shot back, before staring at the Arashi clan. "What the hell do you want from us? Our help when your pursuers track you down?"

"Possibly, if you are willing to give it," Sasori continued, shutting down Kazama's inevitable refusal. The blonde had given the redhead carte blanche for the negotiations, trusting his expertise, and showing dissensions was already decreasing their chances of gaining something out of them. They needed to appear as united as possible. "But, preferably, we would like to… exchange knowledge."

"What kind of knowledge?" the Raikage asked skeptically.

"My friends have some difficulties controlling their Bijuu, and an ally informed us that only the ninja of Kumogakure possess the knowledge to accomplish such a feat." Flattering their pride… "So we want to know if you would be ready to train them. In exchange, we will of course give you techniques, jutsu, information, expertise…"

"It might effectively be interesting…" A muttered. "However-"

"Bro," Killer Bee interrupted him. "Please, accept their proposal. The redhead is a cool guy, and the others seem nice."

"Yeah, Raikage-sama," the Kumo-Naruto added, "they don't intend to betray us. I sensed it when I looked into them with the Chakra Mode. They do have negative emotions in some of them, but they aren't directed toward us."

"I didn't said I'd refuse!" A groaned. "Let me finish!" He stared at the Arashi clan. "I need to ponder this proposal before making a decision. I have already too much work, with the current political situation," Sasori memorized the info for later questioning, "and as such, I prefer we settle this tomorrow. For the moment, you will stay under the ANBU and Bee's supervision until I reach a decision. Mabui will show you where you will stay for the night."

Of course, Sasori knew it was simply a way of saving face. The Raikage probably still hadn't completely dealt with the whole 'multiverse' reveal, and needed time to cope with it, plan, and think how he could exploit the situation to its fullest, while keeping them at hand. He was probably going to ask someone to bring them where they would sleep, some kind of trapped, watched place…

"She will also show you where you stay for the time being, a hostel called the Torappu. You will keep a henge in public. Understood?"

In the meantime, the ANBU would spy on them and give the man detailed information on their psych, shown techniques, way of thinking, values… everything that could be of use. Once the Raikage would have all cards in his hand, he would confront the Arashi again and make another proposition more favorable to him, and then Sasori would have to exploit it and amend it.

It was how negotiations happened in the Ninja World, most of the time, when someone was trying to enlist a defector from another country.

"Now, get out," the Raikage ordered. "Darui, C, stays with me. I have assignments for you." _Or rather, I need to talk with you about this mess, _Sasori guessed as he left the room. He also distinctly heard Darui groan.

"Please follow me, ladies and gentlemen," Mabui politely ordered, as she walked out of the Raikage's headquarter. The Arashi clan obeyed, and the three Jinchuuriki from Kumo followed them. While Killer Bee had been ordered to do so, the Kumo-Naruto declared he simply wanted to get to know his counterparts, while Yugito had decided to watch over them for any sign of danger… though the venomous glare she gave to Kazama clearly indicated she simply wanted a rematch against the blonde.

"Yo, brother Rhymes!" Killer Bee shouted happily. "Would you enjoy a little game?"

"Which one?" Perhaps he could fish out a few info from him…

"A poetry battle!"

"… I would rather like a Haiku competition…"

"Cool," he smirked. "I thought you didn't love them…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Hybrid, Kitsune<strong>_

In Kitsune's opinion, the Torappu was a nice place where to sleep. It was a big, large hostel painted in red and gold, with a large terrace and a great dining room… it was a palace.

_Guarded_, Samehada whispered in his head. _People around and inside it._

It was how Kitsune perceived Samehada's feelings. The fish couldn't hold a real conversation with her wielder (yes, Samehada was apparently a female creature), but she communicated through exchanges of emotions, sensory perceptions, and mental images. She could smell chakra around, and was like having an incredible hunting dog if used like that. Kisame rarely used her as such, preferring to have her suck his reserves continuously in order to train and increase them. Having already enough chakra, Kitsune asked her to help in different ways.

He had also been surprised by Samehada's other abilities. She could record chakra signatures, and track them. She could also exchange memories with her wielder, and serve as a spy for him. In fact, it was what she had originally been created for, before Kisame gained her after killing her old wielder, one she had never really liked anyway. When Kitsune had asked her how she had been created, the sword had responded by sending him a disturbing image of giant green turtle devouring huge whales… which she had 'called' Mother.

In order to preserve what was left of his sanity, Kitsune had decided not to be more curious after that scene.

"Are you alright?" the Kumo-Naruto asked him, interrupting his thoughts. "You do not seem to be focused…"

"Oh," he replied. "It's nothing, Naruto-san…"

"Call me N," he smirked. "It's my codename while on missions. And I completely understand, it's a little paradise here." His smile widened. "I couldn't even talk when the Raikage gave me a room in it."

"You live there?" Kitsune asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Ever since I left Konoha," he said. "The best day of my life."

"I see…" Kitsune muttered. "How did you convince the Sandaime to let you leave?"

"It is… complicated," N replied. The subject was obviously sensible. "I would rather not talk about it."

"Sorry," Kitsune muttered. "It must be a sad part of your life…"

"Yeah." He smirked. "But it's behind me now, so no big deal." He locked eyes with his counterpart. "I still can't believe that you are me… not a clone, not a twin, but _me_."

"I am not exactly you," Kitsune pointed out. _Which is good for you… you wouldn't like having dark and crazy voices urging you to kill people in your head. _"I am simply… what you could have been."

"So I could have been a girl?" He asked, and Kitsune nodded. "Man, it feels wrong on so many levels… don't tell me I could have been a transvestite?"

"… sexy no jutsu."

"… I don't even want to know what you're talking about, Kitsune-kun," he said. "Want help to move in? We're in the same 'dorm', after all. After that, we can do a little training session, don't you think?"

"It's very kind of you, but I'm not that good…" Even if he was beginning to improve under Zabuza's tutelage, he was still only barely passable. He could swing his sword, true, but he couldn't do it well.

"Who cares?" N laughed. "You should have seen me when I began using Minato and Kushina."

Kitsune raised his eyebrows. "Our parents…"

"I call my blades like that," N explained with a smile. "It's my way of paying them tribute for giving birth to me." He stared at Samehada. "What is her name?"

"Samehada," he said, caressing and making her bark happily, much to N's amazement.

"Oh shit, it's alive?"

"Yep," Kitsune replied. "She is a bit timid, but she's really friendly. You can touch her if you want to."

N smirked, and caressed the fish's back, making her lick his hand. "Good sword…"

_Nice, _Samehada thought. _Like._

"She likes you," Kitsune smiled.

"I always had a gift with animals," N declared. "Bee-sensei's island is full of beasties like big pandas. I hope that Raikage-sama will allow you there, so I can show them to you." He smirked. "After I helped you beat the crap out of your demon and bully it into submission."

"It's very kind of you," Kitsune smiled. _He's so nice… so confident… I wish I could be like him._

_Lies._

Kitsune inwardly frowned. _What is the problem, Samehada?_

Lies, Samehada repeated. _Mask. Hidden. Smile on the outside, but not the inside._

_He's… not really what he appears to be?_

_No, _the fish replied, as N explained Kitsune a few things about how to treat animals. _Inside, there is you. Fear… and guilt._

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Puppeteer, Chibaku<strong>_

After having installed himself in his new, individual room… if you could call the little house a bedroom… Chibaku went on to go on with the 'standard procedure', aka checking every inch of the place to look out for all possible traps, see if they could be neutralized by exploiting the fact that their watchers would be more focused on Sasori himself and the other, more dangerous adults. And then give his boss a coded oral report. He had done that so many times that he could have done that with his eyes shut.

_Literally_.

But of course, he preferred to keep his vision. Who knew what could happen? Self-esteem was important, but overestimating yourself was one hell of an idiotic way of getting killed, and the fatal flaw of many great men', Sasori had forced him to repeat again and again as if he was some kind of parrot.

After his search, Chibaku mentally made a list of all the potential problems they would face. _Explosive seals on all the doors and windows, triggered at distance. Little corridors perfect for ambushes. Holes in the walls for use of jutsu from attacking forces. Hidden guards on the roof, third and first floor. Not sure about the number, but I think around roughly fifty. A bigger force on the outside, probably better twice as numerous. No safe way to escape, but dorm-kitchen-wall is the less harmful and dangerous road. Now, just have to find Sasori and tell him that…_

He found him on the terrace… and suddenly regretted his action.

"Ninja in orange.

A demon in his stomach.

Wants to be leader…"

"Blondie prankster kid.

Shapeshifts into busty girls.

Demon fox? Really?"

"… REALLY?" Killer Bee asked to Sasori.

"It's even more ridiculous than it sounds," the puppeteer replied. "Now, back to business…"

"Ah, sorry man," the Hachibi's vessel excused himself, before writing something on a sheet of paper with a pencil. "Kumo-nins are cool.

Don't care about Naruto.

Something is wrong here."

"Kids were friends/rivals.

They became best enemies.

Obsession ensued."

"Believe in yourself!

But you have a Fox spirit!

You cheating bastard."

Both Sasori and Killer Bee looked at Chibaku, who shrugged. "Sorry, I wanted to say that to Naruko…"

"That… wasn't bad for a beginner," Sasori nodded with appreciation.

"Your disciple is a little genius, yeah," Killer Bee said, while writing Chibaku's Haiku. "But next time, I think he should try rap… poetry is almighty, but it's getting old."

"So…" Chibaku trailed off. "Who is winning?"

"Redhead-kun," Bee stated. "All of the Brothers of the Rhymes are equal… except before Grandmasters like him. But the power of my Haiku will one day triumph!"

"Okay…" the blonde puppeteer lamely said. "It's official now. I don't understand anything of what you say."

_**I did… **_the Kyuubi muttered ominously. _**Nothing will be the same anymore now…**_

"Oh!" Killer Bee shouted. "It's my team!" He pointed his finger on three approaching teens. "Get over here and cheer for me! I need your praise to defeat my Haiku archenemy!"

… _is he really insane, or simply faking it? _Chibaku thought, as he stared at the newcomers. _Hopefully, if their serious faces are of any indication, they are at least partially sane…_

The group was composed of two girls and one boy, all one year or two older than Chibaku himself. They were wearing grey-white outfits, Kumo's forehead protectors, and blades. The boy was dark-skinned, had white hair, and black eyes. The first girl was a dark-skinned redhead, with amber eyes and wearing yellow earrings, while the second had a fair skin, short blonde hair, blue eyes… and the second biggest chest he had ever seen, second only to Tsunade._How can she even walk? _The puppeteer wondered. _She should be in pain with all the backaches…_

"Hello, Bee-sensei," the redhead saluted him, before staring at Sasori and Chibaku, stiffening. "Who are they? New musicians?"

"Black cloak…" the boy muttered as he stared at Sasori with a thoughtful look, before his eyes widened. "Bee-sensei! They must be from some kind of cult trying to brainwash you into their ranks!"

Chibaku's jaw dropped, while Sasori simply raised an eyebrow. "And may I ask why you think that?" The puppet master asked.

"Because you wear a black outfit!" the boy continued, the two girls rolling their eyes. "The colors' code is categorical on that subject: black is evil!"

Chibaku face palmed. "Guy, you're wearing a grey outfit! Does it means you are half-evil?"

"I have more white," he replied. "Meaning I'm only a quarter bad!"

"… screw this," the blonde puppeteer sighed. "I give up on trying to understand what is going on."

_**A wise decision, **_the Kyuubi whispered.

"Omoi…" the redhead girl trailed off with exasperation. "The choice of clothing doesn't always reflect the morality of the wearer."

"Yeah," he nodded. "You're right, Karui. Sometimes it is used as a trick… meaning he's some kind of super spy trying to pass himself as evil while working for the good gu-"

It was at this moment that the girl named Karui put her palm on the boy's mouth, much to his surprise.

"Please excuse him," the blonde girl said with a calm, serene voice. "Omoi always sees bad things or incredibly weird things in perfectly normal situations."

"You mean he's always like that?" Chibaku asked, and the girl nodded. "Damn, and I thought I had seen everything in this short life of mine…"

Karui shrugged. "I don't know what kind of life you had to be so jaded, but believe me, you have seen nothing… what's your name, by the way?"

"Chibaku," he replied. "The redhead next to me is me is called Shinja. We're just travelers stopping in Kumo for the time being."

"Nice to meet you," the blonde girl said. "I am Samui, and they are my teammates Omoi and Karui. We are Bee-sensei's students."

"If only they could love the power of rhymes as I do…" the man whined.

"You're awesome, sensei," Karui said, obviously lying. "But…"

"Rap is better, I know!" he smirked. "Here is my new presentation!" He jumped and took a fighting pose.

"I float... like a butterfly. And sting like a bee! 'Cause I'm the Eight-Tailed Beast!"

Silence.

"… if someone needs me, I will be in my room," Chibaku said as he left the terrace, "trying to salvage whatever sanity I've still left."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Girl, Naruko<strong>_

Unlike her friends and counterparts, Naruko had decided to continue her training as soon as she had installed herself. She had asked Mabui for a place to train, who in turn had shown her the Torappu's dojo. Of course, Sasori had already explained them beforehand that they would probably be observed, but Naruko didn't care. She had to improve, and fast.

"Rasengan!" She shouted, as she impacted the sphere on a block of ice. But instead of breaking it, the sphere decomposed itself before it could do any damages. Naruko cursed, as she formed another Rasengan in her palm, trying to maintain the shape with her second hand._ Naruto-sensei has explained me how to do it, _Naruko thought as she slammed the sphere on the ice, _and yet I still haven't mastered it yet._

Once again, her attack didn't do any damage.

"Perhaps you should use a clone, as Kazama-san advised you," Haku whispered.

"I need to master it in its normal form," Naruko stated, as she created another imperfect sphere. "I need to make progress."

"You are always progressing, Naruko," the Yuki assured, as Naruko failed to break the ice wall once again. "You are becoming stronger with each passing day."

"It still isn't enough," the blonde replied, as a few stray memories rushed through her mind. "I'm still too weak. Far too weak."

Haku simply frowned sadly. "It's about Kishin, isn't it?"

"Yes," she confirmed, creating another Rasengan. "Each time I fight someone, I ends up extremely injured and have to wait for someone to rescue me. First time I really fought someone, Naruto-aniki had to save me from Mizuki. The second time, Susanoo beat me up so badly that I stayed in a coma for a short time, and only survived because of Naruto-aniki again. I did better in my rematch with the Uchiha bastard, but even then without Kitsune-kun I would have drowned. And then, there is my fight with Kishin…" she growled, as she rammed the Rasengan on the ice again at full force, doing no damage again.

"The only enemies I ever defeated are logs and muted _trees_, for crying out loud!" she snarled with rage. "I can't even defend myself against other ninjas!"

A short silence followed, before Haku rediscovered the use of her voice. "Naruko… I don't know who is this Mizuki, but both Susanoo and Kishin are enemies that could probably count as the equivalents of Bijuu. You couldn't have done anything to them…"

"But this asshole trio is going to track us down," Naruko whispered. "I refuse to stand on the sidelines, or simply wait until someone saves my ass again." She created another Rasengan. "I… I am not worthless. I _refuse _to be so." She slammed the sphere with all of her might… and this time it didn't decompose. The block of ice exploded in many shards, and Haku gasped.

"You succeeded!"

"Told you I would," she smirked. "Naru-sensei is one hell of a teacher, and I never back down."

"A very important quality," a new female voice added. Both Naruko and Haku turned to face the newcomer, the woman named Yugito. She was grinning ear to ear. "Men tend to think that women can't be strong, and only serve as medics, cheerleaders or prostitutes/assassins," she said. "But girls are better than that. Women like Pakura of the Sand, Mei Terumi, Mito Uzumaki and Tsunade Senju earned their fame through power and efforts, and not because of their looks."

She then eyed Naruko. "As long as you will keep confidence in yourself, and that you find new ways to improve yourself, then you have nothing to fear."

Naruko smiled… for a few seconds. "But I don't have the power to beat my enemies," she realized, remembering her fights with Susanoo. "I still do not have it. I mean, yeah, I have the Kyuubi, but I can't demolish bridges on a whim or use super-powerful techniques…"

"Power isn't the only thing that win battles," Yugito replied. "And without skill, even power is useless. It doesn't matter if you have an overwhelming firepower if you can't use it well." She smiled. "The important thing, girl, is simply to find new ways how to use what you already have. Adapt your techniques to fit a situation, create variations of them, or outright improve them."

Naruko raised her eyebrows. "Improving my techniques?"

Yugito nodded. "Most jutsu have been created with only one goal in the mind of the creator, while there are many potential applications to them beside this one. For example, a fireball was created to attack, while it could be used as a shield as well or to deflect projectiles. Even something like the tree-climbing exercise can be used to attack."

"Really?" both Naruko and Haku wondered.

Yugito nodded. "Allow me to show it to you… Haku-san, can you create another of those blocks of yours? Make it as solid as you can."

The girl nodded, joined her hands, and shaped a huge bloc of ice. "It should resist to a cannonball," Haku stated.

"Good," Yugito said, before touching it with her index. A second later, the surface of the structure shattered around it, much to the other kunoichi's amazement. "Do you understand what I just did?" the Nibi's vessel asked.

"You made your finger adhere to the ice," the Yuki guessed, "but you overcharged your chakra."

"Exactly," Yugito nodded. "It's what happen to the bark of trees when you put too much chakra in your limbs… all materials have different resistances to your chakra, but they all crack under enough pressure, even diamonds, if you put enough chakra on its surface." She smirked. "Now, imagine what happens when I use this technique on an enemy's body while fighting?"

"You hurt him a lot," Naruko realized. "With such a simple exercise…"

"It's just a matter of innovation," Yugito said. "People always copy others, and rarely create new concepts. Geniuses, true geniuses, are the men and women who do not simply mindlessly use old techniques, but either improve them or create stronger variations. Take your Rasengan: are you sure it can only takes the form of a sphere? Can't you find a way to use it like a shuriken, throwing it at people instead of trying to get close?"

"I… I don't know," she admitted. "I have seen Naruto-aniki use a bigger variation, but nothing more…" _Though that Feral Gale did use a shuriken version, if it was a bit strange… maybe I can recreate it?_

"Then you will have to find it yourself," Yugito declared. "And I'm sure you will be able to do that, once the time will come."

"Thank you, Yugito-san," Naruko said bowing slightly, Haku imitating her. "It was very kind of you to help us."

"It was a pleasure," she said. "You remind me of myself, when I was your age… and I'm convinced you are destined to do great things Naruko-san…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Broken Man, Kakashi<strong>_

Kakashi was staring at the twilight from the roof of the Torappu, ignoring the camoufled ANBU that were secretly watching him. He had retired there to meditate in peace, while thinking about what he would do when… when he saw his students again.

_If they are still my students, _Kakashi thought. _Do they still a spark of life inside of them? Or are they just empty shells moved around by the mind of a madman? Is there… is there any hope of saving them? Is there any hope of bringing them back? Or will I have to kill them again?_

He cursed whatever force or fate that had chosen to have him face such an ordeal. No teacher should be forced to fight his own students, to see them corrupted into inhuman horrors and being forced to decide whether or not killing them was for the greater good. _Did the Sandaime think the same thing, when he had finally discovered what Orochimaru was doing and confronted him? Now, I know the pain he must have felt…_

"Trapped in your thoughts, Kakashi?" Zabuza asked, as he joined the jounin on the roof. "Gazing at the sun is not a smart thing, even if it is going to be night soon."

"It calms me," the broken man replied. "My old team used to watch the twilight, once we finished our missions. It always made me feel at peace."

"I gave you some advice, I didn't ask you to talk about your past," Zabuza grumbled.

Kakashi blinked. "Why are you here?"

The swordsman shrugged. "What, it's forbidden to go on roofs these days? I'm doing a little spotting, just in case."

"Did you find anything interesting?" Kakashi asked lazily.

"Yeah, a man dumb enough to stare at the sun," Zabuza deadpanned. "Seriously, how can you be considered as a genius? It never cease to astonish me."

Kakashi stiffened. "I didn't choose the title," he said. "I got it because I graduated earlier than normal and because I was one of Konoha's best and most obedient dogs." _Or, more precisely, Kenta's pride. _"Some people thought that by calling me a genius, people would start to imitate me."

"And they did?" Zabuza snorted, while Kakashi shook his head. "And what about your 'original jutsu'?"

_The Chidori? _"Just a lame adaptation of the Third Raikage's ultimate technique in an attempt to approach completing sensei's technique from a different angle by focusing on the element first," Kakashi explained. "I saw him once during the war, when he fought Sarutobi-sama at the battle of Aguni. As I observed it, I wondered if it could be possible for normal people to use it. After that I tried to adapt it… and I ended up creating the Chidori, and then the Raikiri." He snorted. "They're just pale imitations."

Zabuza sneered. "You seem to be on a depressed mood, aren't you? Everybody know you're not _exceptional_, but nobody denies that you're _good_."

"If I was really good, half of the crap in this life of mine wouldn't have happened," Kakashi said. "If I had been good, my students wouldn't have been reduced to the state of animated cadavers."

Zabuza had nothing to reply to that… well, verbally, that was.

Instead, he simply punched Kakashi on the face, making the jounin flinch and his nose bleed. The jounin simply eyed his ally with anger. "Why did you do that?"

"Because you make me sick," Zabuza declared emotionlessly. "I heard you talk to the blonde brat, you know. I thought you had stopped wallowing the past… but no, you're still the same wimp as before."

"I have changed," Kakashi stated.

"Then stop beating yourself over your mistakes!" Zabuza snarled. "You have a hellish childhood? Fine, I know what it feels, and it hurts. You have lost people you loved? I can understand that you miss them. But thinking about what could have happened if I had been better? It's only useful when you learn from your mistakes and act to avoid repeating history. But the past is the past, and it can't be changed. What happened, happened, nothing can change it… the important is to focus on the _future_, not the past. I don't know how many times someone will have to say it to you, Kakashi, but telling yourself all the time that you suck is completely idiotic!"

Kakashi almost retorted… but kept his mouth shut at the last moment.

"You can get up, you can continue your road, and shape your own way! Stop letting others dictate how you should live, and create your own future!" The swordsman locked eyes with the jounin, his gaze full of determination. "Kill the man you were, Kakashi, and be reborn. Kill the son of the White Fang. Kill Konoha's genius. Kill the Yondaime's student. Kill Team 7's teacher. Become _Kakashi_, and no one else."

Then, he took a kunai in his hand. "The past has to be buried, Kakashi. If it refuses to stay in its grave, the only option is to beat it into submission. When your students will confront you, you will only have two choices." He pointed the kunai at Kakashi. "Letting the past kill you… or finally end it forever."

"This choice will be yours, and yours _alone_."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Raikage, A<strong>_

"Are you sure this is all?" A asked.

Mabui nodded. "Yes, it is all I have to report."

"I see," he said. "Then, you're dismissed; I will stay here tonight. Take a meal, a drink, whatever you want, I'm feeling generous."

"Thank you, Raikage-sama." She bowed, before leaving, closing the doors behind her.

For a short time, A stayed alone in his office, while the night had just fallen on his village. Darui and C had left for the front-lines, as it had become obvious Kakashi's death had only renewed Danzo's determination to win the war.

Sometimes, A really regretted having started it. It would have spared him a lot of paperwork…

The Raikage's eyes snapped open. "What do you want?" he asked to the man behind him, while beginning to read his troops' reports over his shoulder.

"My, my, have I interrupted something important?" The voice of the newcomer asked casually. "I thought you didn't enjoy paperwork, Raikage-dono? That is why you hired Mabui, besides her special technique… and maybe her looks of course…"

"I have no time for these stupidities," A snapped, enraged by the man's lack of respect. "I repeat: what do you want?"

"Answers," he replied. "What do you intend to do with our… visitors?"

Immediately understanding who the man was talking, A snorted. "Why does it concern you?"

"Haven't you guessed why?" The man asked. A noticed he was standing before the office's window, looking through it at the Torappu. "And I thought you were the smartest Kage of this decade… which was why I helped you make the good decisions with this little war of yours."

He was right. Without the man's precious advices, the Hyuuga incident would have probably lead to nowhere, and his predictions tipped the course of the war in Kumo's favor. The man had been a great ally, but at the same time, A found him disgusting. He was simply a worm trying to survive at all costs, even if he had to do atrocious things to realize his goals… and his current illness didn't help his anger management problems.

"So, honestly, what are you planning to do with them? Let them run around and send them to the front-lines?" He asked. "You already sent Darui and C away…"

"Probably," A said. "You have something else in mind?"

"Oh yes…" he smiled cruelly. "Give them to me. Capture them and imprison them in the Vault…"

"Why should I do that?" The Raikage asked. He had actually thought of it beforehand, the very second he had seen these fools having taken Yugito hostage.

Nobody menaced one of his soldiers and lived to tell the tale about it.

Yet, Naruto's words had confused him. The blonde's special sense had never been wrong before, so A had decided to keep his calm. In spite of his fiery temper, he hadn't been chosen as Raikage for nothing. He knew how to seize a good opportunity, hence why he had started the war to expand Kumo's power. Once these... travelers... had explained who they were and what they could offer, A had pondered about his options: a deal with them might give him the firepower Kumogakure needed to take over the rest of the continent, and finally getting rid of Iwagakure, their untrustworthy ally, but they were unreliable. They were _foreigners_. Simply imprisoning them for studies might actually turn out to be better, as he wouldn't give them anything in return for their help, or depend on them.

So he had decided to keep both options at hand. He had accepted the deal, but also prepared to stab them in the back if he ever changed his mind. His 'visitors' would not have any hostage anymore; they would be in a secluded area, in the center of Kumo, with all his soldiers ready to intervene; but more importantly, they would be _careless_. If a fight broke out, he would have the upper hand, without taking any stupid risk.

A had the feeling his... adviser... would try to convince him to replace the _if_ by a _when_.

"They can prove themselves to be useful."

"They will, but not as soldiers," the man corrected the other smoothly. "I can extract their Kyuubi and contain them so we can use them as weapons later, or simply create new, loyal Jinchuuriki. It will be safer than relying on these unknown variables, and we both know that these… vermin… are going to leave as soon as their problems will be corrected. That, and they might even be able to cure my… ailment."

A frowned at that. "I thought even studying Naruto didn't help you at all."

"Perhaps his doubles will make the difference," he shrugged. "I'm running out of time, Raikage-dono, and I need these people to continue living. You remember what I did for you, right? Now, it is your time to do something for me."

A frowned… before shrugging too. "All right, you won. I will order the Kinkaku Force to capture them tonight."

"Good, Raikage-dono," the man whispered, his snake-like golden eyes shining in the dark. "I knew I was right to support you."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Deceiver, Tsukiyomi<strong>_

The second Madara touched the ground, he knew something was wrong.

The trio and Susanoo's possessed bodies had teleported in the center of a large, massive city, with big buildings and a lot of people around. The sky was clear, and humans were looking at them with shock and incomprehension. They didn't have any chakra, so they were simply civilians…

"Where the hell are we?" Amaterasu wondered out loud, as a high-pitched sound resonated in the air.

"Look at the ground," Susanoo replied, as the civilians were beginning to flee.

Tsukiyomi obeyed, and saw a message sculpted onto the soil.

_**HELLO PEOPLE! WELCOME TO HIROSHIMA!**_

_**IT'S GOING TO BE A REAL FIREWORK, SO ENJOY THE LAST TWENTY SECONDS OF YOUR LIFE!**_

_**CORDIALLY YOURS,**_

_**GHOST.**_

_**HAVE A NICE DAY.**_

It was this moment that he heard a deep noise. Lifting his head, Madara just had the time to blink as he saw something exploding in the air, unleashing a flash of light and a fiery wave of heat.

The trio didn't have the time to teleport. They only saw a sun being born…

And the next second, they were standing on the terrace of a dark castle.

Well, not really a castle. The construction looked like an assembled mass of different buildings, a chaotic architecture that shouldn't even be able to stand. Horizontal towers, twisted bridges, chained islands… it was as if something alien had tried to imitate reality, only succeeding in showing how much it didn't understand the laws of physics.

"Where are we?" Madara muttered, as he stared around him. The construction was floating in a dark void, with stars providing the light.

"You are in the territory of oblivion," a familiar male voice responded, and Madara felt his blood freeze in his veins. "Between the worlds, there is only void and darkness."

The three Uchiha stared at the ghost in front of them. Dark, short hair, a pale skin, a perfect face… and two red eyes staring at them. The specter was wearing a black, ethereal armor, with the Uchiha crest on it, and was wielding a long red sword. While it seemed human, the ghost didn't appear to emit any heat, and the Eternal Mangekyo could see that it simply wasn't a human… the edges of the body were too perfect, too precise, as if it was a portrait even better than the original model.

It simply wasn't his brother Izuna.

"Welcome, travelers," the illusion whispered.

"Who are you, disgusting faker?" Susanoo hissed, obviously angered by the fact that someone was using his brother's shape. "Or, rather, _what _the hell are you?"

"I am nothing but a projection of your memories," the ghost replied with an emotionless voice. "I was sent to you by the primal darkness to make you comfortable. You do not seem to be at ease with this form. I can change it if you want to."

"Then do it," Amaterasu menaced, "or I will annihilate you."

"Very well," the ghost whispered, as its traits changed. "It predicted you would be more receptive to the appearance of a loved one," it stated, its voice becoming more female-like. "Is this one better?"

The illusion had now taken the form of Yumi, Madara's deceased wife. The kunoichi was as beautiful as ever, with her long black hair, perfect skin and curves, and was wearing a black kimono. Tsukiyomi had been astonished when he had seen her reflection in Mikoto Uchiha, his descendant, and had even wondered if she hadn't reincarnated herself to lead the Uchiha clan anew on the path of weakness and the obedience of the Will of Fire… but in the end, Madara had won. He had purged the remnants of his clan from this disgusting way of thinking, and wiped out Yumi's teachings from all memories.

And yet, even as bitter as he was, he couldn't help but regret her loss. He hated her like he hated the Senju, his children, Konoha, and so many people… but he still cherished the memory of the woman he had loved. He still loved the woman he had married, the kunoichi he had alongside with, the lady that had comforted him after Izuna's death… he only hated the woman that had abandoned him, that had forsaken him, and that had opposed him.

It seemed childish to dissociate people like that, but Madara was a conflicted character with conflicted views. He knew there was only one Yumi, that the woman he loved was the same woman he hated… but he couldn't help but try to separate them.

"It is… acceptable," Tsukiyomi whispered. "How did we end up there?"

"The lord of stars is older than creation itself," the illusion replied ominously. "It knows all the laws ruling the different worlds, and knows how to exploit them. Your misadventure simply created the necessary conditions it needed to bring you there, in its realm" The ghost rotated. "Please follow me inside. Your savior awaits your presence in the throne room."

"Is it supposed to be symbolic?" Tsukiyomi mused, while his counterparts snickered.

"The dark ruler thought it would be more appropriate," the false Yumi explained. "The dark force is power incarnated, and humans tend to associate it with thrones and kings."

She entered the castle, followed by the Uchiha trio and Susanoo's other bodies. They had already guessed their savior's identity, and were certainly interested in knowing what it wanted to talk about.

But they all knew that whatever Amatsu-Mikaboshi was planning would not be a good thing.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's notes:<strong>_

_**Finally done. Sorry for all the reviews not answered. Here are the answers, with a little delay...**_

_**Lord of Murder: I'm thinking about rewriting the first few chapters and correct some old errors, but it won't be for tomorrow, unfortunately.**_

_**RinneganPossessor: there is no such a thing as an endless peace, and there is no such a thing as an endless war. History is a cycle, and repeats itself. But life can be better or worse...**_

_**Shinsou Tengen Wabisuke: good idea about the race change... but I think I will use it as a gag or in an Omake. I see no other way of justifying the change within the story.**_

_**Also, I just posted two challenges (my firsts... no I'm not crying...). Look at my profile if you want to try them.**_

_**Also, the Haiku come from TV tropes, if you're interested in them. They're very numerous on this site.  
><strong>_

**_So please review, and write you soon!  
><em>**


	16. Chapter 16: Imprisoned

_**Hello! I am back, with another chapter. With two omakes at the end.**_

**_Also, just a thing. I am not going to delete the Yet Again cameo, for the reasons explained in the note. I did put a warning however, and a summary of chapter fourteen next with my Author's Notes. However, to the guy who insulted me and my work about this cameo, yeah you, Urfan..._**

**Screw you.**

**_Just because you didn't like this chapter doesn't mean that you had the right to tell me to delete it and replace with something that _you_ like, and certainly not to say what you said. _**

**_No seriously, I accept _constructive criticism_, not aggression, insults and flaming. Simply because I'm willing to listen to my readers and to correct my mistakes doesn't mean I will change this whole story because you don't like a few things._**

_**Special thanks to my betas Third Fang, ABitterPill, and Alpha142, for their awesome job.  
><strong>_

_**Traveler/Original Naruto: Kazama Arashi.**_

_**Pupeteer Naruto: Chibaku Arashi.**_

**_Werefox/Hybrid Naruto: Kitsune Arashi._**

**_Female Naruto: Naruko Arashi._**

**_Deceiver/Original Madara: Tsukiyomi._**

**_Destroyer/Rinnegan Madara: Susanoo._**

**_Warrior/Collector Madara: Amaterasu._**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I would like too... yeah, it sucks...**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Sixteen: Imprisoned<strong>_

Chibaku opened his eyes.

He could feel intense pain in all of his limbs, and he had the worst headache _ever_. His vision was blurred, but he could still distinguish the colors of his bedroom's brown walls. He touched the blanket with his fingers... or rather, realized it wasn't there. He was… feeling sick, sweating, panting, and really unhappy. His mouth was dry, his brain was going to explode soon, and he was feeling like someone that had just been almost beaten to death…

Struggling to remain awake, Chibaku regained his sight, as his eyes acclimated themselves to the light coming from the window. And then…

And then, he noticed the bars.

His eyes widening, the boy rose from his bed, and observed the room. The walls and ceiling were light-brown, and a large gate of steel, the one at the opposite end of the window, seemed to serve as a closed door… covered with explosive seals. As pale as a ghost, Chibaku tried to do a jutsu… and failed, not feeling any chakra in his limbs.

Taking off his shirt, Chibaku noticed a bigger seal around the one sealing the Kyuubi… one that looked like a lock. _A Chakra-Suppressor, adapted to seal the Kyuubi completely and prevent me from using chakra… only one explanation… _He groaned. _Crap. CRAP! Why me? I was the most prepared of all! It can't be possible!_

He tried to remember how it happened, but his memories were… messy. Confused images of fire and multiple colors filled his mind, confirming his suspicion. _A Mind-Wipe. That's my luck. Alright… I hope there is a bathroom._

There were two beds, toilets, one shower, and a table. And…

"FLAT LADY!"

The girl's eyes immediately snapped open… and then noticed Chibaku. "I'm going to kill you _so _much…" she muttered, still half-asleep on the other bed.

"It's serious!" he shouted. "We have been captured!"

Naruko groaned. "Tomorr-arg!" she squealed, as Chibaku pinched her cheek.

"It's not a Henge…" he muttered. "Which means you're the real Naruko…"

"Of course I'm the real one, jerk!" she shouted before slapping the boy, making his face red.

"What was the name of Wave's brat?"

"Inari."

"Good, I'm completely sure you're the real one now," he said.

The girl ignored him and observed her surroundings… and paled when she noticed the bars. "Oh crap… you were right…"

"Yeah," Chibaku muttered. "Do you remember what happened?"

She narrowed her eyelids. "I remember showing my Rasengan to you… and then masked men attacked us… strange, I can't recall what happened next…"

"We have been subjected to a Mind-Wipe," the puppeteer stated, and sighed when the girl frowned at him. "It's a genjutsu made to erase recent memories, and a standard procedure when you capture an enemy. He doesn't remember where he is, or details he might have memorized on his way to his cell, like gates, guards… and then they put seals on prisoners, like the Chakra-Suppressor on our belly," he said as he pointed at his own with his finger. "Try to use a jutsu, or to contact the Kyuubi if you do not believe me."

She did… and as expected, nothing happened. Well, she did bite her lower lip. "Can you… you know… put on your shirt now…"

Chibaku smirked as he obeyed. "Well you certainly have your priorities down…"

"It was to prevent me from having nightmares tonight," she replied acidly.

"Predictable. Next time, try to be more imaginative," he deadpanned, before approaching the window and looking at it. _Damn shortness… why haven't I gotten a growth spurt yet? _"Can you lift me up? I want to test something."

"You know where we are?" she guessed, taking him on her shoulders. _Even without chakra, she's strong as me… scratch that, she's probably stronger, _Chibaku thought, memorizing this information._ Might be useful later._

"If this version of Kumo is close enough to the one of my world, then there is only one place where the Raikage would be willing to imprison Jinchuuriki," he muttered, looking through the bars…

And onto the clouds.

The prison was floating above the earth, and Chibaku could watch the rocky land below. The sun hadn't completely got out of the horizon, but its light had transformed Kumogakure, placed between distant mountains, into a shining jewel. At the window's left and right, Chibaku noticed armored soldiers made of stone standing still on very small balconies.

"I can confirm it," he whispered. "We're in the Vault."

"The Vault?" Naruko asked as her counterpart descended from her shoulders.

"Kumo's maximum security prison, and last stronghold," Chibaku stated. "It's a tower floating above local mount-"

"Floating?" she cut him, astonished.

"Yeah, floating," Chibaku confirmed, as he began to scan the walls in order to find possibly hidden seals. "Nobody knows how it can fly, but it does. The Vault was created by the great Sage of the Six Paths, the creator of ninjutsu, to keep his sacred equipment until someone worthy of using them showed up. Two ninjas of Kumogakure, the Gold and Silver brothers, passed the Vault's test and gained his five great weapons, before being imprisoned in it."

"Why?" Naruko asked.

"Oh, they rebelled and kind of killed both the Nidaime Hokage and Raikage in a failed coup. Of course, their successors were more than a little pissed and briefly banded together to capture them. It's a long story." _I knew it. Sound-Recorders._ "Anyway, the Vault has been turned by the Sandaime Raikage into an inescapable prison, where the most dangerous enemies of Kumo had been kept and sealed, while waiting to be publicly executed, interrogated, or vivisected to find their secrets. Nobody ever escaped from it."

Naruko snorted. "Well, it just means we will have to try harder than others did. I mean, they gave us a window..."

"I would like to be as optimistic as you are," the puppeteer stated, "but I am not." _How can I tell her the escape plan without having the guards listening to it? _"They gave us a window because they're confident we won't even be able to pass through them, and that we won't be able to hang ourselves without blankets. They have taken all of my puppets and all of our weapons. We cannot use chakra, and we cannot contact the Kyuubi. The walls are nearly indestructible, there are probably more than a hundred guards, they can detonate our cell whenever they want… and even if we succeed at simply getting out of this cell, unless you can fly, we won't be able to escape from this place. And let's not talk about the fact that maybe we aren't the only ones that are being detained…"

The girl's eyes widened. "Naru-sensei…"

"Or Kitsune, Haku-san, maybe even the others," Chibaku continued. "We have no way to know whether or not they have been captured or not. So we-"

A strange sound coming from the door caught his attention. He saw a little part of it open, and two bowls full of a strange, sick-looking mixture were deposed in their cell on a little plat, alongside a gourd of water. Then, the opening closed.

Chibaku smirked slightly. _My, my… it must be Naruko's luck… _He took the bowls and posed them on the table. "Our meal, I assume." _And the key to our success._

"I'm not hungry," Naruko replied, before glaring at Chibaku when he put his index in his bowl. "You're eating with your hand!"

The puppeteer smiled, before using his meal to write something on the table. Naruko frowned, before looking at it.

_**They listen.**_

The female demon vessel blinked. She took her food and used it to write an answer.

_**Can they see us?**_

_**No. Listening is enough. Try to make a normal conversation. **_"Well, there is no spoon, little chest!"

She gritted her teeth. _**Bastard. **_"Shut your mouth, doll-boy!"

_**Jerk. **_"My puppets are not dolls!" _**No food or drink, probably drugged.**_

"Yes, they are!" _**What do we do then?**_

He began to write his plan, while continuing to fake arguing. _**Sasori taught me a trick. Will need your help. **_"No, they are not!"

"Liar!" _**What?**_

_**When I nod, make sound. **_"Eyesore!" he took his shirt away, and bit his fingers, drawing blood. Naruko frowned, but kept insulting him.

"Look at yourself first, half-pint!"

He put his fingers on the Kyuubi's seal, and locked eyes with Naruko. "I may be small, but _I _certainly do not have to use a jutsu to be attractive!" He nodded at her.

"IT WAS A SPECIAL TECHNIQUE, BASTARD!" She shouted, making Chibaku cringe as he moved his fingers to draw a triangle of blood, making a little object appear in a puff of smoke. "IT'S A WEAPON AGAINST YOUR KIND, YOU CLOSET PERVERT!"

"I'M NOT A PERVERT!" He shouted back, while looking at his new little puppet. It wasn't bigger than a hand, and looked like a brown humanoid, with iron claws and two big blue eyes.

"And then why do you keep photos of Tsunami, Tsunade and other women in your bag?"

"… how do you know that?" he asked, as pale as a ghost. _How the hell did she find out? Even Sasori doesn't know about that._

"Oh, come on, don't play fool with me!" _**What is it? **_she wrote on the table.

_**I call it Momo, **_he replied. _She doesn't seem troubled… maybe she simply guessed? Crap, I will have to destroy them once I get my bag back. Sasori will never let me live it down if he finds out! __**I can control it… without the use of chakra. **_"You have no proof…"

She frowned. _**How? **_"Ah yeah? I stole one, just in case."

"Liar…" he snorted. "You know what, I've had enough of talking with you. I finish my meal, and I go to sleep." **If I put my blood on its seal, it will create a link between my mind and it. I will be able to control its movements… and I will appear to sleep. When I do, place Momo on the window. I will have it spy on the place, and maybe snatch our stuff if possible. Momo has storage seals. With special equipment, I will be able to twist the seals. If there is a huge problem, close my nose with your fingers. I will hide Momo, and then get up. **

"Yeah, whatever… coward," she muttered, as the puppeteer laid on his bed and touched Momo's back.

"Crazy girl," he replied, as he lost consciousness.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Puppet<strong>_

_Still as strange as ever, _Chibaku thought, as he began to stand up and walk with his new body. _Well, at least Sasori gave it the five senses… _he stared up at Naruko, who nodded and took him in her arm. She then approached the bars, setting him down, and he gripped the walls around the window.

_Okay, now let's fly… _his back opened, and two wings folded out of it. They began to move faster than the eye could follow, and Chibaku began to float. _Yes!_

The puppet flew in the air, trying to fly up… and then noticing a special sound. _It's Sasori's signal, _Chibaku thought. _He's in the building? He can't have been captured… no. It's procedure 37 'fake surrender to rescue allies, while having outside help'. _Of course Sasori knew he would use Momo, even with the Mind-Wipe… and if he hadn't, he would have found another way.

Flying toward the signal's source, Chibaku found a window next to it. Going through its bars, the puppet entered in a black, shadowy room… a stocking room. On different cabinets, Chibaku noticed his own storage seals, alongside his and Naruko's weapons… and Zabuza's sword. _So he's imprisoned too… I don't see the others. Maybe they haven't been captured…_

And then, he found the source of the signal… a little black box, with a calling seal on it. Opening it, the puppet found inside a little… document. A coded letter… and a plan.

_How the hell has Sasori managed to smuggle that into this place? He must have had help from the staff, or something. _Quickly deciphering the letter, Chibaku began to read it.

_**If you are reading this, you're either Momo or the best, luckiest thief ever. In the first case, you have nothing to worry about. In the second, the seal on the box will soon explode, killing you and everyone nearby. If it hasn't, then you're definitively the luckiest human on earth.**_

_**We have been separated. The Kinkaku force… did its job, like N- **__bastard, _Chibaku thought _**- Naruko, Kazama, Zabuza, and Kitsune have been captured, while you, Chibaku, applied procedure 37 **__-a good thing Sasori was able to modify the Yondaime's seal without making it apparent- __**and went along.**_

_**Here is a plan of the prison, though the hidden passages aren't recorded. Couldn't get more info, I am afraid. However, Factor Three is in action- **__aka got help from a mole… so someone in the staff is indeed on our side -__**and a Vol 17 is planned- **__aka we're going to rescue you. __**However, Kumo's reaction will probably be a bit extreme.**_

_**You must gather the rest of the prisoners. Zabuza and Kitsune are in a jail in another floor of the prison, see big crux on the plan. Kazama and the rest of the important equipment have been brought in the warden's quarters. Keep it for last. The warden is the Raikage's closest advisor, and strong enough to be a match for the five of you together. Meeting him before being completely prepared would be… disastrous.**_

_**Take the box with you, and disarm the calling seal. _**Do so and I will become aware you are following the plan**_. Activate it again five minutes before being ready to leave… and we will come.**_

_**Understood? I have full confidence on your abilities, so do not disappoint me.**_

_Yeah, _Chibaku thought, mentally elaborating a plan. _But I have the feeling it's going to suck._

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Girl, Naruko<em>**

Masquerading as a man was not something that Naruko was enjoying. Especially with all those check-ups.

Man, she hated check-ups!

"Alright, J, K, give me your identification," one of the four guards protecting a large gate of black metal asked. "Also, give me the password."

"Hawk 61," J, or rather Chibaku, stated, before giving two silver cards to the man. His Advanced Henge made him appear like a dark-skinned chunnin wearing sunglasses.

"Everything is in order. Now, just excuse me, but I have to pinch you both." He did, but since the blondes' Henge didn't fail them, the man simply nodded to himself. "No genjutsu?"

"No," another guard replied.

"Okay. You can pass. Have a nice day," the man stated.

"You too, Alpha," Chibaku responded, before crossing the gates, Naruko following him. They advanced into a corridor, in silence. The puppeteer had already warned her not to talk, since guards weren't deaf and could always eavesdrop their conversations…

All in all, it had taken two hours for her to memorize all the check-ups and manners of the person she was impersonating. Chibaku had been surprised by her competence. She had simply shrugged. She had already done such a thing in one of her pranks, even going to impersonate the Sandaime Hokage to see how it felt to be a leader, for a whole day before being discovered.

Of course, the old man had simply laughed and told her to avoid Konohamaru the next time. Damn brat…

The Vault, despite its extreme security, had one glaring flaw: routine. Nobody had ever succeeded at either entering or escaping the place without the Raikage's accord, meaning that the guards had become less vigilant and more relaxed. The Advanced Henge was the perfect counter for most check-ups, and nobody was really aware of its functioning. Meaning that nobody had developed a way to detect it… yet.

Now, the only thing that could get them discovered were the brainwashed, disguised guards they were impersonating. After spying on them with Momo, Chibaku had neutralized the seals on their Kyuubi, the walls, and the doors. After using sleeping gas on them, Chibaku just had had to insert his 'memory needle' in their forehead. This technique, taught to him by Sasori, allowed him to manipulate people's memories. He couldn't make them true spies, but he could make them do slightly complex tasks. Like 'use a Henge and try to imitate us until we want you to stop'.

Truly, these techniques were awesome. Why hadn't she learnt them yet?

After this corridor, they arrived on a staircase, separated from the outside world by a glass. Naruko briefly stopped to admit the beautiful view of the mountain below, before continuing. As much as she wanted to see it, she had friends to save.

_This time… it's my turn to help people, and not the other way. I'm coming, everyone._

After the stairs, they arrived in a new zone of the Vault, the one where Zabuza and Kitsune were imprisoned. They arrived in one hall… with twenty guards in it.

"J, K," one of them said when he saw them. "May I ask you something?"

"Well, it depends what," Chibaku replied, eying a cube-like structure in the center of the room. It was quite big, yellow, and covered with strange signs. _Probably seals, _Naruko thought. _Is it another cell?_

"We are going to feed _her_," he stated. "Since she can always, well… go nuts… can you stay and help us restrain her if she tries to escape?"

"Well," the disguised boy shrugged. "How long will it take?"

The guard smiled, observing another guard approaching the cube with a bowl. "Less than a minute, if she's calm. If not…"

_I have no idea of who they're talking about, _Naruko wondered, as two other guards delicately prepared to open a hole in the cube, _but she doesn't seem to be very sociable…_

The hole was opened… and then…

Nothing happened.

The guard with the bowl sighed in relief. "She's san-"

A large yellow bestial paw grabbed his head in a flash.

Before everyone could even blink, the paw brutally slammed the man's skull on the ground, shattering it in a loud crack. The other two immediately closed the hole, cutting the arm in two. It fell on the ground… and eyes appeared on its surface, glaring at everyone.

"I see you…" an ominous voice got out of the severed paw, that was convulsing on the floor. "Kill you… I will kill you all…" Two of the eyes then eyed Naruko… before blinking. "You… you will validate my existence… I will hunt you down… I will consume you…"

Naruko's answer, like everyone else, was to throw an explosive kunai at the arm. A few explosions later, only burned sand was left.

"Damn, that was creepy," the girl muttered.

"Hopefully, it will be the last time," one the guard said, as others were beginning to evacuate the corpse of her companion. "The Warden will soon extract her Bijuu, killing her in the process. Will serve her well, after all the blood she had shed."

… _Bijuu? She's a Jinchuuriki? _Naruko wondered, as she followed Chibaku. _Is she… like Kitsune? Consumed by her Bijuu? Suddenly… I feel somewhat sad for her. I mean, she probably hasn't chosen to be like that…_

After one last corridor, the duo finally arrived in the block they were looking for. Two guards were guarding the cell, and quite surprised to have visit. "Hello, J, K! What are you doing here?" one of them asked.

"We need to transfer the prisoners in another block," Chibaku replied. "The Warden wants them in his quarters."

"I see… not that I do not believe you, but could you give me a paper proving it?"

Chibaku nodded, before searching in his pockets. "Just a few seconds… here it is," he gave them a scroll.

The guards took it, opened it… and suddenly unleashed a cloud of green smoke. The two blondes moved out of the way, putting their hand on their mouth, just as the gas began to fade away. The guards panted a bit, before falling unconscious on the ground.

"No danger now," Chibaku stated after a while. "Really… I should do that more."

"Yeah," Naruko snorted. "Whatever. You think we can drop the Henge?"

"We must," the puppeteer responded, as he retook his original form. "Remember, how do you think Zabuza and Kitsune will react if they see hostile guards entering?"

"Point taken," she replied, becoming a girl again. "Now, let's just open the door…"

"And neutralize the sound-recorders, of course," Chibaku stated, as he put a few sheets of paper around the door, before touching it. It immediately opened. "Hello, ev-"

A punch sent him fly a meter away.

"Hey!" Naruko growled at Zabuza. "Why did you do that?"

"I wanted to see if it was a Henge or not," the swordsman replied, as he got out of his cell. "And since when do we need reasons to hit people?" He stared at Chibaku. "Oh, and thank you."

"It's nothing…" Chibaku whispered, before getting up, not really wounded. "Good thing I can heal."

"Yeah," the swordsman snorted. "How did you escape?"

"It's a long story," Naruko replied. "Where is Kitsune-kun?"

Zabuza narrowed his eyelids, before staring in the cell without uttering a word. The two blondes stared into it…

And paled.

_**"Kill N," **_a large werefox was whispering. _**"Kill N… kill N…"**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Traveler, Kazama<strong>_

Kazama was in the darkness. He was lying chained in a corner of a cell, not even feeling his limbs. He tried to move, but didn't succeed.

He had been vanquished. He had been taken by surprise, he had been defeated and overwhelmed. But more than anything, he had failed at his duty to protect his siblings.

N had simply been too strong.

_"I apologize for what I must do," the Kumo-nin whispered, suddenly becoming clad in golden chakra. "But it is an order. If there was any other way, I would have taken it."_

_While Kazama and Zabuza simply glared at him, trapped between the Torappu and N, Kitsune was obviously quite taken aback, his hand holding Samehada shaking. "Why… I thought we were friends…"_

_The teen frowned sadly. "We are… it's nothing personal, Kitsune-kun. But the Raikage ordered your arrest, and I must do my duty."_

_"This is stupid," Zabuza growled. "You're going to obey deal-breakers? You're fighting for people that stand so low?"_

_"I do not agree with the Raikage on the matter, but it is his decision, and I will obey," N answered._

_"… why?" Kitsune asked. "I do not understand."_

_"The Raikage saved me from Konoha," N smiled sadly. "It's because of him that I experienced true happiness. Kumogakure is my home, my friends, despite its dark policies. I love its inhabitants, and they love me back. That bond… I have to defend it. I am Kumogakure's guardian, and the hand of its people. Please… understand."_

_"Only the Raikage wished for such a disaster," Kazama pointed out, still looking at the masked soldiers observing them from the sidelines. "This entire fight pointless. You can stop it here and now. Let us be, and we will leave without causing a mess."_

_N shook his head. "Kumogakure is a body, Kazama-san. The people are its heart, I am its hand, and the Raikage is the voice. His orders are law."_

_"And what about your morals?" the world wandered asked. "If a law is unjust, how can you still defend it?"_

_"Because I have nothing to prove," N smiled sadly. "When you have committed a great crime, can you still keep a moral ground? No. You simply accept your penance and the suffering that comes with it." He straightened up. "It is my last warning. Please, surrender. I don't want to hurt anyone of you."_

_"Strangely," Zabuza stated, "_I _really want to beat you."_

_"If you think we're going to surrender, you're completely deluded," Kazama added._

_Kitsune glared, before gritting his teeth. "N… sorry, but this will not end well."_

_"No," the Kumo-nin nodded. "No, it won't." He looked at the masked men surrounding them. "Leave them to me." He smiled. "It's is something I have to do myself. Go on to capture the rest of them instead."_

_The men vanished, leaving N alone to fight._

_"Let's finish this in a flash," the Kumo-nin said, before… vanishing._

_Before his mind could register what had happened, a punch connected with his mouth, sending him fly in the air. A big hand of chakra then caught him before he could return to his senses._

_"This' for Yugi-chan, bastard," N muttered, as he wiped out the ground with his counterpart's body. "Let see what you can do when you do not have surprise at your side…"_

_Kazama's response was to try to catch N with his chains. Vanishing in another flash of light, N reappeared in front of him and kicked him with enough force to send him crash on a wall. "Too slow!"_

I can barely see him move! _Kazama thought, as Zabuza and Kitsune tried to behead N with their blades. The boy vanished again, and then reappeared in front of Zabuza, throwing him in the air with a kick, caught him midway, tossing him to the ground with enough force to _shatter _it, and then crashed on the man's torso, creating a large crater in the process. Before the dust even settled, N had moved on to punch Kitsune. Getting up, Kazama unleashed the Cold Wave on the Kumo-nin, but the wind barely fazed him._

_"You want to play with wind? Wind Release: Golden Tornado!" He shouted, pointing his index at Kazama. His chakra transformed into a whirlwind which pushed back the Cold Wave and hit the teen with incredible force. This time, he didn't gather the strength to get up._

_"Kazama-san!" Kitsune roared, trying to slash N with Samehada, but failing to even touch him._

_"Sorry, Kitsune-kun, but you're going down," N said, using his flash technique to hit and vanish again and again. One minute later, N was standing above an unconscious Kitsune. Samehada squealed, and tried to bite the Kumo-nin… who simply kicked it away._

_"I expected… something more difficult," N stated with a disappointed tone. "I know I'm one of the world's best fighters… well, I assume that I was like you, back when I hadn't tamed the Kyuu-" _

_A sword cut his back, making him scream._

_"The sting of insects hurt more than your punches," Zabuza muttered, as N jumped away, regenerating. "I will enjoy maiming you."_

_"Damn it!" N snarled, as he charged to punch Zabuza... who intercepted the blow with his palm, and countered with a headbutt. N swayed slightly from the force of the  
>blow, before being hit in the jaws with a powerful kick that sent him crashing away.<em>

_"You think you're the first Kumo-nin I've had to fight?" the swordsman asked, using a water technique to keep the Jinchuuriki at a distance. "You are all speed demons, but once someone has learned your pattern of attack you're all cannon fodder!"_

_"… crap," a new voice said, attracting everyone's attention. Kazama saw Chibaku and Naruko walking side by side with Killer Bee and Yugito. "I owe you twenty Ryu now…" Chibaku muttered._

_"Told you my student was a badass!" Killer Bee replied. "When he's not being an ass…"_

_"Naru-sensei…" Naruko muttered._

_"N, I know they are enemies, but did you have to be that brutal?" Yugito asked, eyeing the beaten-up Kitsune._

_"They refused to surrender," the Kumo-nin replied, before staring at Zabuza. "And he is still fighting."_

_Yugito sighed. "All our forces are converging here. Please, do not be an idiot. You know what will happen to your friends if you continue resisting."_

_Zabuza frowned... and grunted. "If you try to do anything to them..."_

_"Nothing will happen," N said. "I simply wanted to avoid as much bloodshed as possible. It was for a good cause."_

_Chibaku snorted. "Yeah, that's what everyone says to justify despicable actions."_

_N's face turned sad, before becoming emotionless. "I meant it." He locked eyes with Yugito. "What happened to the three others?"_

_"The ice-user managed to vanish in some sort of mirror," the young woman replied, and Zabuza smirked. "Kakashi Hatake and that redhead simply killed their way out of the Torappu. Their body count is quite impressive."_

_"They left their allies behind?" N blinked, just like Kazama, while Yugito simply nodded. _No… they wouldn't. It simply isn't like them to do such a thing, _he realized._

_Chibaku approached the teen, helping him get up. "Sasori and I have a plan," the puppeteer whispered. "Just keep your calm, and wait for rescue. Anything else would end with a disaster."_

Why had been so weak? How can have so many hours of training been so meaningless? Why couldn't he manage to win ever once?

_**Because N cheated, **_he thought, feeling cold. _**He had the Kyuubi, while I couldn't use my power. It's only why I have lost. The next time, I will crush him with the Shinigami's power and erase him from existence itself… **__if there is a next time, that's it._

Light suddenly appeared from somewhere, and Kazama stared at its source. Two shadowy figures came in his cell. He couldn't see them well, but he could smell an horrible odor… it was like a cadaver.

"He's awake, milord," one whispered.

"I am not blind, Dodai," the other replied with a familiar voice. Kazama tried to recall who it was… and then paled once he did. _Him? Here?_

"Leave me with him," the man ordered to the one called Dodai. He immediately left, closing the door behind. No, there was only darkness… and two snake-like eyes shining in the dark. The smell of death became stronger and stronger as they approached.

"Orochimaru…" Kazama whispered in disgust.

"Oh, you guessed the obvious… congratulations are in order," the snake man replied softly. "I am truly impressed…"

_How can he be there, in Kumo? _Kazama thought, trying to figure it out. _He should have been creating Otogakure… though maybe it's something else…_

"Nice sword that you _had_," Orochimaru stated, as a blade shined in the dark. Kazama recognized the Kusanagi. "Though if the Kinkaku Force's reports are to be believed, you couldn't use it to its full potential… how could you have? You hadn't gained its allegiance."

Kazama frowned. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"You don't even research the weapons you acquire?" Orochimaru asked, amused. "Though, in this one case, your stupidity can be justified. Who is interested in the forgotten stories of lost blades, nowadays?" He snorted. "Except the gifted?"

Kazama glared at him. _I can't use my chains to strangle him… damn it…_

"Let me give you a much needed history lesson," the snake said. "In ancient times, when humanity was still young, a great serpent terrified the land today known as the Land of Fire. Called Orochi, it devoured a young woman each year. But once the turn of the beautiful Kushinada-hime came, Orochi met his end in the form of the great god Susanoo, who had become enamored with the woman. The deity fought the dragon and killed it with the Sword of Tostuka, sealing its corrupted soul forever in a blissful, drunken illusion. In place of Orochi, was left the source of its power: a blade he had swallowed, one that Susanoo called the Kusanagi, the grass-cutter, as it had the power to cut everything in half. He then offered it to one man to pay an old debt, along with two treasures."

"Its wielder then used it to win a hundred of duels, but grew too proud, mistaking the blade's power for his own. He was latter killed by another when, in his foolishness, he had refused to use the Kusanagi. His opponent then took it with him, only to be later defeated, the sword stolen again, beginning the bloody story of the Kusanagi. Maybe it was Orochi's revenge from beyond the grave, or maybe it had tasted to too much blood, but the sword had come to respect only the strong. To gain its full power, you had to kill its old wielder. It was as simple as that. Of course, I defeated the last man to have used it, obtaining the blade's respect. You on the other hand, didn't." He chuckled.

"I told you I would not be defeated, Naruto-kun."

At this moment, Kazama felt his blood freeze in his veins. "No…"

"Oh yes!" Orochimaru laughed. "I am not my pathetic counterpart… I am the last Sannin, Orochimaru! The undying necromancer, the one that had reached perfection… and the one that had given you your power, child!"

"You should be dead…" Kazama muttered, unable to believe his ears. "I saw you being vaporized…"

"Oh, any normal person would have been killed by this…" the Sannin seemed to have difficulties finding the right word. "Torture. Yes, it is the perfect term. Getting your flesh turned to ashes would have killed a normal human, but I am far beyond this stage… I have evolved, Naruto-kun, into something that your simple mind will never be able to comprehend. Despite what you did to me, that day… I survived. I struggled to stay alive, crawling on the ground, completely blind… until some stupid civilian tried to help me. I graced him by taking over his body. It was a disgusting thing, to experience such a weak vessel, but you must understand that I had no choice… it was your fault, Naruto-kun, not mine."

If only he could have killed the snake where he was standing… But then, an terrible realization hit to his mind. "It's you… you're responsible for all of this! It's because of you that N is like that!"

"Oh, so you do have a brain…" Orochimaru chuckled. "I have to thank you for giving me such a chance to accomplish all my goals. After all, it's not everyday that you have been transported back in time by an angry Jinchuuriki… precisely, a few months before the 'Hyuuga Incident', as we called it in our world. Now, it's more like the 'War's Declaration'. It's incredible… only a few words to the right person, and the disgusting thing that fool of a Hokage called peace crumbled in a matter of weeks."

"You convinced the Raikage to send Killer Bee with the delegation," Kazama guessed, completely pale. "You told him about me…"

"I deprived Konoha of its best weapon," Orochimaru confirmed. "The Raikage wanted a war… I just had to push the right buttons to transform intentions into actions, and phantasms of victory into reality. Then, of course, I gave him advices such as how to crush Konoha, this town's weaknesses, who to recruit, and who to crush. Really, it was a funny experience, especially when I got to execute my old teacher and teammates myself. Though _they _didn't enjoy it… who cares?"

"You are a monster," the blonde whispered in disgust.

"I will take it as a compliment, Naruto-kun," the snake smugly replied. "But this victory was… well, tainted. I had succeeded in destroying Konoha… even if Danzo is still on the run and fighting… I had gained the power I wanted. I prevented Akatsuki from even forming. I killed my other self, and usurped his troops and work… and yet, you, in your selfishness, managed to make all these successes meaningless." He lowered the Kusanagi, allowing Kazama to have a clear shot view of his face…

It was… the visage of a cadaver.

The flesh had become black, and was openly rotting. There was no lips to hide the snake's teeth, no ears, and no more eyelids. Orochimaru's hair had turned white, and Kazama could see his veins pulsating. Coming out of the Sannin's usual clothes, smaller white snakes covered the wounded face, hiding the flesh, but neither the glare nor the disturbing smile. Then, the snakes began to mutter, talking with Orochimaru's voice.

"I am dying, Naruto-kun. I AM DYING BECAUSE OF YOU!"

Kazama struggled to breath, as Orochimaru's right hand seized his by the throat and lifted him above the ground. Looking at the skin, the blonde realized it was as much rotten as his nemesis' face.

"I AM IN PAIN AT ALL TIMES OF THE DAY! MY BODIES ARE DYING, ONE AFTER THE OTHER!" He clenched his left fist, and punched Kazama in the nose, breaking it. "ALL OF MY WORK WAS FOR NOTHING!"

"Finally… good news…" the blonde smiled… and regretted his words the second Orochimaru punched him again.

"EVERYTHING I TRIED TO DO ONLY DELAYED MY DEATH! STUDYING YOUR DOUBLE WAS ALL FOR NAUGHT! TSUNADE, KABUTO, AND THOUSANDS OF MEDICS WERE ALL HELPLESS, AND DIED FOR THEIR INCOMPETENCE!" He began to strangle Kazama, making the blonde scoff. "But…" he muttered, having regained some measure of clam and sanity. "You can help me… I will vivisect you to death, study your seal, or take over your body! Maybe the Kyuubi's power will save me… what do you think of that, Naruto-kun?"

The blonde simply smirked, feeling blood in his mouth. "Go… to… hell…"

Orochimaru laughed, the snake shifting to reveal his demented face underneath. "When I will return… Naruto-kun… I can assure you that you will scream… and that I will be there to listen."

He released Kazama, and left, leaving the bleeding teen lying helplessly on the ground.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Sand Witch, Gaara<strong>_

She was awake, and she needed blood.

She needed the blood of her jailers. The blood of her father. The blood of her siblings. The blood of the innocent and the guilty alike. Anyone's blood.

_**You will have it soon, **_her mother promised her, caressing her daughter with her sand._**My dear Gaara... we will escape, and we will kill them all. Everyone we shall meet will nourish our hunger for pain.**_

_And the jailers?_

_**We will make them suffer. They will never try to touch you ever again. They won't try to put another seal on you again. I will kill them again.**_

_And father?_

_**We will kill him too. We are strong enough to murder him now. He will pay for what he has done to both of us... and especially for trying to deny your existence, my dear Gaara...**_

_And the two blondes? _she asked, remembering the disguised girl and boy. _I feel them. I feel their demons. They are like me. They can validate me. I want them dead, mother. They are like that blonde woman who defeated us, the one with the cat. I hate her. I hate them. I hate this little blonde. She has the cat's smell. I want her dead._

_**Then I will kill them for you, my baby, **_her mother promised. _**I will offer their blood to you, if it makes you whole.**_

_I am tired, mother. Please, can you sing me a lullaby?_

_**But of course. Sleep, my Gaara... daughter of the sand, killer of a thousand... hundreds will die in our wake, and then you will awake... I will show the one way, so you will chase them all away...**_

Images of the soon-to-be-dead blonde girl returned in Gaara's mind. _I will kill her... she will validate my existence..._

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Deceiver, Tsukiyomi<strong>_

They weren't in the castle, but at the top of a mountain. The skies were full of smoke, buildings were burning below, and screams and noises of fighting could be heard from everywhere. Before he could ask himself what had just happened, Tsukiyomi recognized the mountain…

"Why are we in Konoha? Is this is a memory?" He asked Yumi… only to notice she had been replaced by two people.

One was the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha, agonizing on the ground and his summon Enma lying dead at his side. He was wearing his battle armor, but blood was spilling from a large opening in it. He had obviously been stabbed in the back.

The other… he knew him all too well.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" The boy in orange asked with a cheerful smile. "Such destruction… I wished I could stay here watching it forever."

It was obviously an illusion, like Yumi. Perhaps a memory that Amatsu-Mikaboshi recorded in some distant world? The dark force was apparently the same in all universes… maybe it had witnessed such a scene through the eyes of history?

"What do I hear?" Uzumaki Naruto repeated, as he approached Sarutobi's lips. "Is that a prayer? Who are you calling? There is no god here, old man." He smiled cruelly. "Just me."

He stared at the destroyed Konoha. "I wonder… this place was built on hopes and wishes. It survived three long wars, stayed undefeated for a whole century, and had been constructed by multiple generations, all vying to create a monument to peace and prosperity. And yet…" his grin widened. "And yet, it only took me one day to destroy it all."

A tear dripped from the Sandaime's eye.

"The Shodaime's dream is dead, old man, just as the hopes of everyone on this little ball of mud we call home," Naruto whispered. "Konoha's destruction is the red dawn of a new era of wars, whose story will be written in blood. But do not worry," he locked eyes with the Sandaime. "It is the beginning of the end, old man. Once this story, my story, will have an end, there won't be any world left. I will scorch the earth to the ground, and reduce all lives to ashes. I will leave nothing behind but a barren, lifeless rock where not even bacteria will be able to survive and thrive. I will make this planet a monument to nonexistence." He smirked. "But no one but me will be able to witness such splendid spectacle."

The three Madara were paralyzed by the scene. _Is that really Naruto Uzumaki? _Tsukiyomi wondered, before finally answering by the negative. _There is nothing human left in this flesh._

"Wh… Why?" the Sandaime muttered.

"Why?" the blonde devil repeated, raising an eyebrow. "You want to know my motives? I doubt you will like the answer." He smiled. "You want to know why I convinced all your enemies to gang up on this village of yours? You want to know why I slaughtered my team, your grandson, and every human I could get my hands on? Well, it is the same motive that will push me to transform today's victors into tomorrow's enemies, the same reason that will cause me to start a new ninja war, and the same compulsion that will make me unleash the apocalypse." He narrowed his head.

"So I could prove, once and for all, that words like hope and life were meaningless."

"I didn't create this spectacle because I wanted to avenge myself, old man. I did because, one morning, I thought 'Konoha is the embodiment of will and life. If I can destroy it, it means that these concepts do not matter'.'" He smirked. "And in the end, they weren't important. And boy! Proving it was ten times worth the hassle!"

Behind his mask, Madara paled slightly.

"Destruction is an end in itself, old man," the boy stated. "No words can express the feeling that filled me once I listened to Sakura's cries as she bled on the ground. I felt at peace when I burned the face of your grandson, just to see if he would survive or not. I smiled when I listened to the screams of thousands. This dark happiness, this feeling… it want it more. I want blood and pain and suffering." His face twisted, reflecting his madness. "And this world will give it to me. It will scream and burn and die. Die for me, for nothing, because it has no value. I will crush all hopes and dreams, and drag everyone into the darkness along with me. Because... such an action will validate my conclusions. Because when I drag people to my level... I cease to feel alone."

He stared at the sky. "My life taught me that we humans are nothing. Mere worms living on a small remote ball of mud in some corner of the universe. There is no heaven or hell, we are all going to die, and the world will just watch. This illusion mankind called hope… I will crush it utterly. I will prove that life is meaningless by erasing it from the face of this rock."

He locked eyes with the Sandaime. "And you…" he muttered, approaching his hands from the man's head. "And you… please… die for me…" He then began to push his fingers onto the Hokage's eyes.

"DIE!"

The disturbing image was immediately replaced by the one of a battlefield. A blonde man wearing Hokage's robes was standing in its middle, surrounded by a sea of corpses and blood. In front of him, one sick-looking man lying on the ground. Madara recognized them: the Yondaime Hokage, and Nagato.

Well, not quite the Yondaime…

"You have lost, Nagato," the adult Naruto declared, his eyes as red as blood. "Amegakure has fallen. The Akatsuki has been wiped out. You are the only one left."

"Even then," the crippled man whispered. "I refuse to kneel before you, tyrant."

The adult Naruto smiled. "A tyrant, me?" He laughed. "_You _are calling _me _a tyrant? A worthless false messiah? This is ridiculous." He glared at the redhead. "I am the hero right there, and you are the villain."

"No!" Akatsuki's leader spat. "Heroes do not kill their rulers and replace them! Heroes do not try to take to enslave the world! Heroes do not oppress and slaughter the innocent!"

"The innocent?" Naruto repeated. "They are no innocents. There is evil in their heart… in all of them. And it is my duty to purge this corrupted seed from mankind. I must be just in judgment, but merciless in punishment."

Nagato gritted his teeth. "You are blind…"

"I see very well, thank you," the blonde replied with a serious tone. "I am the Hokage of Konoha, and the chosen one announced by the prophecy. I am the savior, and he who is not with me… is against me."

Pain desperately rose to his feet, standing difficultly, much to Madara's surprise. "No… you are not the chosen one… you are the darkness coming to destroy everything!"

The Hokage smiled. "You are insane. I am justice!" He barked. "I will bring peace to mankind… even if I must exterminate half of it! I will obliterate evil everywhere!"

Nagato frowned. "How can someone be so blind?" His eyes widened. "No… I understand… you are pure… too pure. You are unable to understand why there is evil, why there is suffering, and being unable to understand, your response is undiluted, blind destruction… but this purity, while admirable, has driven you insane."

"I am sane," the Hokage replied. "I am blessed! I stayed true to my path since the very beginning of my life! Can't you understand that I am righteous?"

"… No," Nagato shook his head. "You are lost, Naruto. I still remember the idealistic child you once were… as a mark of respect for him… I will free you from your misery…"

"You will not stop me, Nagato," the Hokage said, his body becoming clad in golden chakra. "You cannot stop the unstoppable. You think your Rinnegan will be enough? Open your sick, worthless eyes: to me, this world's strongest man is no more dangerous than its strongest insect!"

And now, the scene changed again. Now, there was only darkness.

"How can you beat me? _How can you beat me, you psychopath?_" A blind Sasuke asked, impaled by a large sword.

"How?"a blonde man with whiskers responded. "The Sharingan? More soldiers than I have? Better techniques? Better teachers? All of that... is completely meaningless. You could have been my equal, but you have one thing that I lack... and that is what make you weak." He smiled.

"Friends."

"Ever since the moment I was born, I could only count on myself," Naruto Uzumaki muttered. He was surrounded by a sea of flames and bones. "After murdering my way to the top of this world... after killing so many... I, the selfish survivor, have thrived. Because I am the only one that matters in this empty world of ours! I am Naruto Uzumaki, the man born to reshape the world in my image! If I want you to live, you live, and if I want you to die, you die!"

Sasuke fell dead on the ground.

The darkness and the images vanished.

This time, the three Madara were in a throne room… one that obviously wasn't of human origin. The walls were deformed, painted in black, and and were riddled with holes throughout them. The throne itself was empty, and looked more like a huge chair than anything else. There was no ceiling, only a large view of the sky…

And of one purple sun, looking like a colossal eye.

_**YOU HAVE COME, CHOSEN.**_

_**WELCOME.**_

They were not sentences, as much as a mix of will and thoughts projected inside of Madara's skull. It was as if his mind had interpreted an alien and godlike form of communication into words, giving him a headache in the process. The Uchiha knew that a weak, unworthy spirit would have immediately been crushed and reduced either to madness or to nothing at all, there soul erased from existence altogether… countless people had lost everything in one brief contact with Amatsu-Mikaboshi's will.

_**YOU SEEM UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THE CONTACT, SON OF MAN.**_

_**PERHAPS ANOTHER FORM OF COMMUNICATION WOULD BE BETTER.**_

A tear of light separated from the star and fell from it, crashing right in front of the three Madara. It illuminated, before taking the form of… Uzumaki Naruto.

_**"Are you comfortable with this appearance?" **_the false teenager asked with a mechanic voice, his eyes as black as the night.

"No," Tsukiyomi answered honestly. "But I think we will deal with it."

Amaterasu shrugged. "None of your illusions affect me anymore, August Star. I already confronted you once and lived to tell the tale about it."

"May I ask why you took the appearance of our enemies' leader?" Susanoo asked.

_**"I probed your memories in order to search for an individual you could relate with," **_the entity answered, its tone deep, passionless and emotionless. _**"This human seemed to be more manageable to your mind."**_

Susanoo snorted. "I forgot I was talking to an evil deity."

_**"Evil?" **_the entity asked. _**"I am not evil, Uchiha Madara. I am above what humans call morality. And do not be mistaken, I do not seek to harm your species. In fact, it is quite the opposite. I am trying to help it achieve perfection."**_

"Your means of helping us are a bit… strange," Amaterasu pointed out. "Corrupting the Ten-Tails and turning it into an engine of pure destruction hell bent on exterminating us isn't something I consider helpful."

_**"Mankind wished for oblivion, thinking that life was meaningless," **_the entity replied. _**"Ever since the first of your kind achieved sentience, humanity began to question itself. But with unanswered questions, came a void that couldn't be filled… one that reflected my own existence. How could have I ignored the prayers of beings so similar to my own nature? In a way… mankind is a reflection of myself, just as I am a reflection of mankind. Humanity and I are driven by the same desires, Uchiha Madara: we need to remake reality in our own image, and failing that, we destroy what we cannot control."**_

It was right, of course. Amatsu-Mikaboshi was the deity the closest to mankind… scratch that, it was mankind's essence made sentient and with a cosmic-scaled vision.

It was Izuna who had first informed him of the dark force, though even he didn't know much. His brother had always been fascinated by old myths, destroyed cultures, ancient history… he thought that humanity was doomed to ponder the same questions over and over, repeat the same mistakes endlessly, until mankind could reach perfection and enlightenment. How, Izuna didn't know, but he was convinced other people had perhaps found tracks in the distant past. Ever since man began to think, he asked himself questions… and tried to find answers.

But while Izuna gathered many texts about countless gods and stories, there were always holes in them… mysterious reports on shadowy cults, fearful mentions of a malevolent light shining in the blackest night, authors blaming a dark force for the destruction of their countries…

But they all mentioned stars, fate, doom… and power.

It took years to pierce the secrets of these mysterious holes, and it it required contact with one of the last cults mentioned in the text. Called the Jashinist, they were no more than bloodthirsty monsters… but the Grand Masters of the cult proved to be surprisingly affable and philosophical when the Uchiha brothers contacted them.

Immortality had taught them patience, and that rudeness didn't get you anywhere.

Only a handful of them had really achieved eternity, and a few of them had been around since the days of the great Sage of Six Paths. One even pretended to have watched him defeat the 'Great Darkness', though Madara only understood what he was talking about after reading the translation of the Uchiha's tablet. At first, he had simply assumed he was talking about the cult's god, Jashin… which he was, in a very twisted way.

In fact, Jashin was, in fact, simply a name given by men to a power they couldn't really understand, and only one name among many. The Great Darkness, the Lord of the Stars, the Dark Force… were all the same deity. Though, in the Grand Masters' opinion, you could hardly call it a god. It was more like an immaterial and pervasive force of nature… a _sentient_, _self-aware _force, that the Sage of the Six Paths called Amatsu-Mikaboshi… the August Star.

_At the dawn of time, _Madara remembered, the words of the Grand Masters echoing in his mind, _there was nothing but emptiness, that ruled in perfect control. But for one brief instant, this iron control ended as the chaos of creation put down the ancient order and gave birth to existence, life, death, energy, matter… but the void still existed, in a primal, mindless, and immaterial form… one that wanted to return everything back to zero, so its power could return, allowing to rule once again in eternal darkness. And so was born Amatsu-Mikaboshi, the dark force, the antithesis of the deities administrating reality, and of creation itself. And _then_, sentient life came along._

_The downside of the individuality of the sentient mind, was the ability of questioning itself. But most questions can't be answered, and it creates a void… a void that fed the primal emptiness. A void that gave birth to rage, doubt, fear, loneliness, despair, and above all, pain._

_Why do I exist? Why do others exist? Why do they have what I don't have? Why can't I control what I see? Why don't the skies obey me? Why can't I understand my fellow? Why isn't he like me? Why am I sad? Why am I hurt? Why can't things be right? Why can't I be happy? Why can't all the pain stop? Countless species asked themselves these questions, long before the first man ever came along, and they will remain long after we are gone… if we ever fade away, that is. Now, the dark force had observed such creatures since the moment they were born… can you really imagine it hasn't been changed by the experience?_

_The void fed on thoughts, and as a result, became self-aware. Through the thoughts of life, the primal emptiness began to develop sentience, being to able to question itself. The embodiment of the hungry void inside individuals' soul, and whose one and only goal was simply to be filled, by making everything a reflection of itself… and failing that, destroying what it cannot control. Amatsu-Mikaboshi doesn't really want to destroy the universe, young Uchiha. It just wishes to make it like itself: a mechanical, static world, ruled by an eternal order. It is a world where life has become… empty. Cold. Eternal. Or rather, a place where there is no life and death, only undying creatures like us._

_I told you that many sentient creatures have existed before us, like talking animals, but we humans are special. The difference between us and others isn't what questions did we ask to ourselves, no. It isn't if we reacted or not. It is _how _we reacted to them: _by declaring war on reality itself.

_Unable to answer its own questions, mankind reacted by lashing out at reality, trying to enforce his control over others, life, the world… and what we couldn't conquer, we destroyed, seeding even more pain, despair, hatred and sadness. It was the beginning of the vicious circle of destructive thoughts men called history, one, that is our sincere belief, will continue until either we self-destruct or actually succeed in remaking the universe in our image._

_Doesn't it sound familiar?_

As a result of the similarity between itself and mankind, Amatsu-Mikaboshi took a special interest in them. Most deities did not care about humans, or were simply doing their job to maintain the structure of the universe. A few of them did help humanity, but their interventions were kind of… rare. And even then, they weren't completely focused on messing with everyday's life.

Really, mankind was cursed.

The moment it became aware of mankind's existence, Amatsu-Mikaboshi began to meddle with its destiny, influencing it in subtle ways. Perhaps after too many failures at trying to remake the world in its image, it began to focus on lesser-scaled plans. Perhaps it was simply trying to occupy its time. Perhaps it was simply in its own nature. It didn't matter. It still acted.

Mankind stayed unaware of its existence, until humanity's despair reached its peak. With billions of people begging for their own death and destruction, Amatsu-Mikaboshi gained the power to answer to their prayers by creating the Ten-Tails… or rather, twisting the essence of nature itself into the Ten-Tails.

It was strange to think that the Bijuu were originally just an near-limitless mass of natural energy, the very embodiment of the biosphere, just as the August Star was the embodiment of void. Corrupted by the will of Amatsu-Mikaboshi, it transformed into the demon men called the Juubi, the Ten-Tails.

And then, the Sage came along, saving the day, and sealing the demon into himself in order to purge it of the August Star's corruption, without much success. He, however, gained knowledge of Amatsu-Mikaboshi as a result, and taught it to his followers, hoping they would be prepared to defeat it again.

Instead, some of them began to worship it.

The few people that learnt about Amatsu-Mikaboshi tried to find more… direct… ways to connect with it, for different reasons. Power, the destruction of their enemies, immortality, knowledge… most lost their very existence trying to get what they wanted, and only a very little minority gained what they wanted, sometimes with _even more _disastrous consequences. Entire civilizations died because of such deals.

The Grand Masters were people that, willingly or not, acquired immortality in the bargain. Unable to die, unable to age, unable to change, outliving friends and family, forced to watch and remember endless horrors, madness soon filled their mind. Out of pain, they lashed out at the world… probably just as the dark force had planned. They began to worship it as the god of pain and bloodshed, naming it Jashin, and building a cult around him, hoping the suffering they planned to cause would please Amatsu-Mikaboshi, and convince it to free them from their misery.

But death never came to them, in one form or another, so they resolved to contact the dark force again, completely aware that they would cease to exist. Dozens became five, five became three, and so on. Madara was away when the last Grand Master ceased to be, preparing himself to kill Kushina Uzumaki, but he was there, hidden in shadows, when the remnants of the cult succeeded in recreating one of the lost rituals.

Out of thirty candidates, only Hidan survived a meeting with Amatsu-Mikaboshi, much to the Uchiha's amazement, until the reason became obvious: being already clinically insane way before the ritual, Hidan perceived the dark force differently than normal people and reacted to it differently, hence why he survived and gained immortality… and an enhanced, murderous insanity.

But before passing away, the Grand Masters offered a chance to the Uchiha brothers, and to them alone, to meet Amatsu-Mikaboshi and realize their wishes. While Madara admitted he _did _ponder the proposition, he ultimately refused, confident in his own power and unwilling to put his fate in the hands of a cosmic force that would undeniably screw him over in one way or another. But Izuna…

Izuna _accepted_.

His brother never told Madara what he had asked to Amatsu-Mikaboshi, and what kind of deal he had made with it, but he came back unchanged… save for one little fact.

Izuna had gained the power to see through time. Memories of what happened… and what was going to happen.

He managed to engrave the knowledge he had gathered on a stone tablet, and coded them to prevent anyone outside of the clan to learn of its secrets. On it, he detailed the full and complete story of the Ten-Tails, of the Sage of the Six Paths, of the rise of Ninjutsu… and predictions of the future, both close and distant. Stories of great wars beyond everything seen, of the fall of people with the power of demons, of the end of the ninja era… and of Izuna's own, eventual death.

Of course, Izuna left him in the dark about the last part until the end. It was only on his deathbed that he revealed him everything… including what he had asked to the dark force.

After that, Madara kept his knowledge for himself, and watched helplessly as things went on exactly as his brother predicted, from the Senju's rise, to Yumi's betrayal, to his own exile.

It was alone, full of despair and sick with anger that he came to the last Grand Masters, and finally accepted their proposition. With no more followers left to fight at his sides, with all enemies of Konoha having turned their back to him, with nothing but his eyes and weapons, confronting Amatsu-Mikaboshi had become the one and obvious last solution to his problems.

"Give me the power to destroy Konoha!" He had asked to the void… and it had accepted.

_**DO AS YOU WISH.**_

_**YOUR WILL IS MY OWN, AND MY WILL IS YOUR OWN.**_

_**REALIZE OUR DESIRES.**_

_**YOUR EXISTENCE SHALL GIVE MANKIND WHAT IT WANTS.**_

Amatsu-Mikaboshi granted him many powers. For the first time in his life, he could actually control the Kyuubi. He could alter the fabric of space itself, fashioning a pocket dimension that would be the basis of most of his techniques. He became faster, stronger, deadlier…

And yet, he still lost.

Hashirama and his wife impaled him and left his body to rot near the Valley, returning to Konoha to mend their wounds, unaware that Madara had in fact survived… sort of. A pierced heart was a wound lethal for a human, no matter which kind, and Madara was no exception, especially since he hadn't mastered Izanagi until far latter.

He _did _die from his wounds that day.

But Amatsu-Mikaboshi's power prevailed over death itself. Madara's boundless hatred fueled his recovery, and he returned to his senses, weakened, broken, defeated, but still existing… even if it was as a mere mockery of life. True, he didn't need to sleep, eat, and drink anymore… he didn't even breathe anymore. He couldn't even feel pain, only itching. Neither alive, nor dead… just in between.

But such parody of eternity had come with a _huge _price. His flesh had begun to fall apart, and only the Shodaime's stolen cells prevented him from being transformed into an animated skeleton… or merely a ghost. His body could easily adapt to other bloodlines, his counterpart's use of the Rinnegan was proof of that, but it was closer to a plant than a human. His powers had decayed, his abilities had been reduced, and it had taken a long time to recuperate… he was better than the Madara who fought the Shodaime at the Valley of the End, true, but he wasn't half as strong as the man he could have been.

Madara knew it was better than being dead, but still…

_**"I do not see why your current state bothers you, Uchiha Madara," **_Amatsu-Mikaboshi declared. _**"You have achieved a perfect existence, free from life and death, free from time and of all of human's limitations. Izanami will never obtain your soul, and Izanagi's decrees do not affect you. Many humans would sell their soul to become like you."**_

"I feel… desynchronized with the world around me, August Star," Madara replied.

"As I do," Susanoo stated. "But it is my fate, and I accept it."

"I don't see why this is wrong," Amaterasu said. "I have never felt more alive than the day I became truly immortal. Don't you see we have become perfect warriors? We have become death incarnate… or in my case, war made flesh. Eternal. Insensitive. Unstoppable."

_**"You have become inexistence made existence, living voids," **_the dark force whispered. _**"You are the closest entities in this whole multiverse to me… you are my chosen. Empowered by hatred and desires strong enough to overcome reality… you have ascended to another level."**_

It didn't escape Madara that it said 'multiverse'.

_**"Yes, Uchiha Madara," **_the being nodded. _**"As you have already guessed, I do exist in **_**every single reality **_**of this multiverse… and I have knowledge of **_**everything **_**that has been, is, and will be in **_**every single mind **_**of **_**every single sentient life **_**in it, just as I have shown it to you."**_

Susanoo blinked. "So these illusions were real?"

_**"Not illusions… but fleeting, ephemeral memories. Of events that have happened, can happen, and will happen. They will forever be immortalized in my existence, eternal, unchanged," **_Mikaboshi explained._**"Do you understand why I showed them to you?"**_

"To screw with our minds, perhaps?" Tsukiyomi deadpanned.

_**"Not at all," **_the being replied. _**"Why have I shown you the human known as Uzumaki Naruto, specifically?"**_

Tsukiyomi frowned… and then blinked.

_**"You have understood," **_Mikaboshi whispered. _**"This is a preview of the perfect being I am going to turn the man, who calls himself Kazama Arashi, into, in the near future."**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Puppet Master, Sasori<strong>_

"So you brought my little gift to the stocking room?" The redhead asked without any passion. He wasn't completely trusting his new friend, even if she could have already informed the Raikage a long time ago.

It was simply in his nature to prepare for everything.

"Yes," the woman answered confidently. "He should have already begun to escape."

"Good," the puppeteer nodded, before changing subject. "Are you sure she will be willing to help us?"

The woman smiled. "I know her. She has doubts too. It has been quite a long time since we suspected that the Warden was manipulating the Raikage into going to war."

"She will have to choose between her loyalty and what is the right thing to do," Sasori pointed out. "It is a difficult choice, especially for someone like her."

"I fully believe she will realize that my actions are for the best," the woman continued. "Even if she does not support us, she will not reveal our plan to the Raikage. We have nothing to lose."

"No plan survives its contact with the enemy, no matter how perfect," Sasori stated, before seeing Kakashi stepping out of the shadows. "So?"

"I haven't mastered it completely, but I can at least use this power quite well, just like the Amaterasu," the jounin said. "However, I have difficulties with the other technique… I don't know how Madara could alter space, time and perceptions, and as such I cannot replicate his feat." Kakashi chuckled. "Despite my nickname, I can't copy all the techniques I see."

"It was expected. You have always been talented with ninjutsu, but never with illusions," the redhead declared. "Still, your new ace in the hole will help us a lot, even more if you can use it in combination with the Raikiri. The result would have made the Sandaime Raikage redden in shame."

Kakashi smirked. "Still, the old man keeps being the best of the two of us."

"For now. What about Haku?"

"She has already recovered it," Kakashi replied. "We're ready."

Sasori nodded. "Good. Now, we only have to wait for the signal." He eyed the woman, who shrugged.

"Give me an hour."

Sasori gritted his teeth. He really hated to wait.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Omake: Chibi World<em>**

The disturbing scene of the Sandaime Hokage's death vanished, and instead...

It was replaced by an even more disturbing image.

"Sasuke-teme!" a little Naruto with one big head growled. "I will defeat you with the power of friendship!"

"Dobe," a little Uchiha with one big head replied aloofly, "nothing can beat the power of my coolness."

"Sasuke-kun is so cool!" a pink-haired girl shrieked, imitated by a lot of other girls. "He's the best of all!"

"He's god!" a blonde girl added.

"Go, my brother!" A kid looking like Itachi shouted, while dressed like a cheerleader... _wait, what is a cheerleader? _Madara asked to himself.

"Go, Naruto-kun!" a little Hyuuga cheered the blonde.

"Yeah, Naruto-kun!" a boy in spandex shouted, too dressed like a cheerleader. "You're a genius of hard work!"

"Yeah, go," another Hyuuga said. "It is your fate to win."

A redhead kid with a large head simply nodded. "You validated my existence."

"... damn, he's creepy," the pink-haired girl muttered. "He sounds... a bit obsessed."

"More than this guy?" the male Hyuuga asked, looking at a child-like Orochimaru.

"Yeah, Sasuke-kun! Show me the power of your body!"

"... no," the girl agreed.

"And more than these two?" the Hyuuga asked, looking at Sasuke and Naruto.

"SASUKE! TASTE MY CHIBIGAN!"

"NARUTO! I WILL PIERCE YOU WITH MY BIG CHIBIDORI!"

"Interplay of love and violence," Gaara nodded. "I like that."

The three Madara hadn't moved at all.

"... let's torch it all," Amaterasu proposed.

"Agreed," Susanoo stated.

"Yeah, sounds good," Tsukiyomi said.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Omake 2: Black Naruto<strong>_

After killing all the... the... whatever that were these creatures, the Madara sighed as the scene changed again.

They were now in a shiny town, with huge skyscrapers... _what is a skyscraper? _Madara wondered. _Am I going insane?_

"Good morning!" A voice shouted. It belonged to a boy with a black skin... _"black skin"?_ He was completely black, something that Madara had never seen, and was wearing an orange jumpsuit. "Are you newcomers?"

Nobody answered.

"There is something wrong with my face?"

"No," Amaterasu replied. "It is just that..."

The boy frowned. "That's because I'm black? What, can't I be black?" He snarled. "I mean, Kumogakure is full of dark-skinned people, but there are no completely black people! Heck, Konan has _blue_ hair, Sakura has _pink_ hair, and some girl has _green_ hair! There are shark-men, plant-men, fox-men, flying-men, pervert-men, spandex-men, but no black men! There are Senju Naruto, Evil Naruto, Female Naruto, Gay Naruto, but no Black Naruto? What is wrong with this manga?" He shouted, before leaving.

The trio stayed silent a moment.

"... can someone explain me what just happened?" Susanoo asked.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's Notes:<em>**

**_The omakes were done for the humor. The chibi idea comes from ABitterPill and the black Naruto from Shinsou Tengen Wabisuke._**

__**Also, I got a recommendation on Tv Tropes! The For Want A Nail page for Naruto's fanfiction, to be precise! Thank you, ChessKindred and Storm of Script, for recommending it! Now, just have to get my own page... also, thank you, God Emperor Of GAR-halla, for suggesting my story in the New Media forum part of the site.**__

**_Not to sure about this chapter... might be the 'flashback-like' narrative, or the Madara part (with the whole undead thing), but I have some strange feeling about this one._**

**_And it's official, this Naruto Multiverse is based on the Shinto Mythology, or rather my own interpretation of it. I mean, I think it is the best myths to go along with canon, with all the references..._**

**_So, have a nice week, review and give your point of view, and type you soon!_**


	17. Chapter 17: Jailbreak

**Hello everybody! **

**Here is the new chapter, delayed because I'm still trying to understand what the hell happened with canon's last two chapters. I thought Kishimoto had finally done another good twist with Edo!Madara and False!Madara, making me try hard to guess who was behind the mask, but then... three words.**

**Sharingan. Becomes. Rinnegan.**

**What the hell? Why are these eyes more and more overpowered with each passing chapter? If Sasuke shows up with the Rinnegan, and I _really_ see it coming, then I will begin to doubt about someone's sanity...**

**Though it made MY Madara summoning meteors a little more appropriate.**

**Same this as ever, thank, Alpha142, ABitterPill and Third Fang, for being my beta and correcting my work full of errors.**

**Disclaimer: I don't possess the rights needed to make this story, so don't tell Kishimoto.**

_**Traveler/Original Naruto: Kazama Arashi.**_

_**Pupeteer Naruto: Chibaku Arashi.**_

**_Werefox/Hybrid Naruto: Kitsune Arashi._**

**_Female Naruto: Naruko Arashi._**

**_Deceiver/Original Madara: Tsukiyomi._**

**_Destroyer/Rinnegan Madara: Susanoo._**

**_Warrior/Collector Madara: Amaterasu._**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Seventeen: Jailbreak<strong>_

_I wonder what she wants to talk about, _Yugito thought, as she continued walking through Kumo's streets, saluting back the villagers. _Maybe it's about the escapees? Or about the Raikage's visit to the Vault?_

The memories of yesterday's night were still fresh in her mind. She remembered well about the capture of the some of the Arashi, and the gruesome trail of bodies left by the ones who had managed to get away. Kumogakure was still in an alarmed state, ANBU patrolling and searching for Cloud's enemies in the homes of its citizens, under the orders of Killer Bee. Meanwhile, the Raikage was preparing to go to the Vault alongside N and herself, to interrogate the newest prisoners.

Somehow, Yugito was feeling bad about this whole mess. The Arashi weren't Kumo's enemies, and the Raikage's decision had been as surprising as it was treacherous. She knew she couldn't question his orders, but she was still reluctant to follow them. Especially since the Jinchuuriki had to betray the trust of a little girl to do it.

_"Why, Yugito-chan?" _Naruko had asked. _"What did we do to you?"_

The worst was that she did not have any explanation to give.

_**I must admit that I do not understand either, Kitten, **_the Nibi said. _**While it was fun to see this Kazama getting beaten by our dear fox-boy, they were kind of allies. And I have a feeling things will turn out for the worse because of your boss' choice.**_

She had nothing to say back at that.

Finally reaching Mabui's home, a little house in a residential district, Yugito knocked on the door. The dark-skinned woman opened it, smiling at her friend. "Hello, Yugi."

The Jinchuuriki smirked at the nickname. "Good afternoon, Mab'," she replied. It was usual between them to talk like that.

"Please, enter," the secretary said. "Do you want a drink?"

"Well, if you have milk…" Yugito joked, as Mabui closed the door behind her. "I would also like a ball to play with…"

_**Oh, come on, Kitten, we're not cats. We only have their appearance… and I still wonder why… I mean, I'm a living mass of chakra, not an animal…**_

"I have nothing of the like," the woman replied, as Yugito sat on a sofa. "Would you prefer coffee? Or tea?"

"Do you have tisane tea?" the Jinchuuriki asked.

"Of course," Mabui said, as she left for the kitchen. "Just wait a few seconds. Something else?"

"Nothing except the reason why you called me. Your message seemed… too formal and important," she declared, as Mabui returned with two glasses. Yugito smirked. "Let me guess, you just found another boyfriend?"

"Unfortunately not," the secretary replied, sitting and giving her friend her glass. "Nobody suits my tastes in this city, unfortunately. All too… passionate." She sighed. "With my boss, I'm now allergic to impulsive men."

"It doesn't surprise me," Yugito laughed, before drinking a bit. "But what about Darui? And C?"

"Relationships annoy the first greatly, and C is too stuck-up," Mabui explained, before smirking. "And what about you? I heard that Samui's brother had tried to court you."

Yugito rolled her eyes. "That guy is the complete opposite of his sister. _So _much it isn't even funny. Not really my kind of boyfriend." She sighed. "Then again, I wonder what kind of person I would like to date...…"

_**Try to get with someone that does good massages, **_the Nibi said. _**I like them.**_

"Mmm… you know, I'm sure you will find someone soon," Mabui assured. "Once the war ends, there will be many opportunities."

"_If _it ends," Yugito pointed out. "Danzo seems determined to kick us out of the Land of Fire, and the Yondaime Kazekage is still alive, gathering troops in foreign lands. We're going to face guerilla warfare for a long time, even with Iwa's help. And let's not even talk about A's new projects…"

Mabui nodded. "That's just the tip of the iceberg. He plans to invade Amegakure next, with the help of this 'Yahiko'."

Yugito raised her eyebrows. "And how are we supposed to find the necessary troops? We already have difficulties maintaining the territory we already possess."

"Raikage-sama wants to extract the Shukaku from its container, and the three Nine-Tails from the Arashi," Mabui replied. "Possible containers have already been selected among the army. Raikage-sama thinks four new Jinchuuriki will allow Kumo to intimidate the continent into submission."

Yugito blinked. "And how will he manage to hide that from our allies? News of this alone will convince every other country to join force against us, even Iwa…"

"The Kinkaku Force is completely and utterly loyal, now that the Warden has purged it from Root's influence," Mabui said. "N, Killer Bee, you and me will not spill the beans either, and the Warden is the last person that would do it. Kumogakure is his own, favorite playground."

"We can never be sure," Yugito pointed out. "When the new Jinchuuriki will begin training, it will not be long before our enemies put two and two together and realize we have captured other Bijuu. We already have three… seven of them would make everyone out for our blood."

"I know," Mabui said. "I pointed it out to A-sama, but you know him: he's convinced superior firepower is the solution to all problems."

"He's wrong," Yugito stated. "However, what can we do about it? He's our leader, after all."

Mabui shook her head. "The _Warden _is the real ruler of Kumo, and both know it. And it is because of his selfish greed that the world is a mess."

"Well, we won the war and N thanks to him," the blonde pointed out.

"At what cost?" the secretary shot back. "We have lost so many of our friends because of this pointless conflict, that will be all for naught. The Warden destroyed Kumo, Yugi. We may have conquered both Konoha and Sunagakure, but we haven't succeeded in gaining allies there. The Daimyos, Danzo and the Kazekage are all on the run and killing our forces left and right. Our alliance with Iwagakure is shaky at best, and all the other countries either fear or despise us." Mabui frowned. "As long as the Warden continues to whisper in the Raikage's ear, we will never have any peace."

Yugito's eyes widened, understanding what her friend was implying. "This is treason…"

"This is our duty, Yugi," Mabui replied firmly. "A-sama is completely under his influence, and we both know that the Warden doesn't care about our interests in the slightest. Removing him is the only way to make things right again." She sighed. "Kumo is tired of eight years of war, Yugi. It wants peace, and no more bloodshed."

"He is A's closest ally," the Jinchuuriki responded. "And even if I was going to help you, which I won't, how can you imagine we'll be able to kill him, while clearing ourselves of suspicion?"

Mabui smiled. "With the help of some allies."

Yugito paled, as she sensed three familiar souls approaching them. "No… you were hiding _them_?"

_**Wow... well, thinking back about it, it was kind of obvious that they had help from one of us, to hide for so long in this town...**_

"I was," Mabui confirmed, as a redhead, Kakashi Hatake and a Hyoton user appeared right behind her. "And I have every intention of helping them break their friends out of the Vault."

"H-how?" Yugito asked, shocked.

"I will teleport them there, with the Pot," she explained. "Once there, they will kill the Warden and leave this world. A will think it is a jailbreak, and then be more... open to our advise."

"If you agree to work with us, Yugito-san," the redhead said, "your job will simply be to prevent the Raikage and N from interfering. Distract them or whatever."

Yugito frowned. "This is insane… why I should I do that?"

"For my bro's sake, so he won't commit another mistake," another voice said.

Yugito's head tilted to her side. "B-Bee-sama?" she asked, the man nodding.

_**It's the real one. The soul -and the hellish rhyme- confirms it.**_

"But this is-"

"Yugito-chan," the man interrupted her, completely serious. "The snake's venom has corrupted my brother, and he's no more a good-doer. I can't take him down, but you can prevent him from ever again seeing dawn."

"The choice is all yours, Yugi," Mabui said. "Yours, and yours alone. We are not offering you the choice between betraying your country and your loyalty. We're offering you the choice to do what is _right_."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Traveler, Kazama<strong>_

_I can maintain the shape, but I'm not able to implement Wind chakra in it, _Kazama thought, remembering his training with Kakashi. _If I try to do it, it implodes and loses its shape. I can probably succeed with a clone's help, but how can I manage to throw it like this Feral Gale did? His technique didn't need a constant influx of elemental chakra… how the hell could he do that? Maybe… I don't know what other energy he used during his fight with Kishin, but it could have stabilized the technique and made it useful at long distance… if only I could use it too…_

His eyes snapped open, and he smiled_… I'm such an idiot. I already have the solution: my chains. If I use them to maintain the shape while I infuse the technique with Wind… I will be able to use it at long distances. But what kind of shape would be the best… a shuriken? If I can't throw it, it is useless in term of aerodynamics. If used in conjunction with the chains… _An idea came to his mind. _A flail! I keep the sphere between the chains, and I use them to make it hit Orochimaru! Then, the whole thing will explode and unleash the power inside… and then there will be much rejoicing for me._

_If only I could get out of this cell… _he closed his eyes. _Mmm… I don't know what to say… Shinigami? Seal? Kyuubi? Whatever, I need help! I need to go rescue my friends! Please! Please…_

Nobody answered.

… _please…_

A cold feeling invaded his limbs, much to his surprise. Suddenly, he felt like he had been the target of icy water, and he got an headache. He touched his face, trying to stop the pain…

… he could move!

Despite the suffering, Kazama tried to get up… and succeeded, his legs lifting up his body. He touched the cell's wall, sensing it. _I… I… __**I feel… **_A powerful light obstructed his view, and he saw a giant sun swallowing him…

When he opened his eyes again, he wasn't in his cell anymore. He was… somewhere else.

It was a dark, large hall, full of tubes of glass. There were also tables covered with journals, sheets of paper, full of texts. It was stinking death itself… and there was some blood on the ground. _Where the hell am I? A laboratory maybe? _Kazama wondered, approaching to look at the journals.

_11: Naruto-kun's cells are amazing. Incredible speed of splitting. Very good chakra, very potent. With the Kyuubi, it is instant healing. Maybe, if I replicate them, I will be able to cure myself._

_15: Failure at skin transplantation. No compatibility. NO COMPATIBLY!_

_16: Possible solution to necrosis. If I can't transplant Naruto-kun's flesh on myself… I will transplant myself on Naruto-kun._

_It's Orochimaru's notes, _Kazama guessed. _What a…_

_17: Fool of a Raikage refused. INTOLERABLE!_

_20: Found last solution. Recreating Naruto-kun himself, with his cells. Will be long, don't know if I have enough time._

… _recreate me?_

_33: Naruto 2 is on the way._

Kazama frowned, and then paled. He looked at the tubes of glass, a chilling hypothesis having infected his thoughts. The second he saw blonde hair through one of them, he knew he had been right. He was looking at another Naruto.

Orochimaru had _cloned _him.

It was an adult, sleeping peacefully in a green liquid, his eyes closed. His skin was pale, and he seemed to be happy in his state… if he even had a mind, that is. _Orochimaru is going to die for this… _Kazama promised, gritting his teeth in rage. _I will kill him myself._

It was at this moment that he noticed someone's reflect in the glass.

Jumping on his left, Kazama barely avoided the Kusanagi's extended blade, which pierced the tube and impaled the cloned Naruto, coloring the liquid red with blood. Quickly, Kazama put himself behind another, empty tube, looking at his attacker.

"I see that you have managed to escape your cell," Orochimaru hissed. "Did you enjoy meeting your… twin?"

Kazama glared at his enemy, while observing him. He was wearing his usual clothing… and wielding _two _Kusanagi. _Of course, it was expected, as he killed his counterpart here… _"I assume it is N's clone?"

"Yes," Orochimaru confirmed, slowly walking toward Kazama. "A complete and utter failure… I wanted to possess this doll, but it wasn't complete… too unstable. Your body will be better. After I kill you first, of course."

"You are going to murder your only chance of survival?" the blonde muttered, preparing a jutsu. _Has this necrosis infected his brain too?_

"If I don't kill you first, how can I be sure you still have this little regeneration of yours?" Orochimaru asked. "Sasuke already killed you twice. And you know the thing, 'never two without three'."

"You're insane," Kazama shot back.

"And. You. Are. DEAD!" He screamed, his two swords suddenly extending and piercing through the tube. Kazama used the Kawarimi to switch place with a nearby table, which exploded in many shards. Then…

"Kage Bunshin!"

Dozens of shadow clonespopped into existence, either dispersing or charging at Orochimaru, who destroyed them one after the other with swift moves of his blades. "Is that all that you can do?" the snakes masking the Sannin's face snarled.

"Since you seem to be asking for it…" the real Kazama trailed of. "WIND RELEASE: HEAT WAVE!"

A powerful gale sent Orochimaru crashing onto on a wall, much to his surprise. Before he could react, the Sannin received two Rasengan in his belly, administrated by two clones. The resulting explosion blew up the rock, and Orochimaru vanished behind a cloud of dust.

A second later, dozens of snakes shredded the two clones apart. "I see you have made progress, Naruto-kun," Orochimaru hissed, as his eyes searched for the real blonde, "but that is still not enough." He chuckled, threw his swords in the air, and then quickly joined his hands. "WIND RELEASE: OROCHI'S BREATH!"

Wind gathered into a sphere in the center of the room, and then exploded, unleashing a powerful, destructing squall that shattered the walls themselves. While his clones vanished, Kazama used a table to protect himself from the blast… but it did not protect him from Orochimaru's kick as it went through the wood. Thrown against a wall, the blonde got up just in time to avoid getting pierced by the twin Kusanagi.

"That is all?" Orochimaru asked, as he tried, and failed, to impale his rival. "After all this time, that's all you can do? You're as pathetic as your mother!"

Kazama…

Laughed.

The Sannin's eyes widened, as dozens of blue chains suddenly hit his head all at once, killing white snakes and crushing his skull. Kazama then made the biggest Rasengan he could, and slammed it on the wounded ninja. The resulting explosion blew the floor apart beneath them, and made the two fall through it. Midair, the blonde made another Rasengan, and repeated the process once Orochimaru touched the ground.

This time… there was no floor left. Only clouds.

Reacting quickly, Kazama used the Heat Wave to propel himself, catching the broken rock above him, adhering to it. _Crap, this thing is actually floating! _the blonde thought, before looking where Orochimaru had fallen. _At least, he's not going to make it…_

The Sannin's snakes suddenly grabbed the rock, adhering to it, and the retracted themselves. Their very angry master got out of one cloud, glaring hatefully at Kazama, his shattered head recomposing itself.

… _of course he is going to make it. Where are the Kus-_

Two swords shot out of Orochimaru's mouth. Acting quickly, Kazama deflected them with his chains, and then made them wind around the metal of the swords. Seizing the Sannin, they then threw him like a rag doll on another wall. A second later, it was the world wanderer's time to get lifted and propelled above. Making the chains vanish, the blonde then used the Heat Wave to land on his limbs, his feet catching a vertical surface.

Orochimaru was waiting for him. "You are full of surprise, aren't you, Naruto-kun? You seem to have awakened your mother's miserable little powers…"

Ignoring the snake, Kazama summoned a dozen of clones.

"Always the same little tricks…" Orochimaru whispered. "I'm awfully disappoi-"

"We don't care!" The blondes all shouted, as they threw dozens of explosive kunai at the rotting man. The snake immediately joined his palm, and slammed the ground.

"Rashomon Gate!"

A huge gate of steel with a demonic appearance erupted from the rock in a puff of smoke, protecting its user from the multiple explosions. "Pitiful child…" the Sannin hissed, walking to his summon's side. "You need to learn to respect your betters… White Reptilian Sea!" He shouted, hundreds of white snakes launching out of his arms and charging at Kazama and his clones.

"Wind Release: Cold Wave!" A powerful gale of wind sent the snakes falling in the clouds below, while Orochimaru… crumbled into dust.

Immediately, Kazama used a Kawarimi to switch place with one of his clones. His intuition proved itself correct, since the wall under him suddenly transformed into spikes of rock. While he and his still existing copies dispersed, Kazama saw a flying form coming at him from his left. Jumping backward, the world wanderer dodged the floating Kusanagi… and then switched place with another clone, right before Orochimaru impaled it. Smirking, Kazama then unleashed a Heat Wave at the snake, brutally expelling him from the surface where he was standing. The snake barely managed to catch the wall…

Just in time to receive a Rasengan right in the face.

While the Sannin was falling again, Kazama used his chakra chains to whip him multiple times, in the face, chest, legs and arms. While the blonde listened to the noise of cracking bones, he then noticed the flying Kusanagi returning, and dogged it.

Orochimaru of course used this time to get back on his feet, visibly hurt a lot. "How… HOW THE HELL CAN YOU DO THAT?"

"Because while I _improved_, you _decayed_, Orochimaru!" Kazama snarled. "You're weaker than ever! You have become slow, your cannot endure blows… you cannot even regenerate yourself as fast as you have once been able to! You have become nothing more than a shadow of your former self, a walking corpse!" He snorted. "Please, just die, for everyone's sake."

The Sannin glared at him… and then shrieked, his snakes hissing, before throwing his second Kusanagi at Kazama. The blonde dogged it, and responded by throwing two kunai at his enemy. He avoided them…

The kunai transformed into clones of Naruto, who each used a Rasengan on the snake.

As the dust of the resulting explosion settled, Kazama only saw a hole. His clones vanished, and he looked for the flying Kusanagi, who had mysteriously vanished. With much caution, he jumped into the opening, a dark and long corridor.

"Come on!" Kazama snickered, while slowly advancing, ready to attack anytime. "I know you're there, coward! Show yourself!"

"… coward?" a grump voice asked, as a human appeared at the other end of the passage.

"WHO JUST CALLED ME A COWARD?"

Kazama's eyes widened in shock. "Z-Zabuza?"

The incensed swordsman raised his eyebrow… _Zabuza doesn't have eyebrows._ "Kazama?" the swordsman asked. "That's a surpris-"

A powerful Heat Wave interrupted his words, and dissipated his Henge. "You worm!" Orochimaru hissed as he fled, pursued by Kazama, who continued shooting wind at his enemy. _To miss such a detail... his mind has indeed been affected by this necrosis thing, _the blonde thought, while smirking._ He's literally brain-dead!_

In the end, they reached a large hall with a big cube in its center. The world wanderer stopped advancing.

Dozens of guards were surrounding Orochimaru.

"Warden-sam-"

"KILL HIM!" Orochimaru's snakes shrieked with anger and rage. "I WANT HIM **DEAD**!"

The men immediately obeyed, taking their weapons. "Sorry kid… nothing personal," one of them said, as he charged at Kazama…

Before biting the dirt, as a blonde girl rammed a Rasengan on his back.

"Dynamic entry!" Naruko shouted, smiling at her older counterpart. "Here I am, Naru-sensei!"

Kazama was left speechless by that… and then heard screams and the like. Three forms jumped at his sides.

"Sorry for the delay," Chibaku said, his kunai red with blood. "But seriously, couldn't you stay in your cell? Heck, _how the hell did you manage to escape_?"

"By destroying the walls, I suppose," Zabuza growled, eyeing the guards he was soon going to slaughter. "Indestructible, my ASS!"

_**"Blood…" **_Kitsune, having adopted his werefox form, muttered ominously, staring at his enemies as if they were meat. _**"Screams…"**_

"Hey! The _cells' _walls _are _indestructible! I never said the rest of them were!" Chibaku replied.

Zabuza snorted. "Yeah, I believe you…"

"Really?"

"… how to tell you that… NO!" He then shrugged. "It doesn't matter, anyway." He noticed Orochimaru, and snickered. "What is it? A horror show? A guy who has discovered that yeah, chemicals really are inflammable?"

"Orochimaru," Kazama stated. "_My _Orochimaru." The others gasped.

"I thought he was dead," Chibaku pointed out.

"Apparently not," Kazama said, glaring at the soon-to-be-dead Sannin. "Don't worry, I will correct that mistake. It's because of him that this world has gone to hell."

"You really think you and your pathetic friends can beat me, Naruto-kun?" Orochimaru rasped. "That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever listened to!"

"Then why are you hiding behind your guards, coward?" Kazama shot back.

Orochimaru glared… before shrieking madly. "Oh, they have a purpose, I assure you… they're the larval form of something greater!" His snakes hissed. "Let me show you all… what is the meaning of power!"

Three of his snakes grabbed one guard each and pinned them on the floor, much to their surprise. The rest observed the scene, terrified. Orochimaru made hand seals, making three scrolls appear on the ground. Strange markings formed around the captives…

Chibaku's eyes widened, and he threw an explosive kunai at the Sannin. "STOP HIM! STOP HIM NOW!"

Kazama reacted the first, sending a Heat Wave. Naruko imitated Chibaku, while Kitsune and Zabuza charged at high speed toward the snake. The guards, however, stopped them. Some engaged the two bruisers in a melee, while the rest countered the long-range attack by creating a wall of earth.

"TOO LATE!" Orochimaru screamed, as dust enveloped the three guards. "YOU ARE TOO LATE!"

The dust transformed them, covered them, while they screamed. Their body changed, taking different shapes… that Kazama knew all too well.

A white-haired man wearing red robes.

A blonde, busty woman wearing green robes.

An old man wearing a black armor.

"BEHOLD THE REBIRTH OF THE LEGENDARY SANNIN AND THE GOD OF THE SHINOBI!" Orochimaru shrieked, as he put three kunai in the back of each corpses' head. "BEHOLD MY VICTORY OVER DEATH ITSELF!"

"You asshole…" Kazama muttered, disgusted and horrified. "You killed them… and now you use them as your puppets? As much as I despise them, this is just wrong."

"I will enjoy gutting someone that sinks so low," Zabuza declared, as he absentmindedly beheaded another one of his enemies.

_**"We shall break you down to the last bone," **_Kitsune growled… and his voice changed a bit, becoming human for a second. "Where… is… Samehada?"

Orochimaru snorted, before smirking. "In one of my labs, waiting to be vivisected... and you will soon join that creature... isn't that right, Raikage-dono?."

Four figures entered in the hall, behind the Sannin. Kazama glared at them, just like the rest of his team. Kitsune seemed ready to jump at the newcomers' throat. _**"N…"**_

"Orochimaru!" the Raikage growled. "How did they escape?" Yugito was a bit pale, while N was frowning. The last of the four was a man with an eye-patch, apparently their guide.

"Just an accident, Raikage-dono," the snake declared. "We will take care of them… my old teammates and I."

While Yugito and N paled as they stared at the three zombie, the Raikage simply shrugged. "Make it quick."

"Of course," the snake smirked, as both the guards and the undead ninjas straightened, ready to attack. "KIL-"

A big cloud of smoke filled the hall, surprising everyone. _What now? _Kazama thought, as the dust settled, revealing a big pot. _What the hell?_

The Raikage's eyes had snapped open in obvious amazement and incomprehension. "The Pot of Kumo…" Suddenly, air twisted around the object, and three forms got out of it.

A redhead, immediately unsealing two twin puppets from a scroll.

A lady in a kimono, wielding senbon.

A grey-haired man taking away his headband and revealing a Sharingan.

"Hello, everyone!" Kakashi shouted. "Sorry to be late."

Kazama smirked. "No… for once, you're just in time."

"Haku-chan!" Naruko chirped, as the Yuki smiled.

"That is for what friends are... to help when you're in need."

Sasori briefly looked at the Kumo-nin, before sighing. "Well, I guess that no plan survives its contact with the enemy… who wants to take on who?"

"The dead-looking guy is mine," Kazama said, glaring at Orochimaru. "Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Sarutobi are resurrected dead."

"The Impure Resurrection…" Sasori frowned, his eyes shining with a disturbing mix of curiosity and determination. "Sealing experts are mandatory for this task. Haku, Zabuza, we will take care of them. Chibaku, Kitsune, take on N-"

**_"With joy, human."_**

A burst of malevolent chakra threw all the Arashi on the ground and made the Kumo-nin take a step back. Kazama immediately recognized the aura, and stared at its source with obvious fear.

_**"N!" **_Kitsune roared with three inhuman voices, as red chakra covered his body, tearing his fur apart and mixing itself with blood. _**"It is time for you to die.. we will consume you…" **_The four-tailed miniature Kyuubi roared, opening its mouth.

_**"WE WILL FEAST UPON YOUR GRAVE!"**_

And it unleashed a blast of raw power.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Aspects<strong>_

The humans they graced with their fire were reduced to ashes… to nothingness. Rocks were vaporized into oblivion, and one of the face of their cube was melted. Their limitless power shaped a path from this hall to the outside world, to a blue sky that they would paint in red.

But then, this miserable excuse of a Jinchuuriki came to punch their holy face with a paw wreathed in gold.

They barely flinched, and punched the insect's face with all their might, enhancing it with their chakra. The vermin was propelled outside at the speed of the wind, and they rushed after him in pursuit, leaving the rest of the humans behind, squashing a few along the way. They jumped at the edge of the ground and fell through the clouds, following their stunned prey.

_It is time, _the Pride commanded. _I shall assume direct control. Rage, more power. Selfishness, more precision._

_**And the last aspect? **_the Selfishness asked.

_**LET HIM SLEEP! **_The Rage roared. _**I FEED ON HIS ANGER!**_

_Then the three of us shall be sufficient to break this piece of meat's spine and spirit, _the Pride decided, as the blonde insect's chakra cloak took the shape of two wings. _I will show you what a _**true**_ Bijuu can do, you despicable copy._

His will changed their body. As bones got out of their chakra, two new tails being generated by the Rage, the Pride twisted their form, the Selfishness making his will a reality. The bones became wings, wreathed into a burning red chakra… and they began to move swiftly, making the Kyuubi fly in the air. At the same time, two faces formed at the end of tails, grinning and chuckling.

They were faster than the sound, and proved it by hitting the insect with their paw, sending him away. He managed to change his trajectory, but the Pride predicted his course, catching the shiny insect. Rotating, they threw the insect toward the tower in the horizon. The Kyuubi then chuckled, and their three heads opened their muzzles, gathering demonic chakra… and then firing three balls of light at the still flying insect. They caught up with him and exploded into a wonderful mix of power, fire and noise.

The sight of this miniature sun delighted them… until they noticed the form inside of it.

Another Kyuubi, with golden, feathered wings made of chakra. A human wearing the skin of a Bijuu, preparing himself to shoot a Menacing Ball at them…

_Ridiculous._

The aspects inwardly smiled, their three faces focusing chakra. _Make your first shot count… you won't have another._

The Jinchuuriki fired its ball, but they were better, smarter. One ball was shot, hitting the enemy's projectile first and making it explode. The two other balls were swallowed, with one released in the form of a ray of light, fired toward the false Kyuubi's last location. The Pride was completely aware that it wouldn't even touch its target, but it wasn't the point.

The false Kyuubi now knew where they were.

As expected, it tried to take them on the side, but the Pride saw it coming and counterattacked. Their last mouth opened while their enemy was at close distance, the pure power tearing away its chakra cloak and propelling him on the tower, near the summit, making it explode and break.

Silently, they flew toward this place, ready to devour this imitation.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Girl, Naruko<strong>_

As Kitsune rushed outside, Naruko had already been moving, taking two kunai. Things had quickly devolved into a chaotic melee, obscured by dust. She still noticed Kazama, locked in a fist-fight with the dead-looking guy. This one then pushed her sensei back, before running away through the ruins that Kitsune had left.

Her sensei followed him… with the old man with the black armor and Yugito on his tracks.

Naruko bit her lip, and ran after them. But suddenly, a wall of earth prevented her from advancing. She tilted her head to the said, seeing a man with an eye-patch. "Sorry girl," he said as he stopped touching the wall, two guards coming to back him up, "this is between our boss and your own."

"Get out of my way!"

"I'm afraid not," he replied, making hand-seals. "We w-"

A projectile hit him the head, breaking his skull. Naruko stayed motionless as a huge cloud of sand wrapped itself around the guards, crushing them too. Then, it left the corpses to fall… before advancing toward the blonde.

Jumping quickly above the wall, the girl began to run through the path Kitsune made, the cloud following her at high speed. _What the hell is that? _she wondered as she navigated around the piles of rocks left through a large, destroyed corridor. After throwing her kunai at the cloud, realizing how much it had been useless the second they went through it, she made hand-seals, and created a few clones, and they dispersed once they reached a crossroad. The cloud, thankfully, followed the clones instead of her.

But when she reached a large circular room with blue walls, Naruko cursed.

_A dead-end._

Images of clones crushed by sand came to her mind, soon followed by an even worse one when she rotated.

The cloud was already blocking the corridor, having taken the form of a waterfall of sand and dust.

Then, someone passed through it… a girl a few years older than her, whose green eyes were cold and surrounded by black rings. She had scarlet, mid-long hair, and a very fair skin. She was wearing red and black robes, and a large gourd on her back. The Kanji for 'Love' was tattooed on her forehead.

"I saw you," she muttered with an emotionless, cold voice. "My mother told me who you are… you are like me."

Naruko blinked. "You are a Jinchuuriki?" She put the two and two together. "You were sealed in this cube!"

"No more," she replied. "I am free to kill once again."

"You… you want to kill me?" Naruko wondered, astonished. "But why? We are not the one who imprisoned you!"

"It doesn't matter," she said. "You are like me, that is all I need to know. Your blood will make me stronger."

"So you're a vampire?" the blonde asked.

"I am Gaara of the desert," she said. "Daughter of the Shukaku. Killing you will prove my love for her… and validate my existence."

_Her demon must be manipulating her… _Naruko thought. "I don't understand you, but we don't have to try to kill each other!"

"We just did," Gaara replied, her gourd releasing a cloud of sand in the air, advancing toward the blonde. "Die… or resist. Either way will please me."

"I think I will take a third option: beat the crap out of you!" She shouted, beginning a jutsu. "If you're looking for a fight, you will have it! Water Release: Stormy Blockade!"

The liquid in the air condensed, taking the form of a small waterfall, right above the cloud of sand. It became solid, and dropped on the ground. Quickly, she threw three shuriken at her enemy, who didn't even move a finger.

More sand got out of Gaara's gourd and caught the projectiles, before floating toward the blonde. The redhead's eyes had slightly widened in sadistic anticipation.

"Water Release: Snake's Mouth!" Naruko shouted, breathing liquid. It adopted the shape of a snake, and drowned the sand.

"Sand Arrow," Gaara muttered, as she wavered her hands. Little, pointy projectiles flowed out of her gourd, flying toward Naruko. The blonde charged at her enemy, avoiding the attacks. _She is obviously a long-range battler, _the Jinchuuriki thought. _Meaning she must suck at close combat._

Reaching Gaara, Naruko prepared to punch her… until another mass of sand surged to protect the redhead. The blonde used a Shunshin to move behind her enemy, before using a Rasengan on her back. The attack surprised the mad demon vessel, catapulting her away. Before she crashed, however, her gourd transformed into a blanket of sand which wrapped itself around the girl, protecting her from the impact.

_Her sand acts on its own… and it acts fast._

_**Shukaku's doing, **_the Kyuubi whispered. _**Its chakra controls the sand. I doubt this vessel is something else than a mere puppet of meat.**_

Sighing, Naruko summoned a few shadow clones to fight with her, as Gaara rose to her feet, her sand transforming into a little tsunami. It was however very slow, the compressed masses of it moving half as quickly as the rest.

With a henge, Naruko and two of her clones took the form of shuriken, picked up and thrown by other clones above the advancing desert, which crushed her copies. They changed form midair, and then punched and kicked Gaara's face… _I see... it must be..._

The redhead transformed into dust, and split in two. Another Gaara got out of the original's body and leapt backward, while the original transformed into animated sand and exploded. Her clones popped up in smoke, while she was thrown away… landing on Gaara's miniature desert.

_Crap._

Immediately, the ground wrapped itself around her ankles. Despite her struggle to break free, she was soon immobilized by a cocoon of sand and lifted above the ground, Gaara licking her lips at the sight. _Now, only one way to escape... _Naruko wished with all her willpower her theory was right, and gathered her chakra…

"Sand Funeral!" Gaara roared, opening her palm and closing it. The sand began to compress…

And Naruko managed to slip through of it.

For once, Gaara's startled expression didn't chill the blonde to the bone. "How…"

She was so startled that she didn't move to dodge a chakra-enhanced kick, which went through both the sand shield that appeared and the layer covering the redhead's skin. Gaara was catapulted backward, her head hitting the ground.

Naruko then landed on the miniature desert, and she jumped by using it as a platform. The sand tried to stop her, but it simply grazed her ankles and nothing more. She grabbed the ceiling, attached her feet and palms to it, and observed Gaara below.

The girl's face was the very picture of rage and aggression. "You… you use the same technique…" she glared at the blonde. "You are like this cat… you fight in the same way…"

"So you know Yugito-chan?" Naruko asked, eyeing the desert for any sign of danger. "Let me guess: she's the one who defeated you?" After all, she was using her technique…

It was so simple… Gaara's sand was laced with Shukaku's chakra, which allowed it to twist its form by making its component adhere together. It was simply a much more advanced amelioration of the tree-walking exercise, used for destructive purpose… with one glaring weakness. If someone touched it and used its own chakra to adhere to it, it imbalanced the technique and reduced what was in contact with the body to normal sand… completely harmless.

_**Impressive thinking, **_the Kyuubi commented, impressed. _**Our huge reserves of chakra make such an operation possible, but to know it would work beforehand... h****ow did you figure that out?**_

_When me and my clones touched her, _Naruko explained, _I used Yugito's technique on the layer of sand covering her face. It separated itself from the sand clone, but did not grab us like the desert had. The only explanation was that I somehow disarmed it._

_**This is… surprising… **_the Bijuu muttered. _**I didn't expect such smart thinking from someone likes you. **_

Naruko's jaw clenched. _What does it mean?_

_**Figure that out too.**_

"You are like her…" Gaara muttered. "I will kill you for that… mother's sand will kill you…"

"Your mother?" Naruko frowned. "You're talking about the Shukaku? It is not your mother! Don't listen to it!"

"Mother…" Gaara massaged her temples, ignoring the blonde. "Please, mother… I need your help… please, protect me from her…" She slammed her hands together. "Forced Sleep Technique."

_**STOP HER! **_The Kyuubi roared in the back of her mind. _**She's unleashing Shukaku!**_

Naruko immediately threw herself at her enemy, as the little desert compressed itself around Gaara, taking the shape of an egg. No sooner than the blonde kicked its surface that it exploded, forcing her to leap backward.

Gaara… wasn't human anymore.

_**"You hurt my baby…" **_a nine-feet tall yellow Tanuki growled, its huge tail balancing in its back. _**"I will repaint this room with your blood…"**_

Naruko snorted, and gave the creature a challenging gesture. "Bring it on!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Man Reborn, Kakashi<strong>_

The first thing Kakashi did was to shoot a fireball at the asshole responsible for all this mess.

The Raikage threw his robes away, his muscular body wreathed with lighting. His technique protected him from the blast, as if it was nothing more than a breeze. "There is only one possible reason explaining why you can be there," the Kumo leader stated. "Mabui betrayed me. She's the only one with the ability to teleport objects within our territory."

"Look at yourself before speaking of betrayal," Kakashi muttered, beginning a hand-seal sequence. "You break deals and ceasefires like it's nothing… you're one hell of a bad leader. Water Release: Aqua Sphere." He inhaled and exhaled, launching a massive ball of concentrated liquid at his enemy.

"You think you're the first one to try to counter my shield with water?" the Raikage snorted, before wavering his hands. His body generated a powerful bolt of lightning that instantly vaporized the ball, evaporating it. "You're the foolish one there."

"Say the man who leads his country into ruin and destruction," Kakashi replied, as he threw three explosive kunai at the Raikage. "Kumo is dying because of you."

The man's expression twisted into one of anger. "I made Kumogakure stronger than ever before!" He shouted as the explosions didn't even faze him. He moved his ankles, and ran at an incredible speed toward Kakashi, ready to punch him.

Obito's Sharingan, however, allowed Kakashi to see the incoming ninja without problem. Predicting his trajectory, the jounin leapt on the side at the right time, while at the same time unlocking his evolved eye. Black fire spread over the Kumo-nin's right forearm, consuming it.

The Raikge didn't even shrug, and cut his whole limb near the shoulder with his other palm, leaving it to drop on the ground. "Amaterasu, the holy fire," he said, unimpressed. "It must be quite consuming, isn't it? A non-Uchiha isn't built to use this power."

"And nobody should help a necromancer," Kakashi pointed out, doing his best to ignore his sudden tiredness. _He is unfortunately somewhat right... but I have enough chakra to keep up with him for the time._ "Orochimaru will betray you, stab your back you, just as you did with us. I doubt the Shinigami will allow you to pass into the afterlife after you screwed with him and with so many people."

"Thanks to me, Kumo has become an empire," the Raikage replied evenly. "If I must be punished in the next world for this achievement, then I will gladly pay that small price. I regret nothing," he said, shooting bolts of lightning-chakra at his enemy, but missed, the Hatake proving himself to be too fast.

"You should," he replied, preparing another Amaterasu. "Others nations will soon gang up on you, even Iwa, after they learn what you did, and _who _you're scheming with."

The Raikage laughed. "They can hate us all they want, as long as they fear us… with the Bijuu we'll extract from your friends, the continent will kneel and surrender." He suddenly charged at Kakashi. "… or it will die…"

The jounin leapt on the side… but then the Raikage's armor generated a lightning bolt aimed at his head. "JUST AS YOU SHALL!"

The surge almost connected with his hair… and was pushed back by white chakra.

"What?" The Raikage muttered, as he locked eyes with Kakashi. "How?"

"Because unlike you, I earned the trust of someone," the jounin replied, as an armor of white chakra covered his body, taking the form of a bare-handed samurai… with a familiar face. _Obito… _Kakashi thought, as he stared at the stern visage of his old friend. _This time… this time, I will do something right._

His Susanoo shifting, Kakashi prepared himself to charge. "Let see if _your _armor is a match for _mine_."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Ice Princess, Haku<strong>_

Like everyone in Kiri's ANBU, Haku had read the information mine that was the Bingo Book. This thing cataloged everything known about enemy ninja from other countries… including the three Sannin.

Of the three, Jiraiya was widely considered to be the more versatile. While Tsunade Senju was more or less a god of taijutsu and medical technique, and Orochimaru a Ninjutsu specialist, Jiraiya was very balanced. True, he was the best seal-master of the three, but he was mainly a generalist: below his teammates in their areas of specialization but exceptional in just about every discipline.

Fighting him was more or less suicide for someone below S-rank… which meant bad news for them.

That is, if they were to fight fairly…

Making a hand seal, Haku released the gallons of water she had sealed in the pot, using it to make a large dome of ice mirrors encircling her, Zabuza and Jiraiya, while leaving enough humidity for her master to use. She quickly jumped inside one. "Zabuza-sama…"

"Same tactic as ever, Haku," the swordsman said, making hand-seals. "Killing Mist Formation, and then you seal him in the pot. I assume you know how?"

"Of course," she muttered, throwing senbon at the Sannin, who gracefully avoided them. "Will it be enough?"

"I hope it will," he replied, as he finished his sequence. "Kirigakure no Jutsu." The humidity transformed into a thick mist, and Haku focused to distinguish the heat signatures of the others. While it was easy to pinpoint Zabuza, the undead was… well, since it was like animated ice, she could still recognize it.

Moving faster than the eye could follow through her different mirrors, Haku threw multiple waves of senbon, a few of them with little bells attached to them. Jiraiya's hair grew and wrapped themselves around him like a blanket, protecting him from the attack…

But the bells loudly indicated to Zabuza where the Sannin was. A huge sword swiftly beheaded the man, without doing any noise.

But no sooner than the missing-nin leapt backward than the two parts of the Sannin reattached themselves. Immediately after, the man slammed his hand on the ground, summoning a huge blue toad armed with a big mass. "What the hell…" he muttered with a male voice, before noticing Jiraiya…

And smashing him with his weapon, much to the Kiri-nins amazement.

"I fought with you when Orochimaru killed you, Jiraiya," the toad pointed out, as he gracefully jumped backward to avoid a Rasengan. "And I can recognize a dead man when I see one… it saddens me to see you like that, but don't worry, I will free you from your torment." He eyed Haku. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"We are Orochimaru's enemies," she replied, "and we want to help Jiraiya to find rest."

"Then I suggest a team-up." The amphibian took his mass, and prepared himself to strike. "If he's dumb enough to summon me, then he's nothing more than a mere stupid killing machine, and without his summoning, he will be forced to rely on ninjutsu, especially in an enclosed space like this one and without enhanced senses like me."

And effectively, Jiraiya's palms released a huge wave of fire in front of them, almost burning the toad. Haku, slowing down midway through the air, shaped two spears of ice and threw them at the Sannin, who deflected them with his bare hands… only to be beheaded again by Zabuza. Before the undead could recuperate, the toad jumped _on _him and restrained him, only sighing when the hair began to graze his skin. "What are you waiting for?" he asked.

"Nothing," Haku said, as she activated the pot's power. It absorbed Jiraiya inside of itself, without much problem. The Yuki frowned slightly. "It was far easier than I thought it would."

"Jiraiya in his prime was a force to be reckoned with," the toad shrugged. "But he was always too dependent on collaboration techniques with us for his own good…"

"One problem dealt with," Zabuza said, as the dome of ice cracked and turned into water. Haku looked where most of the noise was coming from… the corner of the room where the undead Tsunade punched Sasori.

Who popped up in a cloud of smoke.

"This is… problematic," the real redhead said, as he landed next to Zabuza, his puppets Izanagi and Izanami following him. "I cannot get close enough of her without getting in danger."

Zabuza shrugged. "You puppeteers are all the same… in close combat, you're toast."

"Sorry to know more things than how to use a blade," Sasori replied, as Tsunade charged at them. "And you, Mr. toad?"

"It's Gamakachi for you," he said, balancing his mass. "I think I will stick with you for a while… might be fun." He jumped on Tsunade, trying to stomp on her... only to be punched through the ceiling by the Sannin.

"Where is Chibaku?" Haku asked to Sasori, as she created walls of ice, both to slow down Tsunade and to protect her allies from shuriken thrown by the surviving staff of the prison. "Wasn't he with you?"

"He was, but he left," the redhead stated. "'To get back something Snaky stole and to help a friend,' I quote."

"Tch," Zabuza snorted, as Tsunade broke through the last icy barrier. "I guess it's a little late to go to the toilets..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Death Seeker, N<strong>_

He was loosing consciousness. Vicious claws were ravaging his belly and face, shredding through his chakra fur.

_**Kid, wake up! **_the Kyuubi roared as it stopped its six-tailed counterpart from ripping them apart. The three heads of the creature were grinning, the rest of their body between N's own and a large floor of golden bricks. The sky above was blue, but the vessel's vision was slowly turning red.

_**"You are weak, while we are strong!" **_Three voices sang at the same time. "_**You bow before a human, lowering yourself in servitude, while we didn't! You were tamed by your vessel, while we tamed ours! You are a shame for all of us Bijuu!"**_

… _a shame? _N thought, souvenir flashing in his mind. _Yeah, I suppose that's what I am…_

Suddenly, he wasn't in the Vault anymore, but in his old home of Konoha, observed by faceless shadows…

_"You are such a shame for this village," they whispered. "Don't come near me… don't come near my child… die… disappear… _why are you alive, while so many perished_… pain is simply a word for you, but a reality for us… Konoha doesn't need you… vanish… disappear… cry… leave us alone… give me my son back… my mother is dead because of you…"_

_"People are suffering because of you, monster… corrupted child… son of whores and beggars… puppet of the devil… you wear the skin of an innocent child, but you do not fool us… your life must end for ours to continue… listen to the cries of those you have orphaned… you murdered my father… I hate you so much…"_

_"I hate you…"_

_"I hate you…"_

_"I hate you…"_

_"I hate you…"_

_"I hate you…"_

_Suddenly, N was a child again, sitting in a corner, crying. The shadows continued to haunt him, but then a light made them vanish…_

_"Little Foxy, are you ready?" a gentle man said, offering him a hand. "Smile, boy, I'm taking you from this hole! 'cause I'm the awesome Killer Bee and you're the cute mister Nine-thee!"_

_"Welcome in Kumo!"_

_"You're such a nice kid!"_

_"From now on, you're a ninja of Kumogakure, N… as the Raikage of this village, I officially say… welcome home."_

_"Hello, N, we're your new teammates… hey, would you like to eat with us?"_

_"Do you want to… you know… sleep at our home? It would be so fun!"_

_"We're Bee-sensei students. Nice to meet you."_

_"You're cool!"_

_"Do want to go out with me?"_

_"Can I have you're autograph?"_

_"Please, accept this gift!"_

_"You're my best friend!"_

_"I admit, human, that you are the first one of your kind to earn my respect… enjoy it."_

_"You're officially my rival, Naruto-kun… and I swear on the Nibi that I will beat you one day… but for now, let celebrate your taming of the furball!"_

_"I like you!"_

_"I like you!"_

_"I like you!"_

_"I like you!"_

_"I like you!"_

_"I hate you."_

_The light vanished, along with Konoha, leaving only a bloody battlefield full of corpses and angry ghosts._

_"If you hadn't left Konoha… none of this would have happened!"_

_"You killed, and killed, and killed… so why are you happy, while we are not?"_

_"Mom… dad… please wake up… please…"_

_"Why? Why? Why did you do this? Why did you destroy my home? We never did anything to your village?"_

_"You… you're the responsible of all of our misery… you. Must. Die."_

_"I am dying because of you…"_

_I never wanted this… I never… wanted this war… I never wanted you all to die._

_"Then die with us…"_

_**"Why are you resisting?" **_The three voices asked, their claws piercing N's belly, despite his Kyuubi's best efforts. _**"Why don't you let us rip this seal, and end everything? We can sense it… you desire death, Naruto Namikaze, while you, our other self, you want your freedom… we can give you both what you crave. You just have to give up..."**_

_**"And if I say I like my current state of existence?" **_N's Kyuubi asked through their shared mouth. _**"You should understand… isn't that your host that gave you an individuality and a goal beyond mindless destruction?"**_

_**"Mindless? No, not mindless," **_the three voices replied. _**"We want to destroy mankind not simply for destruction's sake, but for the sake of earth itself. These insects need to know oblivion, and we shall give it to them."**_

_**"You talk like the August Star!" **_The Kyuubi growled.

_**"Amatsu-Mikaboshi wanted to reduce everything back to nothing, and failing that, to remake reality in its twisted image. We will simply retake the earth from the human vermin, and rebuild the paradise it used to be before the first of their kind came along," **_the three heads smirked. _**"This future came to us in the form of this child, reflection. Through his eyes, we saw what mankind was: a bunch of self-tortured ants, destroying themselves and the world around them without care or sentiment. Through him, we did evolve into a greater being, we… ascended, to a new level. We have gained a goal, indeed, to be the cure to the human virus. Don't you remember these old times, back when the world was young and fresh, back when there were no past, no future, no beginning and no end, back when there were no such thing as right and wrong, conflict and sentience?" **_Their claws shredded deeper through his flesh, making the Kyuubi groan.

_**"Don't you want to get back to them? Don't you want to turn back the clock? Don't you want to return to the earth?"**_

_"__**No." **_The Kyuubi gave its best head butt to its counterpart, making it flinch slightly. _**"You are insane… a beast without wisdom. Don't you see that our time is done? That it is mankind's time to live and strive?"**_

_**"So you are ready to fight for them? Because they are the future?" **_The three heads laughed. _**"This is laughable, no, absurd."**_

_**"To you, maybe," **_the Kyuubi replied, as it managed to push back its rival, making it stagger. Quickly getting up, it prepared itself to attack. _**"You are infantile rage made flesh, the original selfishness seeing nothing beyond its own person. To you, the world is something that belongs to you, while it is the other way... in some way, you have become like the worst scum of humanity. We have no right to interfere with mankind's fate, brothers, or we won't be better than them!"**_

_**"Humans enslaved us!" **_They roared, charging and engaging their counterpart in a fistfight. _**"They will never leave us alone! They interfered with our fate, depriving us of our freedom and choice, called upon the August Star and stole our very identity! Why shouldn't inflict pain and death to them? Why shouldn't we make them our victims?"**_

_**"Because there is still hope for them!" **_The Kyuubi shot back as it punched one of the three heads. _**"I have seen it, through the ages… people are slowly growing up! They are forsaking war and conflict for peace and friendship, even if it a very slow process! They can become wise, and that is why the great Sage gave them his power!"**_

_Kyuubi…_

_**"You are as foolish as Izanagi!" **_The three heads roared, as they focused their chakra to launch a blast. _**"You have chosen your side!"**_

_**"Yeah… I have chosen the good one," **_the Kyuubi said, as it focused its chakra too.

At the same time, the two Kyuubi released a blast of power. While N's Kyubi had more power than its counterpart, the three monsters had better control over their own… and as such, were keeping up with them.

That's it, until N's Kyuubi decided to be serious about it.

His ray suddenly switched color, suddenly becoming like ethereal gold. The power surge surprised the enemy Kyuubi, which was hit by the blast at full force. Its chakra cloak was vaporized, and when the dust settled, only the unconscious human body of Kitsune remained.

The Kyuubi stayed still a moment. _Well… it is done…_

Two rays of light shot it in the back, near the heart, piercing his chakra cloak and making it scream. Before it could even rotate, something stomped on it, pinned it on the ground, and then shredded its ribs with huge claws.

Meanwhile, Kitsune's body had vanished in a surge of red chakra.

Three heads were grinning, as the claws penetrated deeper and deeper through flesh of chakra… reaching the human inside. _**"Our own variation of the Kage Bunshin, you see… I suppose you weren't taught that, weren't you? You are too dependent on your detection power… even against an opponent that knows exactly how it works and how to counter it." **_They laughed sadistically. _**"Goodbye… kin traitor."**_

Then, both N and his beast screamed as their enemy's chakra was forcefully injected in their body, spreading like a malevolent infection. The blonde felt his Bijuu's dolor and fear as its mind was consumed by the malevolent, hostile power… and then…

Death.

In one brutal motion, the three monsters-in-one cut the murdered Kyuubi in half.

Its last shriek of pain resonated in N's mind, as the Jinchuuriki regained his human form, mostly unscathed... physically at least. His empty eyes stared at the three-headed Kyuubi, which was licking its lips. _**"The legs? The arms? The heart? So hard to choose…"**_

_Kyuubi._

Only silence answered.

_Kyuubi? Are you there? Please… please! Answer me!_

But there was no more Bijuu left to answer.

At this moment, N's gaze blazed with fury. The transformed Kitsune towered over his body, growling in anticipation. _**"Any last word?"**_

"Yeah," N muttered. "But not for today."

One instant later, his body was clad in golden chakra, and he jumped, punching the Kyuubi in the belly with all his might, getting through the mix of blood and chakra. He felt his hand burning, and heard the monster scream.

"Kyuubi… thank you," he muttered, as he reached the boy under the demonic flesh. "For everything."

In one swift motion, he extracted Kitsune from his demonic body, and threw him away. The Kyuubi shrieked, twisting and _melting_. _**"This… IS NOT OVER!" **_It screamed with three voices, as it tried to grab its unconscious container. N, however, was faster. His right hand took the form of a large spear, which he used to impale the living mass of demonic chakra as if it were butter.

Then, the Kumo-nin transformed it in a scythe, and he shredded through the creature, cutting it in half. "It's not so funny anymore once _you're_ the one ripped apart, isn't it bastard?" N asked, before slashing through the melting beast, which continued to shriek with its three heads.

_**"YOU WORM!"**_

"You're the one to talk!" N taunted it. "You cannot maintain your form without your host! Not bad for a supposedly superior being, to depend on a human!" He frowned as he beheaded the creature. "Die, you hypocrite!"

The monster barked one last time, before exploding in a surge of chakra.

N stayed immobile a moment, closing his eyes. The Kyuubi's spirit had vanished from his head, leaving only his power behind it.

N was alone in his head, and he hated it.

He tilted his head to the side, staring at his sleeping enemy. He looked so… peaceful. N briefly hesitated, knowing that he was about to do an unforgivable act, but the compulsion to do it was too strong. He walked toward the boy, and raised his hand, transforming it into a scythe.

"Please… forgive me. I…" N lowered his gaze in shame. "I... I will free you from your demons."

He lowered his weapon…

And was pushed away, teeth gnawing through his cloak of chakra. In surprise, he rotated on himself like a whirlwind, and threw the attacking creature away. Recognizing the creature, N's eyes widened as it jumped next to a Kitsune… and another blonde.

"Good job, Samehada," the boy named Chibaku said, as he took a scroll from his back. "I knew I was right to go to that creepy laboratory beforehand… you know, I have the feeling I'm turning like Kabuto. My curiosity will kill me one of these days…"

Samehada simply glared at N and barked.

"Ah, yeah, I almost forgot…" Chibaku smiled. "The bad pun before fighting an asshole."

"Guy, if your teeth are as golden as your skin, could you give me one? I am kind of low on cash right now…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Deceiver, Tsukiyomi<strong>_

They were before a large mirror, seeing through the veil of space at one Kazama Arashi.

"So you teleported him out of his cell?" Susanoo asked to the avatar of the dark force. "He manifested your powers? Already?"

**_"The power of the void is growing within him,"_** Mikaboshi replied. **_"It is in its gestalt state, but its seed is growing. The chakra of Naruto Uzumaki has begun to change, to adapt itself to my presence. Soon, he will probably be able to consciously control a small part of it."_**

"But he needs his own pocket dimension to use them to their full potential," Amaterasu pointed out, as Kazama cornered Orochimaru near the edge of the prison, where the last wall had been blown up. "Do you intend to contact him to teach him how to shape one? Why didn't you bring him in this place?"

**_"Because it is not the time,"_** the entity said, as the blonde engaged his enemy in a taijutsu battle. _**"Naruto Uzumaki is not in the right state of mind for the moment. He will not accept his planned role if I contact him now."**_

Tsukiyomi ignored the chatter, observing Orochimaru as Kazama punched him in the face, slightly breaking its decaying skull. "What happened to him?"

_**"When he teleported into the world we are currently observing, he accidentally absorbed a small part of the Shinigami's essence,"**_ Mikaboshi explained. **_"Without a seal to contain it, the power is decaying Orochimaru down to his very soul. Soon, nothing will be left of him, not even a thought remaining in the Pure World."_**

"This is… a fitting fate for this betrayer," Amaterasu said. "He spent all his life trying to cheat his own mortality, but now, the very embodiment of death itself is killing him… the irony."

"He can still summon the dead," Susanoo noticed. "How? The Shinigami should prevent such a thing."

**_"The art of necromancy is powered by death itself,"_** the August Star stated. **_"Back since mankind was young, it was used to commune with the dead and ask for their wisdom. The Nidaime's technique is simply an extension of this magic, adapted for the use of ninja."_**

Tsukiyomi frowned behind his mask. "You imply that the Shinigami is somehow okay with such a thing?"

**_"As long as the flow of the souls isn't in true danger, it won't act. Much of the use of this technique is done on a small scale, which is at worst a minor annoyance for the underworld deities. However, if the necromancer becomes too greedy, the Shinigami will come to track him down and devour him."_**

_It explains why Orochimaru hasn't used this technique very much, _Tsukiyomi thought. _Someone so afraid of death would be very cautious with such dangerous jutsu…_

"You cannot win, Orochimaru," Kazama stated, as he pinned his enemy on a wall, trying to cut his throat. The snakes hissed, and then chuckled. The world wanderer suddenly jumped back, dodging a kunai thrown at him… by the Sandaime Hokage.

"This is going to suck, isn't it?" the blonde muttered, as his chains of chakra manifested and almost impaled the undead warrior, who jumped out of the way, before using a fire technique to shoot a series of fireballs at Kazama. Of course, Orochimaru then used the opportunity to open his mouth, releasing the two Kusanagi which almost impaled the Uzumaki on the spot.

"What is the problem, Naruto-kun?" the Sannin whispered sadistically, as the blonde stepped back more and more to preserve his own life, and almost falling in the sky. He was on the edge of the room, and cornered. "You seem trapped like an animal…" The snakes hissed. "And you can guess that I am not very kind with my prey…"

Tsukiyomi distinctly heard the noise of gritting teeth… and then noticed the shadow at the periphery of the mirror's vision. _Reinforcements… but for who?_

A jutsu answered his question. The undead Hokage was shot in the back by a blue fireball, and sent to fall through the clouds, barely catching the surface of a wall. Both Kazama and Orochimaru stared at the responsible, a young woman with purple clothes and golden hair. Mikaboshi's future victim gasped loudly. "Yugito?"

"TRAITOR!" Orochimaru shrieked, as he stepped backward to avoid a blast of fire.

"Don't mistake my current actions for betrayal," she replied, obviously to both of the men present. "I am fighting for Kumo… and right now, you, Orochimaru, are the greatest menace to its stability." She locked eyes with Kazama. "I will take care of the undead, but remember… after him, you and I will have a rematch. Don't die beforehand."

"Don't worry!" the blonde shouted happily, as the other Jinchuuriki jumped from the edge. He stared at Orochimaru, cracking his knuckles in anticipation.

"Let's end our feud here and now… Orochimaru-_kun_."

At that one distinct moment, Tsukiyomi found the Sannin's enraged expression to be completely priceless, if _very_ creepy.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's Notes:<em>**

**Yeah, it's quite the melee. After the end of this one, things will be more calm, and more character oriented. It will probably take a month or so, because I will be quite occupied these following weeks... you're warned.**

**So same thing as ever, review, give your point of view, and hope that Kishimoto won't fail with his new deus ex machina! **

**Type you soon!**


	18. Chapter 18: End of a Storm

_**I am here once again. Told you it will take some time.**_

_**Thanks, ABitterPill, Alpha142, and Third Fang, for betaing my work.**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't possess the right to use the work of Naruto for this fiction, so screw it, I'm doing it anyway.**_

_**Traveler/Original Naruto: Kazama Arashi.**_

_**Female Naruto: Naruko Arashi.**_

_**Puppeteer Naruto: Chibaku Arashi.**_

_**Werefox Naruto: Kitsune Arashi.**_

_**Deceiver/Original Madara: Tsukiyomi.**_

_**Destroyer/Rinnegan Madara: Susanoo.**_

_**Warrior/Collector Madara: Amaterasu.**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Eighteen: End of a Storm<strong>_

"I will call it Fluffy," Chibaku said, as he released his new puppet, one of the huge demonic bulls that Sasori had captured, 'dollified', and given to his student before they separated again. The large corpse's face had been replaced by a metallic helmet, and its right-hand by what looked like a miniature canon. _Now, just have to learn what kind of equipment it has… _the puppeteer thought, as he jumped on the thing's back, opening a little door in it and locking it behind him. He found himself inside a sphere of iron… covered with familiar seals. Biting his finger, Chibaku mixed his blood in to them, and his soul left his body for another.

It was like with Momo: suddenly, he could see through his doll's hidden eyes, and control its limbs. The maneuverability was nearly perfect, the puppeteer's mind immediately adapting to its new vessel. "Leave," he ordered to Samehada with a bestial, deep voice. "Take Kitsune away and join the others." He stared at N, whose hands had morphed into two golden blades of chakra. "I will kill him."

It wasn't a boast. Only a statement.

The fish appeared to nod, opened its mouth, and much to Chibaku's disgust, swallowed its master whole, before scrawling away. _That's so freaky… _he thought, before focusing on N… who had vanished.

Immediately, the puppeteer sensed the two blades piercing his torso. He didn't feel pain... well, not in the traditional sense at least.

It was simply annoying, like a mosquito's sting.

Rotating on himself like a whirlwind, Fluffy threw N on the ground, and then attempted to crush him under its feet… hoof, or whatever_. _The yellow shinobi rose up and jumped backward, joining his hands. "Golden Lightning!" He shouted, as his chakra transformed into bolts of electricity. The doll's skin burned slightly, but the attack didn't do much damage. _If you want to play like that… _Chibaku thought, touching his modified right hand, activating it…

And launching a cone of fire at N.

"YES!" Chibaku shouted with Fluffy's voice. "A GOOD OLD FLAMETHROWER! THANK YOU SENSEI FOR THIS WONDERFUL GIFT!"

"Are you a pyromaniac or something?" N asked calmly, dispersing the fire with a wind technique. He pointed his fingers at the doll, his chakra being shot from them in the form of bullets. Chibaku shielded himself with its puppet's arms, which the projectiles barely grazed.

"I do enjoy fireworks a bit," the puppeteer admitted while observing his enemy. _Distance attacks are useless against him, since he can either avoid or counter them… a good old fistfight might be the solution. _

In a blink of an eye, Chibaku charged at N with a speed disproportionate with his puppet's size, pistons inside it making such prowess possible. Surprised, the cloud-nin barely avoided being crushed by a deadly punch by leaping to his side, and then countered by transforming his hands into scimitars. Balancing its arm, Fluffy hit him with the back of its left palm and sent the ninja flying into in the air.

N's arm extended while he was above the ground, and his clawed hand attempted to grab Fluffy's head. Instead, the doll caught it with his left hand, used it to make his enemy twirl and then breaking the floor with his body. Before N got up on his legs, the mechanical bull tackled him with the strength of a cannonball, breaking bones, and finishing with a good head butt that threw the cloud-nin off the platform and into the clouds.

Almost immediately, N saved himself by grabbing the floor with his extended arms and using them to latch onto the surface. Roaring, the cloud-nin then ran at Chibaku faster than the eyes could follow… like a golden lightning bolt. The puppeteer felt the ninja damaging his doll on the torso, arms, legs… just about everywhere. And yet, he could only see a yellow blur.

It was like fighting the wind.

Focusing, Chibaku stayed immobile, even as N's claws grazed Fluffy's belly. Trying to guess his enemy's trajectory, the puppeteer suddenly kicked in the air, hitting his enemy and pushing him away. Of course, he was already back on his feet, and began to ran around his adversary faster than the wind. _He is far too fast… _the puppeteer thought, mentally preparing himself for the inevitable attack. _And yet, a physical fight is the only way to defeat him… I must somehow make him careless._

Time to use the _reason you suck speech technique_.

"Why are you running away, N?" Chibaku asked. "Is it because unlike Kitsune, I am not lying unconscious on the ground?"

N's response was to punch Fluffy's helmet, slightly breaking it. "I never run away," he growled, before continuing to hit the doll's head. "I never did, no matter what."

"Bravo! I always knew you were a hypocrite, but you managed to surpass even yourself!" Chibaku replied as he slapped the cloud-nin with enough power to push him away. The ninja again vanished in a blur, and the puppeteer continued his monologue. "You pretend you are some kind of good guy, and yet you openly support a dictator and a crazy mad scientist! You obey orders, no matter how immoral they are! You are simply running away, compromising yourself by following the easy way instead of rebelling!"

"That is completely wrong!" N's voice snapped, as multiple bullets of chakra pierced Fluffy's damaged skin. "I am doing my duty!"

"You are a coward," Chibaku stated, trying to locate his enemy. "Your duty would have been to save your town, to stop the Raikage from ever going to war, to prevent your leaders from bleeding your country dry! You're just a dog of the Raikage, willingly staying on a leash!"

"Someone like you should be able to understand!" N snarled, as he clawed through Fluffy's legs. "I have seen the way you treat this Sasori! You obey him, respect him… what is the difference between this link and the one I have with the Raikage?"

"Unlike you, I wouldn't hesitate to criticize my mentor if I think he's doing something wrong," Chibaku stated flatly, before pinning an enraged N on the ground with his doll's left hand. He pointed his flamethrower at the cloud-nin's face. "How does it feel to be on the bad end of a battle, for once?"

He unleashed the fire.

N screamed, his cloak of chakra protecting him from the flames, but not from the temperature. Elemental physic, really. "It feels…" he smirked. "Like victory."

At this distinct moment, Chibaku sensed a spear of chakra drilling through Fluffy's belly… right near…

The puppeteer's eyes snapped open, just in time to see golden chakra breaking through his protective sphere, diluting the bloody seals in the process. Cursing, Chibaku opened the door to the outside world and fled… but not before activating one distinct array.

Just as he managed to put a short distance between himself and his puppet, Fluffy exploded, its fuel powering the self-destruct mechanism. The explosion's breath pushed the blonde away, who observed the firework.

"Sorry Fluffy, it was a fun adventure, if short," the puppeteer said, as he rose on his legs. "My puppets always break themselves as soon as I get used them… I really need to change my strategy one of these day-"

A golden flail flew out of the inferno, and almost smashed Chibaku's head. The puppeteer's reflexes saved his life, and his eyes noticed the burning cloud-nin charging at him, his body covered with flames. "Why the hell don't you die?" the blonde asked as he avoided a punch, his own hands becoming clad with a green glow.

"Because…" N growled, his tone laced with pain. "There are so many people… who deserve to kill me… more than you do…"

_He's far slower… I'm amazed he can even stand… _"So I'm not the only one after your skin?" Chibaku asked, trying to find an opening. But as if N wasn't already dangerous on his own, the flames were protecting his skin as much as the golden chakra underneath. "Can't we both pretend that I _do _deserve to kill you? After all, you did beat up my comrades."

"I did… terrible things… under Kumo's flag…" the Jinchuuriki growled, as he attempted to grab Chibaku. "Arsonist… murderer… I am… a monster… I killed people… in this pointless war… no redemption for me… only death… will be my salvation…"

"But you really suck at dying, you know?" _I get it. It's his chakra. _"The Kyuubi's power is the only reason you're still standing, isn't it? First Kitsune, then me… the wounds you have received should have killed you long ago, but your golden cloak is moving your body while your muscles can't anymore!"

"It's like… an armor wearing… the person underneath…" N murmured, his movements turning hazardous and clumsy. "Always… always it comes… to protect me…"

"Living or not, an armor is still an armor," Chibaku declared, wavering his fingers. "If the man underneath is dead, it's simply a tool without will!"

What followed happened in a matter of seconds.

Chibaku's right palm approached N's ribs, and the puppeteer's fingers pushed through the flames, chakra and flesh, their skin burning in the process. At the same time, N's fist slammed on his enemy's torso, breaking ribs.

As Chibaku was thrown a few meters away by the strength of the blow, quickly healing his wounded hand and torso, N stayed still a moment, unfazed… and soundly fell on the floor, coughing blood.

"What… did you do…" he muttered, his golden armor evaporating, revealing the burned and bleeding teenager underneath, "to me?"

"I severed your heart's arteries," Chibaku explained, his wounds closing slowly, the dead skin dropping on the ground. "The Kyuubi's power won't be able to access it, and as such the internal damage is going to kill you."

"That's… impressive…" N coughed, flames beginning to burn his flesh. "It seems… that you did indeed… deserve to defeat me…"

"It didn't have to end like that," the puppeteer pointed out, aware that his enemy's next words would be his last. "We could have avoided all of this."

"Yes… but…" N smiled for the last time. "You had… to do the right thing… in the end… it is all… that matters…" He sighed… and then fell silent.

Chibaku stayed immobile, observing the fire consuming the Kumo-nin in some sort of twisted funeral pyre. "What a waste…" the puppeteer muttered. "If things had been different… we might have become companions…" The puppeteer closed his eyes, and left.

_Rest in peace, guardian of the Hidden Cloud._

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Man Reborn, Kakashi<strong>_

The power of the Susanoo, in theory, needed two Mangekyo Sharingan to awaken fully, both eyes giving the energy and control necessary to maintain the shape of such an armor. One meant that the Susanoo would not be able to both maintain the shape and attack. Basic chakra manipulation.

Kakashi had found a way around this problem: practice.

Being a specialist of chakra manipulation, it had only taken him a few tries to fully manifest the Susanoo, mainly by using the eye to keep the shape stable and his own chakra control to move the whole structure. However, it also meant that he couldn't do any jutsu, with his own hands at least.

Also, it was really chakra-consuming. Not that he wasn't used to that, but still…

"Your armor is indeed impressive," the Raikage stated, as he punched the spectral Obito's head, barely making it flinch, and right after stopping the Susanoo's fist with his only palm. "But against my father's technique, it is nothing." The ninja joined words with acts by hitting the white chakra with his shoulder, the shock making Kakashi stagger.

Like a bull, the Raikage charged toward him, then seized him with his last arm, and made the jonin fall on the ground. His fist then knocked the armor separating it from Kakashi, the power behind each blow almost stunning the grey haired Shinobi. The Susanoo, however, gave a good head butt to the rampaging large man, and joined its hands to bash him in the ear, propelling him a few meters away and allowing Kakashi to rise up.

"Your power… the power of the Uchiha," A said as he clenched his fist, "ruled battlefield for ages, but it didn't rule me. I will defeat you in the same way I knocked them all down… with my father's ultimate technique." He pointed his index at Kakashi, chakra focusing around it. "The Finger of Hell."

Kakashi frowned. "Then I will bring you down with the jutsu an Uchiha helped me create."

The Susanoo slammed its palms, beginning a hand-seal sequence.

"The Lightning Cutter…"

A ball of blue lightning formed in the right of an ethereal palm.

"Raikiri."

He ran. The Raikage ran. Both had their arm extended, their technique ready to pierce their enemy.

But Kakashi, deep down, was a hardened pragmatist, so when the Raikage came into arm's reach, the jonin deflected his finger with his free-hand and rammed the Raikiri right into the Cloud-nin's chest. The man seemed confident his armor would protect him, and showed a stern, emotionless face.

That is, until the Raikiri went through the lightning protection and then through flesh. At this moment, the Raikage's expression became one of dread.

Not stopping, Kakashi continued to push the Susanoo's arm farther, and the ball of thunder erupted out of the corpse's back, before swiftly retreating. The leader of Kumo stood for a few seconds, but in the end, he loudly fell on his knees, and then on his face.

"Why do you think I call it the Lightning Cutter?" Kakashi asked to his dying enemy. "This is the ultimate evolution of the Chidori, specifically made to counter the Sandaime Raikage's protection, just in case my team had to fight him, back during the Third Great War. And you just proved it indeed works."

The Raikage's eyes locked with his own, full of rage and shock. "You… trash…"

"Those who do not follow their village's orders and wishes are said to be trash," Kakashi whispered, "but those who betray their allies and comrades, like you, are worse than trash… they are traitors. And the punishment for treachery…" he said as life left the Raikage's eyes, "is death."

Leaving the body behind him, Kakashi moved to help Zabuza, who was trying to cut the undead Tsunade in half, while getting long range cover from both Sasori and Haku and help from a… giant toad. Promising himself to investigate later, the jonin watched, mesmerized, as Tsunade headbutted the amphibian into submission, making him pop in a cloud of smoke, before savagely attempting to punch the mist swordsman. Since most of his following actions resorted to 'trying to stay alive by not letting the angry kunoichi get her hands on you', the Hatake decided to help.

By making the Susanoo grab her head from behind, and then slam it on the ground, more or less knocking her out by crushing the brain... which was already reforming.

Sasori immediately rushed to seal her in some kind of scroll, appraising Kakashi with a nod. "I never doubted you would master this technique, but it is impressive to see it in action."

"What the hell is that jutsu?" Zabuza grumbled. "It's too cool to be yours."

"Well…" Kakashi shrugged his shoulders, imitated by his Susanoo. "What can I say? It is mine."

"No, really, didn't guess that on my own," the mist swordsman deadpanned. "Silly Ka-"

The ceiling suddenly exploded, and a projectile clad in blue fire crashed near them, much to Zabuza's obvious displeasure. "What, again?"

Kakashi's Sharingan had no problem identifying the object… or rather corpse. The Sandaime Hokage was burned very badly, but was quickly regenerating. Once again reacting fast, Sasori sealed him too before the old man could regain his mobility.

"Took me long enough to bring him down," a familiar female voice said, as a figure leapt a few meters away from them. "He wouldn't stay down, even after propelling him though the entire fortress." Yugito smiled… and then paled when she noticed another body. "R-Raikage-sama!"

Fully knowing things would degenerate into another fight, Kakashi mentally prepared himself, even as Sasori attempted diplomacy. "Yugito-san, there is no need to-"

"You broke our deal!" She spat angrily. "Only the snake was supposed to die!"

"He left us no other choice…" Sasori trailed off. "Now Kumo can be in pea-"

A powerful kick connected with his artificial head, cracking it, and making him fly through the air. Kakashi wasted no time and ordered the Susanoo to punch the Kumo-kunoichi, who gracefully avoided by taking a few steps backwards while making hand-seals. She pointed the index and the middle finger of her right hand toward the jonin, unleashing a powerful blue fireball that exploded upon contact, knocking the grey haird man off his feet thanks to the shock.

"Yugito-san, please calm down!" Haku shouted, while preparing senbon. "This is useless!"

"Haku-san, unfortunately your companions betrayed my trust and the trust of Bee-sama by killing his brother," the kunoichi replied with a calm, cold voice. "As such, they have insulted me, my teacher and the whole Land of Lightning, and this affront must be washed away with the blood of the culprits."

"Justice my ass!" Zabuza roared, using a water jutsu to create a huge dragon of water that rushed at the demon vessel. "You will have to get past me!"

"No problem," Yugito shot back, punching the air and projecting a blast of fire toward the Water Dragon, vaporizing him. She then wavered her fingers, creating an electric arc. Pointing her index at Zabuza, she released a lightning bolt in his direction. Putting the Susanoo's hand in the way, Kakashi prevented it from reaching the swordsman.

"Please, excuse me Yugito-san…" Haku whispered as she threw her senbon at the other kunoichi before projecting shards of ice at her. With a swing of her arm, Yugito created a shield of blue flames that protected her from the projectiles. A second later, she jumped on the side, avoiding a stream of high-pressurized water sent by a now standing Sasori.

"Let's finish this quickly," Yugito stated as she joined her hands, blue fire and chakra encircling her body. "Bijuu Transformation."

A tornado of blue fire surrounded her, before revealing her new shape: a fifteen-feet tall cat made of blue flames, with yellow eyes shining with a predatory light. She opened her mouth, and shot another massive blue fireball.

"Indeed," Kakashi said to Sasori, "no plan survives its contact with the enemy _and _the ally."

"Just shut up," Zabuza growled.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Girl, Naruko<strong>_

She knew that Gaara's transformation had made her stronger. Naruko wasn't stupid. Being possessed by an evil sand demon could only end with some kind of power boost, despite now looking like a huge and ugly female Tanuki.

Unfortunately, Naruko hadn't guessed just how _important _the power-up was, but she got a pretty good estimation of it once she was thrown like a rag doll against a wall. Her view blurring, she managed to dodge the Tanuki's claws, which drilled into the rock as if it was butter. She tried to form a Rasengan, but the creature's tail smashed her left side, throwing her to the other side of the room.

As she rose up, the blonde's eyes widened as she saw the Shukaku deeply inhaling. Her reflexes taking her body over, the girl jumped to avoid being hit by a powerful blast of wind. No sooner than she regained her momentum than the creature had began to run toward her at a speed on par with her own.

_How can something this big move so fast? _She wondered, almost getting beheaded by a swoop of the monster's arm.

_**That's the Ichibi, **_the Kyuubi replied. _**And he's not even at full power.**_

_Really reassuring, _Naruko deadpanned. She jumped on the creature's back and stabbed it with an explosive kunai, but receiving a good hit from the tail as a result, one that threw her to the ground. Fortunately, a good old explosion prevented the Shukaku from finished her off, dust obscuring its view. Putting as much distance as she could between herself and her enemy, the girl observed the creature, which was standing still…

When the dust settled, she was looking at a statue of sand.

_CRAP, _The blonde thought as she noticed the shadow above herself. Taking a step back and preparing a Rasengan, Naruko managed to both avoid being squished by the falling Tanuki while also blowing up its tail with her sphere. Before the creature could counterattack, she placed an explosive tag on the damaged… ass… and fled. Half of the beast's body was vaporized, leaving nothing but a shapeless mass of sand standing.

A burst of foul chakra made the blonde blink, as she saw a yellow aura expelled from the Bijuu's body. It then turned into more sand, which grew… and grew… taking the form of an even bigger Shukaku, whose body was simply too big to fit in the room. The walls broke… and the floor followed. As a huge paw attempted to squish her, Naruko leapt through a small hole to who knew where. No sooner had she fallen into some kind of deep pit that the blonde heard the Ichibi's claws breaking through the rock in her pursuit.

She thankfully managed to grab a wall, her feet connecting with it, and the young kunoichi began to outrun falling debris. The pit was quite big, but in the end, it led to another room. Jumping, Naruko managed to gracefully land on some kind of metallic surface, while dodging rocks. She then observed her surroundings, looking for an escape.

She was in some kind of metallic dome, as huge as a great hall. The walls were made of some kind of mix between blue stones and shining red ones. The ground was made of a yellow metal, with brightened white lines forming a circular design on it, as if it was an arena or something. On the center of it all, a small crimson crystal embedded in the ground. _What is it?_

_**I do not know, **_the Kyuubi replied, _**but I sense a very important reserve of natural energy in this room. Maybe…**_

A scream of rage interrupted their thought, a massive cloud of sand escaping from the conduit above them and covering its opening, and just about the highest part of the dome. Out of it, two huge paws emerged, alongside a bestial, maddened head. _**"I will crush you like an insect…" **_the monster whispered, _**"and then I will offer your blood to my baby as a gift."**_

"Sorry, but you will have to find yourself another prey to hunt," Naruko shot back, using a water jutsu on the beast. The Bijuu's jaws widened, and a powerful blast of wind negated the attack, while almost hitting the blonde, who evaded it by running around the room. The paws separated themselves from the cloud, and flew in her direction. Dodging one, the girl slammed a Rasengan on its claws, making the whole thing explode into dust…

And it almost immediately reformed.

_Kyuubi… can you help me? It's your brother, sister, whatever…_

_**Technically, we aren't siblings like you humans, and genderless… but Shukaku is dependent on its host sleeping to manifest itself, **_the Bijuu said, before transfusing its chakra through Naruko's veins. _**If you awake him, Shukaku will vanish.**_

Naruko blinked, one red tail of energy appearing on her back. _The head…_

At an incredible speed, she jumped on the dome's wall, and ran on it, toward the flying face. Countless arrows of sand, followed by two paws, attempted to kill her, but they all missed, Naruko's speed increasing as a second tail formed.

At some point, Naruko gathered all her strength and propelled herself in the air with her legs toward the Shukaku. The creature opened its muzzle, but the blonde didn't try to change her course. Instead, she punched the beast's tongue, breaking through it… and then falling toward the ground. Fortunately, the red tails of chakra changed shape, and two crimson hands seized the Bijuu's jaws and used them to swing the blonde on the monster's forehead.

Shukaku glared…

And Naruko's Rasengan bore into one of its eyes, the red chakra empowering it destroying the whole head. As it fell apart, Gaara's body flew out of it, the cloud of sand at her pursuit. The blonde demon vessel, however, descended faster, and kicked the redhead's sleeping face.

The mad girl's eyes widened, but the sand then whirled around her, protecting Gaara like an inform armor. Her hand grabbed Naruko's ankle, and brought her closer, spikes of sand emerging to impale her. Forming another Rasengan, the blonde slammed it on them, dissipated them, before hitting the armor. The resultant explosion projected her toward the ground faster, making her crash onto the crystal underneath, cracking it slightly.

Then, Naruko whirled on herself, before landing on the stunned Gaara, kicking and breaking her sand armor with the strength of a Kyuubi-enhanced kunoichi. The blow loudly broke Gaara's ribs, and shattered the crystal, making its shards fly in the air.

Landing on her feet, Naruko observed her stunned enemy, who didn't move. The sand fell apart and flew on the ground, suddenly harmless.

_Naruko, 1. Gaara, 0._

Carefully, the demon vessel approached her unconscious enemy, before touching her neck. There was still a pulse, but the sand master was obviously not going to get up soon. _Now, I have to go help Naruto-sensei…_

A powerful shockwave shook the room, almost making her fall. The lines on the floor's shine progressively increased, and the previously crimson colored crystal turned white. _What is happening?_

… _**I just understood…**_

_What? _she asked.

_**This room… is the tower's power source. It's where natural energy is harnessed and focused to make the structure fly. The crystal… _**was **_probably the cornerstone of the system. **_

… _which mean?_

_**The tower will cease to fly very soon, and crash down to the earth below, probably killing us all. **_

… _crap._

_**Don't think, flee.**_

_I know, _she thought. The blonde looked at the opening above her… and then at the stunned Gaara.

_**What are you doing? **_the Kyuubi asked, as Naruko seized the sand master and lifted her on her shoulders. _**Don't tell me… she tried to kill you, and you're saving her?**_

_Yes,_ the demon vessel replied, as she ran up the walls. _I can't let her die there._

_**This is… **_the Kyuubi shrugged, its chakra leaving Naruko's body. _**Whatever. If she awakes and attacks you again however, expect no help.**_

Once she managed to get out of the pit, and then walk out of the room she had begun to fight Gaara, Naruko ended up crossing path with another blonde. "Chibaku?" she asked, as the puppeteer turned around, supporting an unconscious Kitsune on his shoulders.

"Flat-lady!" He saluted her, while blatantly ignoring Naruko's glare. Samehada barked happily next to him. "How are you?"

"Fine," she replied, caressing Samehada, which purred. "Nice fish. What happened?"

"N is dead," Chibaku replied aloofly, slightly disturbing Naruko. "It took a lot of explosives and medical expertise to bring him down, but I managed to defeat him. Fortunately, Kitsune had worn him down a bit… if he hadn't, N would have crushed me."

"You killed him?" the girl asked, a bit shocked.

Chibaku simply shrugged. "It was either him or me. If I had lost, he would have probably murdered Kitsune and went on to fight you, or the others. It was necessary."

"I'm not sure," she said with a low, saddened tone. "He seemed so conflicted…"

"As tragic as his death is, he still chose it over life," the puppeteer shot back, walking toward the exit. "What is done is done, and unfortunately, we can't rewrite the past…" he stopped. "Wait, who are you lifting?"

Naruko smiled. "Would you believe me if I told you it's another demon vessel that tried to kill me five minutes ago?"

"Yes, I'm kind of used to craziness and madness happening all around me," he stated, walking once again. "I kind of developed a kind of immunity to them."

"Really?"

"Yeah… it took one year of work under Sasori to gain it," he replied. "Now, seriously, can you give me some kind of logical, sane reason for this, or is it just an act of emotional, noble kindness? _Please _tell me it's the first."

"No, sorry. Oh, and I also, kind of negated the system that makes this whole tower fly."

"Well, this sucks… wait, did you just said we're all going to crash down on the earth like eggs in a basket?"

"Yes."

"… sorry to disappoint you, world, but you haven't broke my sanity yet…" he stated calmly, as they reached the hall where they had split. "Now, let's just see if we can gather the others and escape this grave-in-the-making…"

The sight that welcomed them was of one, giant big blue cat fighting a Kakashi clad in an armor of white chakra, looking disturbingly like a human samurai.

"… I take back what I said," Chibaku declared, placing Kitsune on the floor. "But what the hell did I do to you, oh great universe, to deserve _this_?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Traveler, Kazama<strong>_

Swords met chains of chakra, and two adversaries battled in a deadly dance of blows and moves.

"Getting sloppy, Orochimaru-kun?" Kazama asked with a mocking voice as his chains hit the decaying man's skull, drawing black and rotting blood. "Not so easy anymore, now that you are fighting someone that can counter your blows, without any support to even the field in your favor?"

"I killed Sarutobi," the Sannin hissed as he tried to behead the blonde with his twin blades, failing. "I killed the Yondaime Kazekage… I defeated Jiraiya… I killed my counterpart… and so, so many more!" He snarled in anger. "And I will butcher you and all your companions with my bare hands!"

"Oh come on, are you so deluded that you believe your own lies?" Kazama taunted his enemy, avoiding his swords. "You didn't defeat the Sandaime… his age did. You attacked him with two resurrected Hokage, and yet he still beat them and crippled you. Were you so afraid of him that you had to cheat to give yourself the slightest chance of fighting him?"

"Shut up…" Orochimaru hissed, as his snakes attempted to bite the world wanderer… whose chains crushed them.

"As for Jiraiya… well, first thing, he held back, because he still believed in you. The Yondaime Kazekage? You backstabbed him. And let's not get started on Sasuke…" he smirked. "I can't believe you even _thought _of robbing Itachi of his body, while he was still your ally. He gave you a well earned lesson, if I remember what Jiraiya told me."

"Shut… UP!" The Sannin roared, as Kazama slowly pushed him back against a wall.

"You were so afraid that you fled from the Akatsuki with your tail between your legs!" The teen claimed with a smirk. "And since you still wanted the Sharingan, you went after the weakest Uchiha around, while still fearing his elder brother's shadow!" Kazama laughed. "You have never fought evenly, Orochimaru! You always stab people in the back, or you fight against ninja you're _sure _to win against!"

"SHUT UP!" The snake snarled, charging madly at his enemy in a futile attempt at impaling him. The attack missed once Kazama lowered his torso, but the counterattack didn't. While still leaning toward the ground, the teen formed a Rasengan and slammed it in his enemy's belly… and then pushed it _through _the rotting flesh with his chains' help. While Orochimaru screamed in pain, his body hit the wall behind.

Then, Kazama's chains impaled his skull, torso, ankles and hands, coloring the stone black with rotten blood. The Kusanagi flew to help their master, but were caught midway and restrained by blue chakra.

"No more escaping, Orochimaru," the blonde stated, as he formed another Rasengan. "Time to die."

The snake raged, his body bleeding profusely… and spat something behind the teen.

One second later, the world wanderer jumped to the side, a huge tail smashing Orochimaru's corpse instead. As Kazama rose up, he observed the… thing… he was now facing.

It was an abomination.

"Naruto-kun…" the snake-shaped mass of white vipers hissed with the Sannin's voice. Its head looked like a skull covered with rotting grey flesh, full of worms and exuding a hellish, purple smoke. "When will you understand that death will never come to claim me?"

The blonde glared. "So this is your true form? You mutilated your own body for a shot at immortality?"

"I prefer the term of 'improved'," the creature whispered, drops of green venom escaping from its teeth. "Just as I will improve _yours_, once I take it over."

"Sorry, I already had to share it with the Kyuubi once, and it sucked," Kazama said, preparing a jutsu. "No way I'm going to let an undead snake in."

"Who told you I asked for your permission?" Orochimaru chucked, as he attempted to swallow the blonde, who masterfully Shunshined away, retaliating with a Cold Wave. The wind made the creature shudder, but the smaller snakes flowed out of the monstrosity to attack the world wanderer.

"That's creepy," he muttered, his chains killing the reptiles left and right. Orochimaru's jaws opened wide, as he tried to eat the teen again. The chains switched targets, stopping the fangs, before winding around the abomination's skull, smashing it on the floor with violence. The tail almost squished the world wanderer, but he deflected it with a Rasengan.

But then, he noticed the two Kusanagi, who had begun floating in the air, shining. They were pointed at him… and, as expected, suddenly extended. While he saw them coming and dodged their attack, Orochimaru used the opportunity to flow out of his restrains, separating itself into a thousand of white snakes which immediately reformed his body afterward.

_He copied the power of Katsuyu, Tsunade's summon… _Kazama guessed, taking steps backward and putting as much distance between the huge abomination and himself as possible. _Killing all these vipers is probably the only way to kill him permanently._

Frowning, the blonde ordered his chains to kill individual reptiles… but Orochimaru simply chuckled. "It won't work a second time!" Holes opened all over his body, the chains going through them. Immediately afterward, the white vipers winded around the blue chakra and crawled on them toward the former demon vessel. Having no other choice, Kazama dissipated them, before using a Heat Wave to throw back the reptiles. They immediately returned to the main body, which was adopting a menacing pose.

_Since they haven't swarmed me yet, then I assume they must somehow stay united to survive, _Kazama realized, before realization hit him. _They still need to maintain Orochimaru's form, and move his bones, since they replace the flesh… he can't live without them. _The blonde blinked. _I must kill them all in one swoop._

… _the flail._

"Naruto!" Orochimaru hissed, slithering toward Kazama. The teen threw a kunai in the air, and used a kawarimi to switch place with it a second before the Sannin's fangs shredded his flesh apart. While still flying, the world wanderer summoned his chains, and formed a Rasengan. The chains winded around it, maintaining the sphere's shape when Kazama released the pressure.

_Orochimaru… you have lost._

The second his feet connected with the ground, the blonde was already infusing wind chakra into the sphere, making it look green. He turned around, facing a roaring giant snake.

The chains twirled in the air, and the sphere smashed on Orochimaru's skull faster than the eye could follow.

The resultant shock threw Kazama into the opposite wall, a miniature tornado demolishing the room and fracturing the rock. The wind cut the shrieking snakes, reducing them to dust before the world wanderer's astonished eyes. The Sannin's skull shattered, unleashing a huge cloud of purple mist that was immediately dispersed by the miniature storm.

When the wind settled, noting was left of Orochimaru anymore.

"… I think I will call it the 'Storm Flail'," Kazama declared as he rose on his legs. "And the next time I use it, it will be somewhere else than in closed spac-"

He screamed, as something bit his ankle. Kicking the thing responsible, Kazama eyed his wound with anger… his skin was turning purple, and the marks were…

His eyes shifted to the snake responsible.

"You are mine…" the little black and rotting viper with Orochimaru's head whispered, as it grinned. "Your body… is mine…"

The following second, Kazama was walking on a plain of purple, shifting flesh, under a dark sky. His body was cold, and he could move only his eyes… using them to look at the figures that were encircling him.

Mass of fleshes, with a sleeping human face. Women, men… all seemed at peace, their soul forever imprisoned in what Kazama knew was Orochimaru's mind.

The snake emerged from the flesh, his face nothing more than a rotting skull. "This is the end, Naruto-kun…" he whispered, as the purple mass began to spread over the blonde's body. "In this mental plane, I am all-powerful… I will envelop your soul and take you over as my new vessel."

Kazama tried to struggle, to free himself, but the flesh continued to cover him unhindered. As his face began to vanish, he heard Orochimaru laughing. His eyes closed…

_"Naruto-sensei… why are you abandoning us?"_

And suddenly snapped open.

_"Guys, I don't want to deal with flat-lady's crying, so just hurry up and kick this bastard's ass already!"_

_"While the chance of you surviving is next to zero, I would like you to prove the statistic wrong, Kazama-san."_

_"Please, Kazama-san… please stay alive…"_

The flesh ceased to spread, much to Orochimaru's shock. "WHAT?"

_"Kazama… your determination inspired me to grow out of my problems… now, it's your turn to show the world that you will never break."_

_"Brat, if you die there, I will never forgive you."_

_"Kazama-san… Naruko-chan would be so sad if you were to die, so please survive."_

Then, the flesh began to _recede_.

"How can it be?" Orochimaru wondered, staying immobile as Kazama was completely free. "It shouldn't be… it can't be…"

"I don't think you understand what such a situation means," the blonde stated, his lips finally moving by sheer force of will. "It means that, for all intents and purposes, I have surpassed you, both physically _and mentally_. Not alone, sure. I did have help, support, and above all, people's trust. Things you cast away in your pathetic, futile quest of unlimited power and knowledge. Ultimately, Orochimaru, what you lacked… was simply something to love for, other than living for the sake of living. You lacked a true vision for the future... and the willpower to back it up**_._**" **_True power... is something that belongs to me. _**"You have power, yes, but you didn't have the guts to use it properly. You were afraid of facing down the Hidden Villages, afraid of Akatsuki, afraid of everything." The world wanderer smirked. "You wanted power, but you didn't know how to use it."

The Sannin was left speechless, his last gambit ruined by one world wanderer. He didn't even move as death walked toward him, casually clenching his right fist.

"Maybe it was because, deep down, you are just a desperate individual, afraid of death and yet aware nothing you could do would save you. Maybe it is because you actually hated the world for not complying to your wishes. Or maybe simply because you are just a child that never grew up, toying with people's live and snapping when things don't turn the way you want… actually, it makes a lot of sense."

He now a few meters away from the gasping, soon-to-be dead snake.

"In the end it doesn't matter," Kazama stated, gritting his teeth. "The old man doesn't matter. I can't care less about your invasion, Sasuke, peace, Sakura, Yamato and Sai!" He glared at the snake. "What matters is that you _dared _to threaten my _family_."

He lifted this arm.

"So yeah, you're dying _for the last time_."

And then, with all his might, he punched Orochimaru in the face.

Time slowed down, as the Sannin's body was thrown backward, like a bag of rotten meat. A huge, dark hole opened in the middle of the plain of flesh, quickly devouring it. Yet, Kazama felt no fear, only a strange feeling of emptiness and otherworldly calm, coldness and serenity. On the other hand, the snake Sannin was obviously despaired, trying very hard to escape the inevitable. "This is useless," Kazama smiled, cold emptiness taking over his heart. "I am simply too strong for you to overcome. Accept the inevitable."

"I… will… NEVER… DIE!" Orochimaru roared as he thrashed feebly to move.

"Quite the contrary," Kazama replied. "I think _they _will make sure you do."

Dozens of hands seized the Sannin's body from behind, and lifted him above the ground, a dozen of figures glaring at the snake and cursing his name. The souls Orochimaru had kept suppressed had awakened and they were not happy.

"Say farewell, Orochimaru. And this time, _mean _it."

The Sannin screamed as he fell into the void with his victims, never to threaten anyone again. The hole grew, consuming the whole mental plane, until nothing but Kazama remained.

When the blonde's eyes snapped open once again, they saw only a broken room in a flying fortress. The world wanderer was alone.

Not that he was going to protest.

Absentmindedly, Kazama noticed the two Kusanagi, lying on the ground. Suddenly, they began to shine and fly in the air, and the teen prepared to defend himself. But instead of being pointed at him… the blades were flying vertically, slowly, and absolutely _not _menacingly. They stopped right in front of him, and waited.

Carefully, Kazama seized their pommel. The swords didn't resist when he began to waver them, didn't try to stab him, and simply stopped to shine… in fact, the blade he had a hard time to use seemed easier to manipulate, as if…

"So I guess Orochimaru is indeed dead for good, and that you both switched allegiance to me, isn't that right?" the blonde asked, already knowing the answer. "So… I am your new master now?"

The blade briefly shinned once again.

"… you know what, I think I will keep you both," he declared, "despite all the 'demonic weapons' deal…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Cat, Yugito<strong>_

In one swing, Yugito's paw lacerated the white samurai's face, slightly damaging it. The armor of chakra counterattacked by attempting to punch her muzzle, but she easily dodged the fist. Gathering all her might, the human-turned-Bijuu kicked Kakashi, making the chakra construct crack and the man inside fly.

_**Touché, Kitten! **_The Nibi acclaimed. _**His chakra can't match our own!**_

_Yes… _Yugito thought, as she swiftly sidestepped, a rain of explosive kunai sent by Sasori's twin puppets barely managing to faze her. Ignoring the following shocks, the kunoichi retaliated with a blast of blue fire, stopped by a wall of ice. Almost immediately afterward, mist covered the room. With a swing of her tail, the demon vessel swept it away…

And an angry swordsman rammed his blade into her skull.

Of course, Yugito felt next to nothing and threw the man away with her paw, putting him on fire, but damn… no one else had tried that previously, not once.

_**Probably because it takes some guts to engage a Bijuu in close combat, **_the Nibi pointed out. _**And maybe suicidal tendencies.**_

_Probably, _Yugito thought, as she observed her enemies. Zabuza had extinguished the flames on his body with a water technique, Haku had rushed to his side, and Sasori was standing still, waiting for an opening. Kakashi had risen up, glaring at her defiantly even as his chakra armor vanished, the man's Sharingan bleeding like a fountain. And yet, he gave her a familiar hand gesture.

_Bring it on._

Not going to say no, Yugito prepared herself to charge… only to receive a few explosive kunai in her face from unknown assailants. Tilting her head to observe them, the kunoichi gasped in surprise. _**"Naruko?"**_

"Yugito-chan?" the blonde girl asked with a shocked voice. "Is that you?"

"The blonde lady?" the other kid Naruto, Chibaku, she thought his name was, wondered out loud. "Oh no, she was a demon cat in disguise all along!"

_**I am not a cat! I only have the appearance of one, so why everyone keeps saying that?**_

_Then why do you call me Kitten?_

_**It has nothing to do with it. It is a mark of affection.**_

_**"Please, stay out of this," **_Yugito whispered to the kids, before smelling something familiar. _**"N's blood…"**_ she eyed Chibaku. _**"You killed N?"**_

"He almost killed Kitsune, and he just about refused to stay down," the boy replied. "He kind of forced my hand."

_**"This is…" **_she growled.

"Wait, please stop fighting!" Naruko interrupted her. "The Vault is going to crash down very soon!"

As if to confirm her claims, the room shook, as if it was caused by some kind of earthquake. _**She's right, Kitten, **_the Nibi whispered to her mind. _**I feel this tower struggling to maintain its flight. The engine might have been damaged, or worse, destroyed.**_

_And nobody know how it works, let alone repair it, _the kunoichi inwardly grumbled. _You think we can survive?_

_**No, not even in this form, unless you can fly back to earth on your own, without N's help. And since he is kind of dead…**_

Yugito blinked. _This is bad, very bad… __**"It appears you are right. You damaged the engine?"**_

Naruko bit her lower lip. "It was an accident. I was fighting Gaara, and…"

_**"Gaara?" **_Yugito asked, noticing the unconscious redhead next to the little girl and the crazy demon inside her. _**"She escaped? You defeated her?"**__Impressive… to beat such a powerful Jinchuuriki at her age is not an easy feat._

_**She has a lot of untapped potential, doesn't she Kitten? **_

_Indeed. _"Why did you keep her alive?" she asked, as the tower shook once again. "She is insane and dangerous."

Naruko glared defiantly. "She is possessed by her Bijuu, like Kitsune. She is not in full control of her own actions, and I'm sure I can help her."

_**"Then you are a bigger optimist than I am," **_Yugito whispered. She knew about Gaara's story, and if she pitied her, the kunoichi had realized long ago that the danger she presented was too great. _**"But who am I to criticize your choice? Just… be careful with her."**_

Naruko nodded calmly. "Thank for your trust, Yugito-chan."

The human-Bijuu nodded, but then glared at Kakashi. **_"You, however..."_**

"You don't have to fight!" Naruko interrupted her.

**_"He broke a deal and killed my superior,"_**the kunoichi replied, while the Hatake frowned. _**"I could smell his blood on your chakra armor. I can leave your companions alone, but you are not going escape this place alive."**_

"Whenever you want," he responded, forming a ball of lightning within his fingers. "Justice will design who is right and who isn't."

"I hate to interrupt this moment of rivalry or whatever," Chibaku said, "but am I the only one concerned about the fact we're all going to die horribly within the next ten minutes?"

"No," Zabuza grumbled, before looking at the Pot of Kumogakure. "Can't we use this thing to teleport away?"

"The travel only works in one way," Sasori replied, while frowning. "And I don't have enough chakra left to make my flying puppets transport us to safety… I didn't expect to face an undead Sannin. However, there is still the gliding option..."

"Transforming our clones into gliders won't work," Chibaku stated, guessing the plot. "Kitsune is unconscious, and this redhead too. And you seem too harmed to fly properly."

"You underestimate me," the puppet master replied. "We can have clones take our wounded members..."

**_"Kumo has an anti-aerial defense," _**Yugito stated. **_"Since it's not N that transport us, they will kill us on sight."_**

"We need to find Kazama-san," Haku concluded, as Sasori frowned in defeat. "Maybe if Naruko uses her shadow clones…"

Yugito's vision noticed a familiar soul, and she chuckled. _**"Do not bother… when you speak of the devil, he always shows up."**_

Walking out of a corridor and into the hall, the world wanderer appeared, holding two blades in his hands. Everyone eyed him, and he looked back. "So you are all there… well, hello," he said, before noticing the giant cat in front of him, and blinking. "What the-"

"It's Yugi-chan!" Naruko shouted.

_**"Yes… this is the form of the Nibi, which I can assume at will,"**_ the kunoichi replied. _**"More importantly, can you make us escape before the Vault's destruction?"**_

"So this tower is indeed going down… figured that out, with all the earthquakes," he said. "I can only teleport us in another world, however." he stared at Kakashi. "What the hell is happening?"

"This is a matter of honor," the jonin explained.

"This is a matter of foolishness," Sasori countered, looking at Yugito. "Miss Yugito, we are all in the same boat and it is sinking. You can always solve your feud later, once we are all safe." He locked eyes with her. "Lets make a truce."

_**He has a point, you know. Better delay the man's punishment than dying, Kitten.**_

**_"I cannot trust you,"_**Yugito replied, ignoring her Bijuu's advise. _**"What will stop from backstabbing me?"**_

"My debt to you," Kazama stated. "I owe you my life. Without you, Orochimaru would have killed me. I swear I will bring you to safety and that we won't betray you."

"This is stupid," Zabuza stated, balancing his sword menacingly at the Bijuu. "She attacked us. I don't know why we should help her."

**_"I can kill you whenever I want,"_** she suggested, the swordsman answering by a glare.

"I owe her my life," Kazama stated, attracting Zabuza's incredulous gaze. "Without her, Orochimaru would have killed me. So yes, she's going to follow us."

The swordsman seemed about to reply something, but Haku put a hand on his shoulder and locked eyes with him. The missing-nin frowned, and then shrugged. "Alright, alright," he said, next staring at Yugito. "Makes no mistake: one wrong move and I'll kill you."

**_"I would like to see you try,"_** the kunoichi shot back, unimpressed, and she next looked at Kakashi. **_"And you? What is your point of view? I will kill you once we have escaped."_**

He stayed silent, and briefly looked at Kazama. "I trust my leader's decision," he declared. "And I shall respect it. I promise I will fight you honorably, whenever you want, and I shall not try to attack you beforehand."

"I promise too," Naruko said. "We won't be treacherous, Yugito-chan."

The kunoichi blinked_, _before slowly retaking her original form. "Alright, alright... I guess I have no choice." She eyed Kakashi. "Our duel is only postponed."

"I know," he replied with a grunt. "I expected no more."

"Then it is settled," Sasori declared, ignoring the bicker. "The question is: where are we going?"

"I will try to teleport us near a settlement," Kazama stated, "away from any Hidden Village, just in case. Prepare yourself."

"Do we take this pot?" Chibaku pointed out, looking at the huge object. Sasori simply shook his head.

"Too hard to transport, impossible to seal, not worth the hassle."

"G-Gaara?" Kazama whispered, as he recognized the unconscious redhead. Naruko frowned.

"You know her, Naruto-sensei?"

"I fought him once… well, a male version of her," he whispered. "What happened? She attacked you?"

"Yeah," she said, before smiling. "But I defeated her."

Kazama blinked. "This is… impressive." He smirked. "I'm very proud of you."

"Thank you," she said, reddening a bit, but suddenly adopted a serious expression. "Please, can we take her with us? She isn't bad, I think… simply confused by her demon."

"I know, I dealt with such a situation years ago," he replied. "If she's anything like the Gaara I knew… then she can become a good person if she makes friends." His grin widened. "Like you."

Naruko smiled sheepishly, and Yugito observed the scene from afar. _**You know, Kitten, this guy isn't that bad, **_the Nibi whispered. _**He's very much like N, except without the suicidal tendencies and the 'my country right or wrong' attitude.**_

_Yes, _she agreed silently. _Nibi… do you think we will be able to see Kumo again? Our Kumo, I mean._

The Bijuu stayed silent a moment. _**There is always a chance, but I seriously doubt it. This Kazama doesn't seem really competent with his ability… sorry.**_

_For what? Telling the truth? _she wondered.

_**For not being able to help you.**_

_Nibi… thank you._

"Will he make it?" Kazama asked, looking at Kitsune.

"His life is not in danger, I assure you," Chibaku answered. "However, I have no idea for how long he will stay like that. Maybe a few days, maybe more. I have no idea what N did to him, but it appears to have made his chakra rather unstable. If only I could question the dead to know what really happened…"

Yugito frowned. _N..._

"So N is dead?" Kazama asked with a frown. "The Raikage too?"

"You seem a little sad," Chibaku pointed out. "Why?"

"I'm not really sad about A, but N… somehow, I can't help but empathize with him," the blonde teen replied. "If circumstances have been different, we might have become like him. Trying to defend our family and our friends, against everything… are we really so different than him?"

"No, but what is done is done," Kakashi declared. "Many deaths are tragic, but most of them result from choices. N could have avoided it all, and yet he preferred to fight. Same thing with all these guards and A. They made decisions, and we have to accept them. Unfortunately," he said, locking eyes with the blonde, "you taught us we can't rewrite the past."

Kazama stayed silent, and then nodded. "Too true."

"Anyway," Yugito interrupted them. "If your blades are of any indication, you managed to kill the Warden?"

"I annihilated him," the teen replied evenly. "It took a while, but he's gone forever."

The kunoichi nodded. "Some good new at least." She smirked. "I hope you will do as well during our rematch, after I kill Kakashi of course."

"Don't worry," the teen grinned a bit. "You will never get past Kakashi."

"We shall see."

"... hey wait," Chibaku stared at her. "And me? I kind of killed your fellow Jinchuuriki..."

"You were not bound to spare him, as were your allies," she replied. "And you were fighting to protect your friend. This was just business." The kunoichi glared. "I won't seek revenge on you, but this doesn't mean I will forgive you."

"..." he sulked, massaging his temples. "Well, I guess I should be happy not to have to fight a giant cat..."

Yugito blinked. "Just a few seconds." She turned around, toward the opening she had made after throwing the undead Hokage through the walls. Since she could see the sky, the kunoichi joined her palms, and shot a little fireball through the hole. When it reached the clouds, the ball exploded into a beautiful, blue firework. _Now, you know I am still alive, Bee-sama, Mab... and that your plan worked somewhat. _"I am ready," she stated.

Another earthquake shook the room, and Kazama turned to face the rest of the group. "Is _everyone_ ready?" Since they all nodded, the blonde slammed his palms. "Then let's go."

In a flash of light, everything vanished.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Deceiver, Madara<strong>_

Below them, the Vault looked like a crushed egg, a broken, shapeless mass. Rocks were burning, literally, unleashing huge masses of smoke into the air. From above the clouds, Tsukiyomi found the sight of Kumo-nins trying to extinguish the raging and spreading inferno quite entertaining, his counterparts and two animated corpses enjoying the spectacle at his sides. The breach Kazama had created now looked like a black sphere, its power hijacked by a dark deity.

_**"You are now on your own," **_Mikaboshi's mechanical voice said through the breach. _**"I will return the pathway to the world where you prey fled back to normal, but Izanagi's decree prevents me from doing more. Your quest do not concern me anymore, at least for now."**_

"That is all?" Susanoo wondered, his power over gravity allowing them to fly. "Noorder? No directive?"

"What are you talking about?" Tsukiyomi rasped. "Since when are we its subordinates?" They should never show submission or insecurity, not in front of _anybody_. Not even their divine backer.

While the dark force watched the events in silence, Amaterasu and Susanoo stared at him, the first with support, the second with incomprehension. "It did save us from certain death, in case you do not remember," the man with the Rinnegan pointed out.

"Gratitude doesn't equal to servitude," Amaterasu pointed out. He stared at the breach. "Make no mistake, August Star: we _will _repay your help, but we are not your pawns. Not now, not ever."

_**"You are not pawns, no," **_the entity whispered. _**"If you were pieces, you would be the highest rank possible below the king, but you are completely different entities. You are the heralds of the future, and you have always been. You **_**will **_**bring mankind closer to eternity, but this is not the only reason I saved you. Gratitude also played a part in my intervention."**_

Tsukiyomi blinked. "Gratitude?" he asked.

_**"It is the way debts are paid," **_the deity replied, taking the question literally. _**"You, chosen, gave me an opportunity to erase Izanagi's decree, and you deserved a reward for it. A continued existence for you and your echoes appeared to be the best one I could offer you. When the time will come, you will receive far more." **_

"Do you mean we are no longer indebted to you?" Tsukiyomi asked, doubtful.

_**"Lying to you is pointless, Uchiha Madara, and beneath both of us. And you were never indebted," **_the dark force replied with honesty. _**"I gave you your powers so you could realize your personal visions, which all fit me perfectly, despite their differences. They are yours, and yours alone. No matter what you do, you will still serve my purpose."**_

"If we were to kill Naruto Uzumaki," Amaterasu muttered, attracting the surprised gaze of Susanoo and receiving a glare from Tsukiyomi, "will you care?"

_**"Such an action would be a major step-back for what I plan to accomplish, as there will probably be no more opportunity to turn someone like him to my side," **_Mikaboshi whispered, _**"but doing so will prove to be fatal to the responsible. I do not see what you could hope to gain."**_

"A good rush and the thrill of a battle," Amaterasu shot back.

_**"Pointless. Since you do consider this chain of actions in a dark corner of your conflicted mind, let me give you an advice: you can obtain far more by sparing him," **_the dark force replied. _**"Are you unable to see what his power can do? With him, the world of eternal warfare you seek, Madara Uchiha, will be within your grasp. All it will take is a few words at the right time. This chance to realize your dream, Uzumaki Naruto will gladly give it to you in time, once he accepts his planned role." **_It stayed silent. _**"Do you know what is the most basic rule of the game you humans call Shogi?"**_

It was purely rhetorical. "Protect the king," Tsukiyomi said, understanding where the deity was going.

_**"Yes," **_it said. _**"You know who is the king, even if **_**he **_**doesn't know it himself. It is only through him that the game can be won, and I know you will act accordingly."**_

Amaterasu shrugged. "Ah, yes, I forgot you could see the future."

_**"I do not predict the future, Uchiha Madara," **_Mikaboshi replied. _**"I write it." **_The breach began to shift, retaking its original, shapeless form. _**"We will meet again, sons of men, once the game will be won, and the time to seize the prize is in sight."**_

As the three Madara found themselves alone, Tsukiyomi glared at Amaterasu. "A good rush, right?" he asked. "This is not surprising, coming from you, and yet… were you fishing for information?"

"Yes," the warrior confirmed. "I have no idea of what it is planning to do, but this is _big _and our prey has a vital role in it."

"Yes," Susanoo agreed. "I wonder what fate keeps in reserve for us…"

"Fate is nothing more than a possibility," Tsukiyomi stated. "This entire multiverse is the proof that fate isn't set in stone."

Susanoo chuckled. "I thought Izuna's visions would have opened your eyes on the existence of destiny."

"I _chose _to realize Izuna's dreams," he pointed out. "And he predicted a very different turn of events than this one. I really doubt Mikaboshi is completely omniscient, or else it would have conquered the multiverse long ago."

"Mikaboshi predicted a chain of actions that he showed to Izuna," Susanoo replied. "It doesn't mean it wasn't itself fated to act like that. If all things are predetermined, then maybe Mikaboshi's acts were too. The future is already written, but we do not know the language and we can misinterpret the scriptures."

Tsukiyomi prepared to demolish his counterpart's point of view, but Amaterasu put his hands on both their shoulders. "I hate to interrupt such debate, but we still have a blonde to track down and capture."

The others stayed still, before both nodded. "They will never expect us to catch up with them so soon," Susanoo declared. "We shall grace them with fire and steel."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Ice Princess, Haku<strong>_

When Haku regained her sight, she found herself standing in the middle of a forest. The sky was orange, the sun was vanishing, and a very little village was standing a bit away. The place was silent and peaceful.

"A settlement, eh?" Zabuza snorted. "It barely qualifies."

"Told you I would _try_," Kazama pointed out. "And we _are _near habitations."

"YOU!"

The shout attracted everyone's attention. Haku immediately recognized the person, a blonde teen clad in orange robes. He was pointing his finger accusingly at the Yuki. "You killed me!"

The lady's mind ceased to work for a few seconds, just like everybody. "I beg your pardon?" she asked to the teenage Naruto, his blue eyes piercing her soul.

"You killed me," he repeated, "with your beauty." He showed her a bouquet of flower that popped up in his hands. "I do not know what I did to you, but thank you for giving me such punishment. Please, what is your name?"

"Euh… Haku." His blue eyes began to shine like stars, and the background turned pink. The scene was downright surreal, and probably the result of a genjutsu.

"Well, sweet Haku," he said, "would you like to take a ride on the Naruto express? The entry is free, no worry."

And then, he put his hand on her ass.

_One, two, three…_

As red as a tomato, she slapped him so hard he fell on the ground. The genjutsu broke, returning the world to normal. The new Naruto touched his red cheek with a smile. "A woman with character… I like that."

The shadow of Zabuza covered him, Haku's master cracking his fingers menacingly. "I think I will opt for crucifixion," he whispered darkly.

_"_Heck_,_ no!" Another voice shouted, as a man in red descended from a tree. "I still need him for my research! He's my disciple, my muse, my inspiration! Naruto Uzumaki, the heir of the great super-pervert sage, Jiraiya!" The old man grinned, while adopting a nice guy pose, his teeth reflecting the sun like mirrors.

"And, to be honest, your daughter is smoking hot! She must have taken a lot from her mother, right?"

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Snake<em>**

Orochimaru opened his eyes, only to see darkness. He couldn't feel his limbs, and he couldn't move his lips. _Where am I? _he wondered, remembering his showdown with Kazama._ What did he do to me?_

**_"As expected, he overpowered you. He passed this test perfectly."_**

Orochimaru tried to blink, but failed. The voice was everywhere, cold, and mechanical. _Who..._

**_"Oblivion, power, eternity... I have many names, but only one goal," _**the... _thing_... replied emotionlessly. **_"You have served your purpose very well. I am a bit disappointed for the reasons behind Uzumaki Naruto's use of my gift, but the will is there. I only have to redirect it."_** Orochimaru felt something dwelling into his thoughts, like a drill. **_"Now, it is time for you to know the peace of nonexistence."_**

A second later, Orochimaru began to lose everything. His memories vanished, his knowledge was consumed, his very being was devoured. He tried to scream, but he couldn't.

He didn't _know_ how to do it anymore.

Then...

Nothing.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Omake: Spandex World <strong>_

_**WARNING: MADNESS AHEAD! **_

_**SANE PEOPLE! CLOSE YOUR EYES!**_

When Haku opened her eyes, the first thing she did was regret doing that.

"YOSH!" A Naruto with huge eyebrows, a bowl-like headdress, and wearing a horrible orange spandex suit shouted happily. "VISITORS!"

"I SEE IT, MY ADMIRED RIVAL!" A Uchiha with a Sharingan, the same hairdo even larger eyebrows barked. He was wearing a blue spandex suit. "LEE-CHAN!"

"YES!" A girl in green spandex screamed happily, jumping between the two guys. She looked like a black-haired male with the same horrible hairs and eyebrows of her teammates, except that her lips were red and _big_. "WELCOME!"

"YOSH, GUYS!" A Kakashi appeared, his hair and eyebrows the same as the monsters before them, and wearing a purple spandex suit. "WE ARE TEAM GAI!"

"PREPARE FOR TRAINING!" The Uchiha exploded in Haku's ears, almost making her deaf.

"PREPARE FOR FIGHTING!" The girl continued. A twilight genjutsu formed behind them.

"This is a nightmare…" the sane Kakashi muttered, shuddering. "This is a fucking nightmare…"

"TO PROTECT THE WORLD FROM LAZINESS!" The spandex-Naruto continued.

"TO UNITE ALL PEOPLE WITHIN OUR COOLNESS!" The insane Kakashi added.

"Is it hell?" Both Chibaku and Zabuza asked at the same time.

"SASUKE!"

"LEE!"

"NARUTO!"

"KAKASHI!"

"Yes," Kazama replied, massaging his temples. "Yes it is…"

"BEWARE YOU PERVERT HORRIBLE BLIGHT!"

"TEAM GAI KICKS ASS AT THE SPEED OF THE LIGHT!"

And then, the four adopted a freaking team pose, the sun shining behind them. "SO WELCOME TO KONOHA!"

At this moment, Haku realized that, indeed, they were in a Hidden Village, with five visages shaped on a mountain. And one looked disturbingly like an adult version of Lee, smiling… Kakashi, the sane one, screamed out of his lungs.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's notes<em>**

I have mixed feelings about this chapter. Writing Yugito was kind of difficult, since her joining the group was out of desperation and lack of options... survival instinct, I guess. But such decision will have bad consequences.

Same thing with the Madara scene. Making them both allies of Mikaboshi and independent was hard to write.

Thanks to Land Blazer and Alpenworf for suggesting the Omake.

Anyway, same thing as ever, give your point of view.

Also, the first half of this arc is finished. The second will be more character-oriented, as the group will face internal problems and... the rest is spoiler. There will be far less big battles, and more plot.

Type you soon.


	19. Chapter 19: Troubled Times

_**I'm back. Told you it would be slightly faster this time around.**_

_**On a side note, the manga's final fights have begun, and they're awesome. Although I have the feeling the battle with Tobi is just a preview for the real final, damn, it's going to be AWESOME!**_

**_Thanks, Shinsou Tengen Wabisuke, Land Blazer, And Third Fang for suggesting the three omakes (and in the latter's case, writing the last one) at the end. Your daily insanity is very much welcomed in that sad world of mine._**

_**Disclaimer: yeah, I don't owe Naruto. Happy?**_

_**Traveler/Original Naruto: Kazama Arashi.**_

_**Puppeteer Naruto: Chibaku Arashi.**_

_**Werefox/Hybrid Naruto: Kitsune Arashi.**_

_**Female Naruto: Naruko Arashi.**_

_**Deceiver/Original Madara: Tsukiyomi.**_

_**Destroyer/Rinnegan Madara: Susanoo.**_

_**Warrior/Collector Madara: Amaterasu.**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Nineteen: Troubled Times<strong>_

"We are all standing here to remember recent events," Mabui began to speak, the crowd listening to her in silence. They were all wearing black, and watching a large stone, with names carved on it. "This day shall be engraved in our memory… as both a tragedy and the beginning of a new era of peace."

She stared at the horizon, where the Vault had fallen, never to rise again. "The symbol of Kumo's invincibility has fallen, taking down our beloved Raikage, A, to death and destruction. The thunder has struck, and our land has shattered. Blood was shed, and we trembled. Fire burned the earth, but out of the ashes of the old Kumo, we emerged."

She touched the names carved in the rock. "A, our beloved Raikage, who despite his flaws, simply wanted Kumo to be strong and respected. Naruto Yotsuki, alias Naruto Uzumaki, our honorable guardian that loved this country so much. Yugito Nii, our friend, our pride, who died as she lived, in a spark of blue fire."

As she continued to recite the names, Mabui thought about the firework that was seen from the Vault, as the fortress crashed. She knew the meaning behind this display of power, but Yugito's disappearance could only mean that she had left for another world… perhaps the one from which their visitors had come from. The kunoichi would probably never know.

Now that a ceasefire had been proposed, unhindered by the Warden… no, Orochimaru, the Fourth Great Shinobi War would end very soon, and peace would be finally established. It would be a difficult one, no doubt, yet it was worth the price. Mabui was fairly confident the new Raikage would be a just man, and open to reason and advice.

"Now, let us celebrate the ascension of our new leader!" She shouted to the crowd, as they cheered for a man in white robes. "Welcome our Godaime Raikage, Killer Bee!"

"Thank you all!" He shouted, suddenly serious. "Don't be in denial! I shall be a good leader, just as I am a good rapper!"

Just about everyone cringed at that, and Bee laughed. Behind this mask of everlasting joy, Mabui knew that the man had been devastated by his brother's and his disciples' death. He had cried when he had learned they had died. Only she had witnessed it, being his last closest friend, and the kunoichi was shocked, if not disturbed, by Bee's ability to hide his pain.

The sad part was that he had done it so many times it had become an automatism.

_Yugi… _Mabui thought, as she promised herself to watch over Bee and Kumo in the blonde's absence, _I hope you are happy, wherever you are._

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Cat, Yugito<strong>_

Jiraiya's house was huge, so much so that it could almost be called a mansion, and from the outside… it looked like a big hostel. There were two floors, multiple bedrooms, walls made of clear colors… there was just one little problem with the main room.

It was a library… of _pornos_. The two perverts didn't even bother to hide the covers!

Her fist wreathed in blue fire and her eyes blazing like a hellish inferno, the kunoichi slowly turned around to face her hosts, incinerating the book she was holding at the same time. The blonde pervert cringed, as pale as a ghost… and one of his eyes as black as night. Zabuza's gift. "Jiji, female fury alert!"

"I know, kid," the Sannin replied, his face, jaw and cheeks covered with bruise. Another one of Zabuza's gifts. "Let's be courageous, and face our doom…" He locked eyes with his student, smiled… and fled in a flash. "Just kidding!"

Before he could reach the door, a wall of ice appeared in front of him that he smashed into headfirst, further damaging his already abused face. Haku's eyes were as cold as winter, and her face the very picture of death. "You are not leaving this room alive."

"Girls," Naruko growled, spheres of chakra forming in her palms, "who wants to begin?"

What followed… was perhaps one of the most brutal beat down ever recorded in history.

Leaving the burned library and the soon-to-be-maimed perverts at the nonexistent mercy of the other girls, Yugito walked to the stairs… from which Chibaku and Zabuza were eying the scene. The first was gritting his teeth with dread, while the second was obviously enjoying every aspect of the scene. "Haku, put the senbon you know where already!" A scream later, the swordsman shook his head in joy. "She grew up so quickly… surpassing me in the torture department at her age… I am so proud…"

"Won't they kill them?" Chibaku asked with a fearful tone. "I mean, it looks painful…"

"That's the point," the swordsman deadpanned. "And they will stay alive… and crippled and screaming and broken and crying and castra-"

"I got it, stop with the details!"

"What? He implied I was ugly, and that Haku got everything from her mother! Well, it could be true, but it still pissed me off!"

Yugito nodded darkly. "Perverts only live to die by the hand of women." She glared at the two. "Understood?"

"Hey, this is a misunderstanding!" Chibaku protested. "I have never undressed a girl with the power of my mind, or hide embarrassing photos of women bathing! You have no proof, NO PROOF!"

The Jinchuuriki blinked at the outburst. "I never accused you of anything."

"… oh," the boy said weakly, being observed by both Yugito and Zabuza with not so kind eyes. "Just forget what I said, it's not important."

_**Yeah, **_the Nibi scoffed. _**Right.**_

"Did you… think about nasty things involving Haku?" Zabuza growled menacingly, and the blonde shivered.

"Of course not. I mean, it's _Haku_…"

The swordsman glared at him icily. "Do you imply she is ugly?"

"No!" The puppeteer replied vehemently. "She's a pale beauty, sire! A paragon of magnificence, sire! She is an unattainable star, sire!"

"Alright," Zabuza nodded in appreciation. "Then we are okay."

"Thank for your mercy, sire!" He began to kiss Zabuza's feet, for good measure.

Yugito simply sighed. "As long as it is only that…" she muttered, before leaving through the stairs.

"Hey!" Chibaku told her, as he followed the kunoichi. "Miss Yugito-san, euh… can I call you Yugi?"

The lady stopped, and tilted her head to look at him sideways. "Keep it Yugito-san," she said. "And what do you want?"

"Well… making small talk, break the ice… that kind of thing…" he explained lamely. "I don't know if you are going to travel with us, I kinda hoped to erase some of the bad blood between us and all…"

Yugito frowned. "That is very nice of you, but-"

"I apologize for killing N," Chibaku interrupted her. "I know he was your friend, and all… so sorry."

The kunoichi flinched, before retaking a serious expression. "Was it the first time you did this? Killing someone?" She asked, a bit troubled.

The blonde shook his head. "Bandits, thugs… small losers nobody was going to miss. N… he was a nice guy, just on the opposite side of the fence."

"But you don't regret his death," Yugito pointed out. "I can see it."

"No," Chibaku replied calmly. "It was him or my friend. If I had to do it again, it would be without hesitation."

Yugito nodded. As a professional killer, she thought the same. "N… how did he die?" she asked, her tone sad and regretful. _Why am I asking this to his killer? _The kunoichi wondered. _N is dead. It should be enough._

Chibaku stayed silent a moment, and then answered with clear words. "Internal bleeding. I managed to inflict lethal damage by ticking him off with the usual trash talk trick… he lost his composure and focus, and lowered his guard."

The kunoichi frowned questioningly. _N's Kyuubi-sensor should have made him immune to this technique._ "What kind of trash talk?"

Surprised, the puppeteer scratched the back of his head. "Things I improvised on the spot… how he was a hypocrite willing to compromise his morality just to follow orders, a dog of the Raikage, a coward…"

The blonde woman felt her blood freeze in her veins. _This… if N's senses didn't shield him from mental assault, then there is only one explanation… N… did you really believe that deep down? You were always smiling, always brave…_Yugito closed her eyes. _Why didn't you speak to me, or Bee? Why did you keep that for yourself?_

Reopening her eyes, the kunoichi looked at the confused Chibaku. "I…" she trailed off, immediately regaining her composure afterward. "What about your twin? Is he still comatose?"

Frowning at the change of subject, the puppeteer still appeared glad that she was caring about his friend. "I don't know what the hell is wrong with him," the boy replied. "Physically, there is no reason why he is like this since his chakra has stabilized… it might simply be extreme tiredness… or something else."

_A situation your friend N caused, _was left silent, yet Yugito could read between lines. "I… can perhaps help you," she declared. "The Nibi possesses special powers that could be used to cure him, or at least learn what is going on."

"Really?" Chibaku wondered out loud, with a glint of hope in his eyes.

_**Of course. I am a Bijuu, after all, **_the Nibi said proudly, as Yugito nodded. "I do not promise anything, however."

"I will try to wake him up," the puppeteer declared, "and if I don't succeed…" The boy suddenly fell silent, staring at people on the floor above, at the end of the stairs. Yugito imitated him… and glared at one of them.

"Kakashi Hatake," she whispered coldly. _Just the right person to ruin my mood._

"Yugito Nii," the other replied with a casual tone, as if he was discussing the weather.

Sasori stared at the two Shinobi, and then locked eyes with his disciple. "We need to discuss important elements. Privately."

"Alright, alright," the boy said as he left with his master. He gazed at Yugito briefly, before walking through an opened door and closing it behind him.

Kakashi didn't move, as Yugito walked past him, advancing through a corridor toward… somewhere. She realized she didn't know the mansion at all, and ceased to advance. The two ninjas stayed silent a few minutes, backs to each other. "Where and when?" The blonde asked. "Our duel."

"Here and now."

Immediately rotating, the kunoichi prepared herself to launch a powerful bolt of lightning at her enemy… _damn, not the best place to use my large-areas techniques…_

Kakashi hadn't moved.

Surprised, Yugito frowned. "If this is a Shadow Clone trick like Kazama did…" she announced, looking for any sign of danger.

"No," Kakashi replied, not even bothering to face her. "I am not going to fight."

"… you are not going to fight?" The blonde lady repeated lamely, her mind not working properly. _Is this psychological warfare?_

"No." The statement was so flat it seemed honest. Maybe it was…

The kunoichi snorted. "Then what are you going to do, let me kill you here and now?"

The jounin shrugged. "Yes," he said. "Go for the heart."

For a moment, the demon vessel had no idea how to react, and then glared at the other Shinobi. "Turn around and face me," she ordered him. "I want you to face your doom."

The grey-haired man obeyed. His one eye was full of determination.

"Take of your mask. No more hiding."

The man did so, revealing his face. He was kind of handsome, but his visage was not at all exceptional, except the pale mark where the mask had been and his red Sharingan. The disturbing eye was staring at her, observing all her movements. "What are you waiting for," he asked, touching his chest with his index finger. "Do it."

He received no answer. _Nibi…_

_**The soul vision, alright Kitten.**_

In a flash, Yugito could now gaze into Kakashi's very being. Much to her surprise, it had changed from the one she had watched the first time they met. Instead of a ball of pain and despair, it had turned into a light with a blue haze, exuding will, confidence… no hidden intentions, no aggressiveness. Taking the aim, Yugito pointed her index at the man's head. His soul then released a calm acceptation, and an iron determination.

As her spiritual sight faded away, the blonde lady couldn't keep her surprise for herself anymore. "You are just going to stand there? Just like that?"

"Yes," Kakashi replied. "I will submit to your judgment. I won't run away." He shrugged. "Not anymore."

"Why?" she asked. "Why? Don't you want to live? Don't you want to stay with-"

"Of course I do," the jounin cut her off. "But it doesn't matter. What matters is the present situation." He locked eyes with her, and Yugito mentally prepared herself in case he used the Sharingan. "By breaking our deal, I can be considered a scum by my own standards. I won't compromise on them ever again. So shoot me now, or keep your hand forever."

"You don't care about your friends?" she hissed.

"I do, and you must know that they will probably try to avenge me if you do kill me, so you should run away really fast," Kakashi whispered. "But they are too precious to me. They can't be caught in the crossfire."

"That is really noble of you," Yugito stated. "But completely stupid." She gritted her teeth. "You _can _beat me, now that you have recovered from your fight with my lord," the lady admitted difficultly, "even if your chances of doing so are minimal. Why don't you take it?"

Kakashi chuckled. "Because you won't kill me. I have already won our duel."

Yugito's rage boiled her blood, and she prepared herself to strike. "Really?"

"Yes," the jounin said, "your hesitation proves that you won't kill me. You could have, quickly, cleanly… if you had been a scumbag. However, you are an honorable person, you think it is beneath you to strike someone that doesn't defend himself." The sentences were completely true, and it angered Yugito that the man could read her so easily. "This honor gives you a reason not to kill me."

"Which is?"

"Deep down, you know that justice has been served," he replied. "Your not so noble leader, A, had it coming."

Her fingers twitched. "Don't use his name like that…" she growled. "You know nothing about him."

"He betrayed us," the jounin shot back. "He conspired with Orochimaru, and forced his country into a pointless war of conquest. You know this. You helped us because of this."

"He was my leader," Yugito shot back. "It is my duty-"

"Death is lighter than a feather, duty heavier than a mountain," the Sharingan user whispered. "I have learned and taught this sentence. But no one expects anything from you anymore, Yugito Nii. The Raikage is dead, his dreams with him." He closed his eyes. "Don't make the same mistake I did."

Yugito frowned. "Which one?"

His gaze met hers. "Let the past ruin your future."

For a moment, Yugito had no idea of what to do. The words had shaken her mind, confusing her and weakened her resolve. Her index stayed immobile, waiting for her command to kill the man in front of her.

As she stared at him, the kunoichi also stared into mental images. Of all the people standing behind Kakashi, kids and adults loving him, willing to protect him, staring at her with sadness and seriousness. _Am I really willing to disappoint them? _She wondered. _They offered me a chance, they trusted me, and yet, I am going to betray them. Am I cruel enough to take their friend away from them?_

Her finger twitched.

And then went down.

_No, _she decided inwardly. _No, I'm not. _The blonde locked eyes with the serene composed Shinobi in front of her. "Get out of my sight," Yugito whispered. "And retake your mask."

The man obeyed, and turned around to go downstairs. "Thank you," he whispered.

The demon vessel shrugged, and left for her room. _**You did the right thing, Kitten, **_the Nibi declared. _**I think…**_

_Perhaps, _the lady thought. _It doesn't mean that I appreciate it._

The Bijuu chuckled. _**Some things never change…**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Traveler, Kazama<strong>_

A web of mirrors was shifting, in the middle of white temple. Bricks were shattered, light was shedding from the walls, and puddles of black water were everywhere, sluggish and shifting.

_As expected, _Kazama thought, as he inspected the damage, _my fight with Orochimaru has caused a few problems… at least the seal is intact, and the mindscape only looks turned upside down, not destroyed beyond repair._

After explaining the situation to the two perverts, who had surprisingly taken the news well. Jiraiya only doubted his story until he examined the seals of the different Naruto and only complained about the whole weirdness of it all_once._He had invited them to stay at their 'vacation residence', and the teen had placed Kitsune and Gaara in beds, situating himself at the same time. He had decided to take a look at his mindscape, wanting to make sure everything would be fine when he would have his inevitable conversation with the Sannin.

The worst part was that he had no idea what to say.

_Are they on a training trip? _He had wondered the first time he saw them. _Or had this senile old man taken his responsibilities seriously? _The blonde had managed to keep his composure, unwilling to reveal the truth to his counterparts, to avoid hurting their feelings. The teen had to put up a good front, to make their life easier, even if he had to withhold information. Fortunately, the Sannin hadn't asked too many questions, still shocked by their revelations, but he would learn everything in time. In return, Kazama expected explanations… a _lot_ of them.

Looking at the walls of his mindscape, the world wanderer noticed a strange sight… well, for a certain value of strange.

_What is a door doing there? _The teen wondered, as he touched black gate of strange, red metal. Opening it, Kazama looked through it… and gasped. Walking into the light, the former demon vessel looked at his surroundings, mesmerized.

He was standing on a bridge of white stone… floating under a blue sky.

The monument was long, staying still, above an endless, always shifting sea of sand. Around, statues bigger than the Hokage Monument were half-emerged, or shattered. They represented faceless giants, broken figures… and himself, at different stages of his life. The most bizarre constructs, however, were strange platforms flying, moving, with objects on them. Doors, weapons, pillars… it was the strangest sight Kazama had ever seen.

No sooner he asked himself what was happening than one of the flying platforms connected with his floating bridge. Sounds of shocks were coming from it, and the world wanderer approached cautiously. Five doors were standing there, each of different color, and one dark shadow was hitting the air with all its might.

Suddenly, it rotated and stared at Kazama. "I was waiting for you," it said with a familiar voice.

The thing in front of him looked like a human made of shades. The eyes, the hair and the mouth were white, but the rest of the body was black. It was wearing a cape, and a face the world wanderer knew very well…

It was his own.

"Who are you?" he asked to his dark double, raising his eyebrows. "_What _are you?"

"Isn't it obvious?" the doppelganger replied with a cold, sinister smile. "I am you, or more precisely, a fragment of you, residing in your unconscious." He bowed slightly. "Yami Naruto, at your service."

"How can this be?" Kazama asked with a frown. "Are you a split personality?"

"Nothing of the like," the shadow answered. "I am simply the manifestation of an aspect of yourself, a mass of feelings given physical form in the mental plane." It stared at the desert below. "This is the sea of the unconscious, the place where all sentiments, impulses, repressed wills, are buried, waiting to emerge." It extended its arms. "You are in the crossroad of your mind, the frontier between the unconscious and the conscious, between thought and reality. This is the temple of your identity, of which I am the high priest and guardian. I am the watcher, the one tasked to maintain the balance in your chaotic soul."

"I see…" the blonde trailed off. "Is Orochimaru the reason why I can access this realm?"

"To overcome the Sannin, you had to use all your will," the shade nodded. "Such victory comes with wounds, healing from their own, but it also comes with a prize. Through mental discipline and a refined willpower, you have achieved limited mastery over yourself, and as a result, over this realm."

"I am not sure I understand everything," Kazama said, "but if I can access this place at will, does it mean I gain new abilities?"

"No," Yami Naruto replied flatly. "It simply means that you can now better understand yourself." It stared at one door, yellow, with the picture of a Tanuki engraved on it. "Open this gate, if you want to understand what I mean."

Obeying cautiously, the ninja opened the door, and looked at it… locking eyes with the human-sized Ichibi, which threw sand shuriken at him. Taking a step back in surprise, Kazama was even more surprised to see the projectiles vanishing before it could reach him. The scene changed slightly, and soon he saw hands and kicks hitting the miniature Bijuu.

"This is a memory," Yami Naruto explained, "the one of your fight with Gaara. You can witness and relive it at will."

"Interesting," the blonde commented, closing the door. He looked at the rest of them. "Other memories?"

"Your fight with Haku, your kiss with Sasuke," the shadow explained as his real self reddened, "your original meeting with Naruko…" it stared at the horizon. "And something I do not know."

Kazama looked in the same direction, and noticed an anomaly in the air, as if it was fake. Extending his right arm, the world wanderer touched an invisible form. "Another door?"

"Souvenirs hidden in plain sight by false, pointless, boring images," Yami Naruto explained. "Important memories have been altered, covered by a veil of false ones. To your mind, it is the souvenir of a normal dinner, one that you repeated for hundreds of time, while it is something far more important. Of what is under, I have no idea, just as I do not understand why it is hidden."

Interested, Kazama tried to open the invisible… but didn't succeed, much to his surprise. "What is the problem?"

"If you cannot open it yourself, the highest authority of your mind, then it confirms my fears," the shadow said. "You did not repress these memories on your own. They have been locked by an outside source."

Kazama's eyes flashed with rage. "You insinuate that someone messed with my memories?"

"I do not insinuate, I affirm," Yami Naruto said, as he punched the invisible obstacle to no avail. "The power used to seal this information is external and self-sustaining. Implanted through a way I do not know anything about."

"Konoha?" It wouldn't surprise him much… "Or maybe Madara?"

"Only speculations," the shade replied, blinking. "It can be an individual, an organization, anything."

"Sasori might help me," Kazama said, turning back toward the exit. He tilted his head to look at his shade. "See you later."

"Don't worry," the shadow grinned, "I am always here."

Reaching his normal mindscape and the seal, Kazama then decided to do the second thing he had planned.

Visit Kitsune.

The walls opened, revealing a dark corridor. Walking in it, the world wanderer wondered if he would meet the famous voices in Kitsune's head. As he continued to advance through the shadows, he finally saw the entry of his friend's mindscape.

A pity it was closed.

_A barrier? _Kazama thought, as he stared at the wall of red chakra in front of him, covered with black spots. It was huge, and he couldn't see through it. _Is it the Kyuubi's doing?_

The barrier twisted, moved, as if it was sentient. The spots took the shape of letters, giving the blonde a clear message.

_**Go away.**_

_**He is at peace.**_

Glaring at the barrier, the former demon vessel summoned his chains. "Whoever you are," he declared, "you will not prevent me from seeing Kitsune!"

The letters changed form.

_**He wants to stay with me.**_

_**He must never leave me.**_

_**He will never leave me.**_

His eyes full of fury, Kazama ordered his chains to hit the barrier. "Let him go!"

The blue chakra tore the red one apart, showing a little opening…

And a black eye glared at him through it.

Surprised, Kazama was suddenly propelled backwards by an invisible force. He flew through the corridor, and crashed in his own mindscape. The walls closed behind him, severing the connection between the two counterparts. Rising up, the blonde tried to open the way once again, only to fail.

"What the hell was that?" Kazama wondered out loud, as he awakened with one big headache. He was sitting on the floor, in a bedroom. On two beds, Kitsune and Gaara were resting, unconscious. Samehada was waiting next to its master, and briefly stared at the teen worryingly, before licking Kitsune's hand.

Looking at his counterpart, the world wanderer clenched his fists, feeling weak and useless. _I don't know what is happening, _the blonde thought as he rose up, _but your coma is not natural. _Opening the door of the place, Kazama decided to find Sasori. _Hopefully, he might have a solution…_

"There is a problem?" A female voice asked.

Rotating, the world wanderer locked eyes with Yugito Nii. The kunoichi was staring at him with a curious look, her back against a wall. "You seem troubled," she said casually, as if they were acquaintances… not that he disliked it, but it was kind of strange to see the woman having softened a bit.

_What happened?_ Kazama thought, while nodding. "It's about Kitsune."

The lady frowned worryingly. "Did… did N do something irreparable to him?" Her tone clearly indicated she was feeling remorseful about this, as if she was responsible by extension…

The former demon vessel shook his head. "I don't know, but his coma isn't natural. Something, maybe the Kyuubi, is keeping him in this state from within." _And I can't do anything about it…_ "I was kicked out of his mindscape before I could learn more, and its access has been closed."

The kunoichi blinked, before adopting a serious expression. "I might have a solution. The Nibi has a special power that can allow me to see people's soul. I can see what is happening inside his mind, and discover what is going on."

Kazama's eyes glinted in hope. "You can help him?" _**Can she see in my soul too? **_He wondered, a mechanical voice joining his thoughts. _**This might prove to be problematic…**_

"Maybe," she said, looking at the bedroom. "Can I…"

"Of course," he replied, showing her the way. "It's very nice of you."

She snorted. "I am not going to let a kid suffer because of his demon, or whatever," the kunoichi explained. Her eyes briefly shined, as she looked at Kitsune. Samehada seemed nervous, but silently waited.

After a short moment, Yugito blinked in surprise. "That's… incredible. He is not alone in his head."

"If you are talking about the Kyuub-" Kazama began, but the blonde lady cut him off.

"No, I mean, it's literal: there is another human in his mind."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Puppeteer, Chibaku<strong>_

As soon as he closed the door of their common bedroom, Sasori locked eyes with his student. "So?"

"So?" the blonde repeated, jumping on his bed, touching the blanket. _Finally, a good bed… everything I ever wanted… _Opening his travel bag, he took a scroll from it. "They are there," he said as he gave it to his teacher. He immediately opened it, making little books appear in a puff of smoke. Chibaku's eyes drifted from them to the little room's window, to the wall, to Sasori's bed… to the privy. _Ah, nice…_

"I am proud of you, Chibaku," Sasori whispered as he sat on his bed, reading page after page. "Very proud…"

The boy shrugged. "What do you intend to do with them? I mean, they are notes I gathered in some dark laboratory…"

"Orochimaru's journals, despite being written in a mix of intelligent remarks and insane rants, still contain information and data I can exploit," the older puppeteer replied. "How very nice of you to have taken them when you freed Samehada…"

"You more or less ordered me to do it," Chibaku deadpanned, looking at the objects. "What do they say?"

"Oh, description of cloning operations of human beings, bloodline transplantation, new types of gliders, artificial creatures made of assembled flesh. Quite an interesting part, since it can easily be adapted to puppetry…" The puppeteer smirked. "Of course, I would like you to keep this secret from our companions."

Chibaku blinked. "What?"

"This information has been obtained through experiences that would disgust most people," Sasori replied. "As such, they would find using them not worth the cost, and destroy them."

"They are our friends," Chibaku pointed out. "It would be lying to them."

"No, it would be not bothering them," Sasori stated blankly. "It is because you care for people that, sometimes, you must do what is necessary to keep them safe, even if they disagree with the means you are using."

The blonde kid smiled. "Ah, I knew you liked them…"

The puppeteer's artificial face immediately turned cold. "They are valuable allies. Nothing more."

Chibaku frowned. "You don't mea-"

"You shouldn't form strings with others that could be used against you," Sasori whispered harshly. "Once they will be cut, and they always are, the pain never goes away." He waved his hand as Chibaku prepared to argue. "Our own relationship is special, because I fully intend you to follow my footsteps, but that is all. You should keep your distances from others as much as possible, emotionally at least." He stared at his disciple with an honest look. "This is for your own good."

"Sasori…" Chibaku trailed off. "You can't always stay distant. Friendship forms on its own. It is not a conscious action."

"But when friends turn against you, I can assure you that it will be a conscious act," the redhead replied. "Unless it is against their will... but then everyone shall suffer greatly."

Frowning, Chibaku eyed his teacher suspiciously. "You imply…" he blinked, before adopting a serious expression. "What are hiding from me?"

Wordlessly, Sasori took two scrolls out of his robes and opened them, releasing two dead cadavers on the ground. A bit surprised, his disciple looked at them. They were two of the guards Orochimaru had used to bring back his teammates. "You found a way to stop the technique?"

"No," the redhead shook his head. "I noticed that the sealed content of my scrolls had changed, so I released them with all the prudence necessary… and they were like that. Since Orochimaru hadn't stopped the jutsu before being killed, and that the undead are supposed to be still active after the summoner's death, I wondered what happened." He raised two of his fingers. "I found two options."

"Kazama's mental fight with the snake disrupted the technique," Chibaku guessed the first. The second, however…

"When one of the technique's user died, one of the undead he had created was still active, sealed in Konoha," Sasori whispered. "When the man ended up risen from the dead by a friend and promptly devoured by the Shinigami along with him, his creation vanished. Some theorized that the soul of the summoner, somehow, was still able to sustain the technique, making it eternal even in death."

Chibaku immediately understood what he was implying. "You think that somehow… Orochimaru's soul has been destroyed?" The blonde puppeteer shuddered.

"It's possible," Sasori stated. "It could have been the mental fight, or something else, but it is possible that Kazama somehow managed to destroy Orochimaru's soul. Since other dead summoners didn't end up the same, I doubt the Shinigami is behind this."

"That's a terrifying prospect, but it's just speculation," Chibaku shot back.

"We must anticipate all possibilities," his master replied. "It could be an effect of the seal, a hidden power… yet, the time it is used against us, you must be ready."

"… Wait," the kid whispered, "just wait. Kazama would never do such a thing. He's a good person."

"That's what makes him so unstable," Sasori explained. "_Nobody is more dangerous than he who imagines himself pure in heart, for his purity, by definition, is unassailable, _a wise man told me once. A ninja believing in his own righteousness is terrifying, because he will stop at nothing to achieve his goal, may it be revenge, peace, the greater good… and he doesn't care about who is against him." The puppeteer locked eyes with his disciple. "This Naruto Uzumaki is full of hatred. He hates Konoha, he hates his past, he hates a few people. It is good to hate, as it is a source of strength and purpose, but if it is allowed to go wild, it consumes, like a raging fire. With the power he possesses…"

Chibaku frowned. "Sorry to break your lesson, Sasori, but he is not the kind of guy to follow such a path. Yes, he might go crazy if one of us is menaced, but he will never hurt his friends."

"Probably," Sasori said. "But imagine for a second what would happen if he ended up manipulated like N, or brainwashed. The possibility of him going rogue is minimal, but the consequences would be disastrous. We… no,_you _must be ready to face it. I… I will never support the contrary." His voice was weak and feeble, his aura of calmness shattered for a moment.

_Sasori… _the kid nodded, touched. "Alright. If you think it's for the best, I will prepare myself."

Immediately afterward, Sasori regained his composure. "It is still just a probability. Kazama has more chances of staying a noble person. It is just that his power is too mysterious and dangerous to be overlooked as safe." He stared at the two cadavers on the ground.

"I think it is time for you to make your first human puppet."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Girl, Naruko<strong>_

"The next time it happens," Naruko growled, "I will kill you both."

"Yes ma'am," the two perverts muttered, kneeling in front of her, battered and bloodied. "Excuse us ma'am…"

Snorting, the blonde left the room, Haku at her side. "I already hate them… Chibaku was already a pain, but these two just take the cake…"

The Yuki nodded approvingly. "We should stay weary around them. I don't want to imagine what kind of perverted plot they will invent."

"We can beat them easily," the demon vessel smirked. "But they can run fast…"

Haku smiled. "Not fast enough, Naruko. _Never_ fast enough."

As the two went upstairs, they heard two people speaking. "How is it possible?" Naruto-sensei wondered. "A split personality?"

"I didn't notice it sooner because it was probably repressed by your counterpart," Yugito said, "but N might have accidentally freed it by unbalancing your friend's chakra. The Kyuubi's three parts are still there, along with Kitsune, but the other human personality is repressing him forcefully, imprisoning him in his own unconscious, like a dream. It might explain why the Kyuubi has been split… since Bijuu take some characteristics from their host, his own mental problems might have influenced it."

"This sucks," the teen replied. "Can't we do anything?"

"If you didn't gain access to his mindscape, then a Yamanaka or an information-extractor might be needed," the woman explained. "Maybe this Sasori? Or Jiraiya, if he's still alive…"

"He is, Yugi-chan," Naruko interrupted the discussion, attracting the two's gaze. "Sparing him was difficult, but if he can help Kitsune, then I will forgive him."

"Same as I," Haku added. "I can't say the same for his disciple, however."

"Good," Kazama nodded, "I will talk to him. Personally." He locked eyes with Yugito. "Could you inform Sasori about your discovery?"

The kunoichi shrugged. "If it is necessary…"

"Thank you," he said, his eyes drifting toward Naruko. "Could you keep an eye on Kitsune and Gaara? Their respective demons aren't the nicest ones of the bunch, so they need to be watched."

"Of course," Naruko smiled. "Nothing will escape my notice!"

Kazama smirked, and then left for downstairs. Yugito eyed him as he vanished. "He's really a leader in the making, isn't it?" she wondered as he vanished.

Haku nodded, and Naruko's grin widened. "Yeah, he's the best!"

The blonde lady snorted. "Well,it has yet to be proved… he lacks the experience necessary to make a good field leader, like Kakashi or Sasori," she pointed out. "However, everyone began like that, so it can be excused." She sighed. "Well, at least he is open-minded, so I shouldn't complain…"

"Does it mean you are going to follow us, Yugi-chan?" Naruko asked with hope.

"Yes," the kunoichi replied, making the little kid jump on place. "I have the feeling it will be a good experience."

"YES!" Naruko shouted. "Welcome in the Arashi clan, Yugi-chan!"

The two other girls smiled at her display of joy. "Very interesting indeed," the adult woman added. "I think I might even help you become fine kunoichi, both of you. Would you like some training with me, once the time comes?"

The two girls nodded. "It is very kind of you," Haku said. "You have many things to teach us."

"You can bet I would like training with you, Yugi-chan," Naruko smirked. "Your technique made me beat Gaara, and I'm sure I can kick even more asses under your tutelage."

The lady smiled. "You can already. You just need more confidence," she said, before leaving. "Watch over Kitsune for me."

"I will," the blonde kid promised. She then opened the door of Kitsune's bedroom, Haku following her.

Samehada was pinned on the ground by a large mass of sand.

The second they entered it, the door closed behind them. The two kunoichi rotated… and green eyes glared at them, sand shifted around its master's ankles. "You…" Gaara growled with a low voice. "Finally… I was waiting for you…"

Immediately on her guard, Naruko prepared herself to use a Rasengan, and Haku took a few senbon out of her kimono. "Gaara… you are awake?"

"I am always awake," the mad demon vessel muttered. "Sometimes, I am awake, but I can't move. I can't see. But I can think." She gazed at the blonde ominously. "Why?"

"Why what?" the blonde asked, tense.

"Why… why did you spare me?" the sand witch asked with a confused voice. "You defeated mother. You could have killed me, or left me to die, but you transported me to safety. Why?"

Naruko blinked. "Why? It was the right thing to do."

"The… right thing to do?" the redhead repeated. "I do not understand. Was it to use mother? Information? For a trophy?"

"Hell no!" She shouted, shaking her head in negation. "You were going to die, so I saved you!"

"But…" the sand master seemed at loss of words. "I tried to kill you. I try to make you bleed and scream. To validate my existence. Why did you try to save me?" She locked eyes with the blonde. "Why?"

The kid shrugged. "Well… I told you, I couldn't let you die there. I thought we could become friends…"

"Friends?" Gaara asked, surprised. "What is a friend?"

Both Haku and Naruko flinched at the question. _Is she honest? She must have had a very crappy life… _"A friend is someone you can trust," the blonde explained, "it is a person you love dearly, that you want to make happy, and who makes you happy in return."

"You enjoy his company," Haku added, "and you know he will always be there for you."

"I… is it like mother?" Gaara asked. "Mutual love? Is it friendship?"

"That's… a bit different," Naruko explained. "A friend never forces you to do anything, never push you to kill others…"

"Mother…" Gaara muttered, massaging her temples. "Mother is confused… she says you do not understand her… she says that sometimes, you have to kill to protect those you care about. To make them feel good."

"That's-"

_**"This is ridiculous."**_

The three girls flinched, and turned to look at the source of the demonic, inhuman voice… Kitsune. His eyes were as red as blood, and shining malevolently. _**"You make us sick… all of you." **_He stared at Gaara._**"Especially you… Ichibi…"**_

"K-Kyuubi?" the redhead wondered out loud, probably giving voice to her demon's thoughts.

_**"Pride, Selfishness, Rage," **_the possessed boy said, as he left his bed. _**"Three aspects of the same being. We are awfully disappointed, Ichibi… to believe that you actually care for this pathetic prison of flesh." **_The Bijuu chuckled._**"You are a shame for all of us demons."**_

Suddenly, his skin changed, fangs and claws grew, and the kid transformed before the girls' mesmerized eyes into a huge werefox. _**"Friendship is a lie humans invented to hide the slavery they call civilization," **_the creature growled._**"The strong survive, and the weak die. It is the law of nature we follow… and enforce."**_

Faster than the eyes could follow, the beast rushed toward Naruko to tear her apart. As death approached her, the blonde tried to form a Rasengan. _**"Too late!" **_The werefox screamed madly, his claws ready to cut her in half.

A huge hand of sand and shards of ice threw him away and pinned him on the opposite wall, cracking rock in a deafening sound.

"Try that again, and I will send you back to your foxhouse myself," Haku announced.

_**"You vermin…" **_the monster growled. It stared at Gaara with a gaze full of hate. _**"You dare to betray you own kin, trash?"**_

"Mother doesn't like you," the redhead declared. "And…" she looked at Naruko. "She… _we _want you to live."

"Ah…" The blonde scratched the back of her head. "Thanks."

The door opened brutally, and many people rushed inside the bedroom. "What is happening?" Kazama asked.

"You…" Gaara glared at Yugito, who replied with a harsh gaze. "You…"

"Yes, me," the blonde lady said. "You didn't forget me, it seems. We will solve our problems later, if you wish."

"Haku," Zabuza looked at his adoptive daughter, and then at the shards of ice.

"Zabuza-sama," the Yuki muttered, "we have the situation under control."

"Apparently not," Jiraiya stared at the werefox. "Is this your friend?"

"Yes," Kazama confirmed, glaring at the monster. "What happened to Kitsune, Kyuubi?"

The werefox chuckled. _**"He is… grounded,"**_ the creature laughed. _**"We couldn't let him stay free, after failing to help us defeat this unworthy Kyuubi… so we buried him deep."**_

"You and that other personality?" the pervert Naruto asked. "That's low."

The monster didn't answer for a few seconds. _**"We do not see what you are talking about."**_

"Oh come on!" Chibaku shouted. "We already know you are not alone in Kitsune's head."

The creature didn't reply, stayed still. For a moment, Naruko wondered if it had fallen asleep, but then its head tilted brutally. _**"Rage?" **_it called. _**"Rage, where are you?"**_

The group, surprised, was left wordless.

_**"Selfishness, find the Rage!" **_It said… and blinked. _**"Selfishness? Selfishness, where are you?" **_The creature growled. _**"No… it can't be…" **_Its eyes widened in surprise. _**"YOU? How did you... no… NO! I REFUSE!" **_The werefox struggled vehemently. _**"I WILL NOT BE IMPRISONED AGAIN! NEVER AGAIN I SHALL BE CHAINED!"**_

_What the hell is happening? _Naruko wondered, disturbed by the spectacle of the beast convulsing left and right.

Suddenly, the beast suddenly stopped moving. Its eyes had become hollow, devoid of intelligence. Kitsune raised his head, and stared at the group.

And then…

"Woof," it barked questioningly.

The whole group had no answer to that. The werefox tilted his head in surprise, and then looked at the sand keeping him pinned on the wall. It whined, like a beaten puppy, its tongue pending. It looked at the humans again with sad eyes.

Surprised, Naruko advanced toward him, hearing Kazama gasp behind her. Raising her hand, she approached it from Kitsune's muzzle. The beast licked her fingers gently, its eyes devoid of aggressiveness.

"Good fox, dog, whatever," was the only thing she found worth saying.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Traveler, Kazama<strong>_

Though a window, the teenager eyed Yugito and Naruko trying to domesticate Kitsune, who seemed not able to understand basic orders. The werefox wasn't aggressive, and wasn't even disturbed by Gaara's presence next to him, despite having been brutalized by her beforehand. Yugito, Haku and Zabuza were observing the redhead with varying degree of vigilance, and a bit at the werefox.

In spite of his appearance, Kitsune acted more like a dog than a fox. True, he could understand basic words and behave like a normal person, but he couldn't talk back. He could move, play, but nobody could understand what the demon vessel was feeling.

_"His soul has been repressed, confined inside his brain," _Yugito had told him. _"The other personality, or whatever, also did the same with the three Kyuubi. Their minds are sealed, kept in dream-like state by it. Since nobody wants or can assume control over the body, it has regressed to its basic instincts. Kitsune is self functional to a degree, but he doesn't have conscience of what he does." _She had then shrugged. _"He's a sleepwalker."_

"How can it be?" The teen wondered out loud, before ceasing to observe the others. Sitting in one of the chair in the great hall, the world wanderer thought about possible solutions to the problem. Sasori and Chibaku had been helpless, but there had to be a way… he just needed to find it.

He wouldn't forgive himself if he couldn't. It was his responsibility, and he had to live up to it.

"Thinking, aren't you little blonde?" Jiraiya asked, freezing Kazama's blood in his veins. The Sannin sat in another chair, and eyed him calmly. "Sorry for your double… I know just how bad being a demon vessel can be sometimes."

"You aren't one," the blonde replied coldly. "You haven't been, so you cannot understand."

The Sannin winced at the tone, and Kazama immediately cursed himself. This Jiraiya wasn't the original, and he seemed to treat his Naruto quite well… but he wanted to punch his face so much…

"Ever since I adopted my godson, after his parents' death," the old man said, "the people of Konoha have distrusted him. The seal had broken once, and they were afraid the Kyuubi could escape a second time. Even my influence and my charm didn't convince most of them. The situation had become so intolerable that I had to take him away of his hometown before he reached seven. Can you imagine the pain I felt once I saw people I had given so much for insult my dearest person, and the son of the greatest hero I have ever known?"

Kazama wanted to reply that the Yondaime wasn't a hero by any means, but the Sannin's serious look convinced him to shut up.

"I have spent years training him," he continued. "I have seen him tap in the demon's power, and I have witnessed firsthand what kind of damage it caused. I have been there when he had confessed his fears of losing control… I have always been there for him, from the very beginning of his life." He locked eyes with the blonde. "I don't know what my counterpart did to you, but I can assure you I have always done my duty, and what was right."

So he had guessed… the teen had to admit that he couldn't help but respect this Jiraiya. This man was the godfather he should have had, what all his counterparts should have had. "Your other self left us all to fend for ourselves," Kazama explained, "we grew up alone, all of us." _You are just the exception that confirms the rule._

The Sannin frowned. "I have a hard time imagining myself abandoning Minato's son."

"And yet you did," the blonde replied, sad and angry. "I am the only one of them to have ever talked to you before, and it was only to teach me summoning, the Rasengan, basics, how to kill myself using the Kyuubi, and finally sabotaging my taijutsu."

The pervert raised an eyebrow. "Could you show it to me?"

_If you need to see for yourself… _Rising up, the former demon vessel began to execute the faulty moves under Jiraiya's watch. "As you can see, it is full of flaws…"

"Normal," the Sannin said, "it's for the Sage Mode. It was never meant to be a fighting style in the first place, but a preparation."

Kazama flinched. _What?_

"This is a stage of the Sage Mode's apprenticing," the man explained. "Since the technique screws with your senses a lot and increases your own awareness at the same time, this preparation style allows you to become a glass cannon while you use natural energ-"

"Wait," the blonde interrupted him, "I did not understand everything."

The Sannin chuckled. "Maybe a demonstration would be better." Suddenly, his eyes became yellow, and his face adopted frog-like characteristics. His whole body was radiating with energy, and Kazama felt the pervert's power extending, like the roots of a tree. "This is Sage Mode, the ultimate ability of the Toad Clan," Jiraiya explained, "absorption, manipulation, and absolute, FABULOUS MASTERY OF THE POWER OF THE EARTH ITSELF!" He roared, his fingers forming V. "WITH IT YOU ARE THE MOST BADASS INCARNATION OF MOTHER NATURE IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE!"

Kazama's jaw dropped at the outburst.

"Sure, you have more difficulties wooing ladies," Jiraiya admitted, "but in return… you have PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWER!" He laughed maniacally and waved his arms. "You can add natural energy to your blows, making them break buildings! You can reinforce all your techniques! And you can trail girls by following their chakra like a trained dog!"

"… wait," the blonde's mind began working once again. "You do realize there are some kunoichi around this house, don't you?"

Silence.

Jiraiya, as pale as a ghost, looked around himself, twisting his fingers and probably expecting an angry girl to attack him within the minute anyway. Since nothing happened, he promptly began to kiss the floor. "Thank, mother nature, lady luck, Amaterasu, whoever." He returned to his chair, only briefly eying the window sideways to observe the kunoichi outside. "Well," the man said, his appearance returning to normal, "unfortunately, you can't keep it for long, or else there are a few unpleasant effects… but it is still awesome."

Kazama felt his blood freeze in his veins. Distant memories rushed to his mind, making him realize the obvious. "The Feral Gale…" he muttered, thinking out loud. _So that's how the energy he used to stabilize his technique, and how he managed to beat Kishin…_

"However, something bothers me," Jiraiya said, "usually, I can detect people by analyzing fluctuations of chakra, like a sensor… but that's just it, I don't see you. You are in front of me, and yet the Sage Mode tells me you do not exist."

_**This is the Shinigami's power, **_an inhuman voice whispered to the blonde's mind, _**Death is above nature, and beyond its incarnation. **_"Probably an effect of my seal," Kazama replied, "I mean, it is the power of death itself, the antithesis of yours."

"Probably," the Sannin muttered, massaging his temples, "that will make you a good infiltrator and spy, I can assure you." He smirked. "But back to the topic. Sage Mode, by giving you enhanced senses and awareness, completely nullifies the weakness of the preparation style by allowing you to predict and avoid the incoming blows, and helps you defend the most vital areas. Since most of the style is built on attacking the adversary quickly with little blows, and that the Sage Mode makes lethal, you develop a glass cannon style: you dish out a lot, but since you can't take blows, you evade them. It is the best way to use the Sage Mode in combat."

_This… this was to help me? _Kazama thought, troubled. He couldn't believe his ears. _This… __**it is impossible, **_the dark voice resonated. **_Why didn't he teach me this Sage Mode already? Why didn't he explain me the purpose of this style?_** "But why didn't he explain it to me? Why didn't he teach it to me?"

Jiraiya shrugged. "I have completely no idea," he shrugged, "with Shadow Clones, it only took a few weeks for my student to learn it. Either _you _were a complete moron or _he _was."

The teen glared at the Sannin. "Your counterpart was a traitor," he rasped angrily, "he let the Inner Council hold me back, keep me on a leash." He closed his eyes. _If only I could get my hands on him… __**I would beat him within an inch of a life with my bare hands. I would break him, like I crushed Orochimaru.**_

"Speaking of this," Jiraiya, the good one, interrupted his thoughts, "you talked about the Inner Council." His eyes were blazing with fury. "Don't tell me Sarutobi-sensei left it reform?"

"He did," Kazama replied coldly, "the great clans banded together to make my, and my counterparts', life a hell. Because we couldn't be trusted with the Kyuubi," he rasped.

"Makes sense to antagonize you," the Sannin said, attracting a glare. "I mean, it's logical. You can serve as a boogeyman for anyone wanting to gain the support of the civilians: since they do not quite understand sealing arts, by menacing you or promising to restrain you, these people can gain funds and help easily. Since most civilians, especially the Daimyo, are independent from the clans and are dependent on the Hokage protecting them or passing laws in their interest, it also deprives sensei of valuable allies."

Kazama thought about this revelation. "You mean… I am simply a scarecrow?"

"Not to sound cynical, but the Inner Council's ringleaders probably care only marginally about whether or not you control your Bijuu," Jiraiya told him, "a few individuals among them might be concerned about Konoha's Jinchuuriki, but the real goal of the Inner Council has always been and will always be the restoration of the clans' former power, which the Shodaime and his successors slowly reduced. You're just a good tool to serve their ambitions… and maybe a hostage for the few people supporting you."

_It… makes sense, _the blonde realized. _I always imagined that their goal was to keep us demon vessels in line, while it couldn't be enough to keep them united for long. I am such a fool… once the Sandaime died, they probably exploited the situation to reinforce themselves and push Tsunade into a corner, since she wasn't aware they existed and was not as experienced as her predecessor… __**yet, she could have tried harder, **_a dark voice whispered. _**Jiraiya and she were strong. They had my support, and the support of powerful people. They were cowardly, they submitted, they sacrificed me.**_

"Moreover," Jiraiya continued, "having experience with such conspiracies and the like, I can tell you one thing: this organization shouldn't have existed in the first place. I mean, Danzo would have wiped it out very quickly, or they should have degenerated into infighting rather quickly…"

Kazama's eyes widened. _Danzo… him again. _"I heard about this man. ANBU's former commander, the Sandaime's rival…"

"More like his shadiest friend ever," Jiraiya corrected him, "I have rarely seen someone so overzealous and fanatical. He wanted the position of Hokage, but once Sarutobi beat him at it, well, he became his most loyal follower. He is ready to do everything for the Hokage and Konoha… even things Sarutobi doesn't allow. This war hawk is an extremist, and he would never have hesitated about cutting a few heads to keep Konoha intact… he might even have enjoyed it. All Kages have a Danzo, a dog doing things necessary to maintain the stability the leaders can't be associated with. I doubt he wouldn't have, or his replacement, acted to wipe the Inner Council out. That, and the members needed to make such an organization powerful generally have opposing interests in multiple matters, are rivals, or will simply backstab the group the first chance they have." Jiraiya locked eyes with the blonde. "I can only see three reasons why it can exist. All of them involve someone pulling the strings from behind the scene."

"Danzo, or his equivalent is allied with the group," Kazama guessed the first one, "or the Sandaime purposely left the organization be…"

"The second is counterproductive," Jiraiya replied, "no, a foreign power, like another Kage, can be the group's backer…" _Could it be Madara?_ "And finally…"

"A member of Konoha, inside the Council or out, is the mastermind behind the group," the blonde realized, "and he, or she, is somehow smart and powerful enough to keep the others in line and organize them."

The Sannin nodded. "This final possibility is the darkest of all, because the leader can play clan heads like a fiddle, and succeeded in keeping his identity a secret from sensei and his followers, preserving his own life."

"Meaning…"

"Yes. It can be anybody. _Anybody_."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Ice Princess, Haku<strong>_

From the sidelines, Haku observed Naruko, as the blonde threw a branch that Kitsune quickly caught midair, Samehada on his back. The scene put a smile on the Yuki's visage, which Zabuza immediately noticed. "Dumb dog," the swordsman commented. "It's kind of depressing to see the little fish in such state… I lost a punching-bag"

"Maybe someone like Tsunade-sama will be able to help us," the young lady suggested, hopeful.

"Who knows?" the missing-nin rolled his shoulders. "I don't read the future." He watched at Gaara and Yugito, glaring at each other a few meters away. He whispered in Haku's ears. "What do you think about these two? I can liquidate them if they are a threat…"

"No, Zabuza-sama," she said with a serious voice. "Please, do not attack them. They… they can be trusted."

The swordsman chuckled. "Blondie assaulted us and menaced Kakashi. Sandface tried to murder your friend," he pointed out. "You know the proverb, an eye for an eye…"

"Yugito-san is an honorable person," the Hyoton user whispered, "and she seems willing to befriend us."

"To get into a better position to backstab us."

Haku shook her head. "She will not. Naruko and Kazama-san trust her, and so I do."

Zabuza snorted, obviously viewing her as naïve and sentimental. "And Sandface?" he rasped.

"She defended Naruto from the Kyuubi." Haku looked at the redhead sadly. "She… she is so lonely. She has no one to believe in, and a dark power that ruined her life. She's much like the person I had been, and… she needs help. I think I and Naruko, even this whole group, can give her the love she lacks so badly. We can become friends."

Gaara's eyes widened briefly, and she adopted a confused face.

"Tch… you are too naïve Haku," Zabuza shrugged. "Since you really believe in what you just said, then I will give these two a chance… but the second one of them tries to hurt you, I will not restrain myself again." His ominous promise done, the swordsman left the Yuki alone.

Joining the other girls, the lady immediately noticed the Gaara's eyes gazing at her. The redhead stayed silent a moment. "… Thank you…" she muttered, obviously not really sure how to react.

"So you were listening to us?" the Yuki wondered, attracting Yugito's attention.

"Mother's sand protect me, hear for me, see for me," the demon vessel whispered, the dust shifting around her body. "She… she says 'thank you' too."

Haku smiled softly. "It's a pleasure."

Gaara joined her fingers. "Were you… were you honest?" she asked. "You spoke of love and friends…"

"I meant it," the Yuki assured her, joining her hands. "We are not like the people who hated you, Gaara-san. We only want you to be happy."

"Happy…" the redhead repeated. "Uncle… Yashamaru wanted me to be happy too…" Her master's voice was regretful. The sand twisted, caressing her skin gently. "How… how do you befriend someone?"

Haku lowered her eyes. "Well… it happens," she said, Gaara listening silently. "I mean… you can even befriend an enemy… if you both want it."

Gaara nodded, lost in her thoughts. She looked at Yugito with a strange gaze. "I…" She stopped, suddenly walking away. "I… I feel strange," she whispered, both to herself and Haku. "I need to be alone for a while." She sent a last look at the ice user, and then left.

Both the young lady and Yugito observed the redhead from a distance. "She needs time," the Nibi's container whispered, "she probably never had any long human contact with someone of her age, so it must be unsettling."

Cursing whoever made the sand master what she was, Haku nodded sadly. "She didn't try to kill you, however."

"Yes," Yugito agreed. "I… I kind of regret having helped Kumo cage her, when we invaded Sunagakure. When I look at her, I can't help but think Naruko-san did the right thing in sparing her, in spite of my previous impressions." The blonde kunoichi sighed. "Strange. I know a thousand ways how to kill someone, but I suck at human contact."

Briefly, Gaara stopped moving, before walking once again.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Pervert<strong>_

Hidden behind a bush, Naruto giggled as he observed the girls playing with the big fox. Observing their asses with a field-glass, the young teen particularly focused on the ice lady that slapped him. _Such a beauty… and hard to woo… _he smirked. _Just my type…_

His female clone was too much domineering for his taste, and well, it was himself to begin with as well. He had hormones, yes, but he wasn't sick in the head. The girl's companions, however, were all hot. The redhead was very cute, the violent temper aside… and the psychotic behavior… and the evil animated sand lurking around her… and the fact she was looking at the oldest woman, Yugito, with barely repressed aggressiveness…

Speaking of the blonde, she had perfect curves and was extremely cool… and had a bad character too… and would probably kill him if she discovered he was eying her chest now… and maybe do something worse…

Damn. Why did the hottest kunoichi on the earth have to be the most violent too? Anko was downright sadistic, Kurotsuchi had tried to kill him, Karui had kicked him in… intimate parts… Temari had been willing enough, after slapping him thrice, but then her father had discovered them kissing in his bedroom… Naruto had barely escaped with his life that time… though Hana's dogs had made him run like never before after he took a photo of their mistress naked… there was also that accidental kiss with that girl in a village an-

"Hey, what are you doing there?"

Freezing, his eyes widening, Naruto slowly tilted his head to the side. _If it's a kunochi, I'm already dead…_

Fortunately, it was simply one of his counterparts, the one called Chibaku, flanked by Kakashi. He quickly grabbed the two and hid them behind the bush, briefly looking at the kunoichi to see if they had noticed them. Since they didn't, the pervert glared at the newcomers. "Couldn't you be more discreet? If the girls discover me, I'm dead."

"I knew it," Chibaku whispered, pointing his index accusingly. "You are spying on them."

"It's research," the teen replied with a grin. "I need inspiration for my next volume of Icha Icha…"

"Really?" Kakashi asked. "Then you're excused, grand master."

The pervert smirked. "Oh, a fellow member… what is your rank?"

"Senior, sire," the jounin said. "I was in the group before I even hit sixteen."

"What are you talking about?" Chibaku whispered with a frown. "I hate being in the dark…"

Naruto blinked. "Wait, how can you be a pervert and not know ab-"

"I'm _not _a pervert," the puppeteer hissed.

"Oh yeah?" Jiraiya's student asked, taking photos of girls out of his robes. "Then what were _these_ doing in your bags?"

Chibaku looked as someone having a cardiac arrest, whereas Kakashi raised an eyebrow with a kinky expression. "Oh, I wasn't aware you liked to spy on older women… how did you manage to catch them in such positions?"

The puppeteer's skin had turned red like a tomato. "You stole them!"

"Silence," he put his hand on the other boy's lips. "I am a lady's man, dude. I can sense pervert material from a mile, and I can see easily through your disguise." The teen smirked. "Oh, and congratulations. Nobody managed to make a photo of Tsunade taking a shower before."

"This is the worst day in my life," Chibaku whined, while Kakashi was trying his best not to laugh.

"No," Naruto shook his head. "Today is the most wonderful moment in your life… as I, in my quality of grand master of the order of Icha Icha Paradise, will introduce you in the great brotherhood of the super-perverts."

The puppeteer put his palm on his face. "Is it a sect?"

"It's a community where men and women can practice their perverted way without being hunted by angry chaste wannabes," Kakashi explained. "To enter it… all you need is to read the pervert's holy book, Icha Icha Paradise, and let its power transform you."

Naruto nodded, and took a red book out of his robes. On it, a girl was being chased by an amorous man. "Here is the latest Super Deluxe Edition," he giggled, "made in collaboration with my teacher and the Sandaime Hokage. Reading this will make you one of us…"

"Hey, no," Chibaku shook his head. "I don't want to end up like you… no offense."

"Oh," Kakashi smirked, clearly doubtful, "I'm not so sure."

"It contains twenty trashy romance tales," Naruto began, "all illustrated. Is also included the guide book of the pervert, explaining how to peep effectively, how to put your hand on a girl's ass safely… and, more importantly, all the basic information about the hottest kunoichi on the continent."

Chibaku looked torn between taking a look and shaking his head, so his counterpart decided to use _the _trump card. Nobody had ever resisted to it.

"Oh, and, of course, there are the ten best photos of kunoichi taken in their most embarrassing, hottest positions…"

"… I can't resist anymore," Chibaku convulsed and seized the book. The second he began to read the first page, his nose bled profusely. "Oh, oh… no," he cursed as Naruto took it back. "No… I need it… give me the precious back…" he asked with a weak, crazy voice.

"Already addicted," Kakashi nodded with a hint of pride. "Unfortunately, you need to make your proof to receive our gift."

"Everything…" he whispered. "I will do anything and everything."

Naruto smirked. "You need to cross the line between closet pervert and full on super-pervert," he explained, looking at Yugito with a lecherous grin.

"You must steal your first bra!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Omake 1: How to play cards<strong>_

"You're sure we have escaped them?" Chibaku asked to Kazama, who was, alongside everyone, looking at his surroundings for any sign of spandex, finding only sand.

"I teleported us to another world, almost destroying all of reality trying," the teen replied. "We should be safe… unless they can cross worlds too…"

Zabuza's hand met his face. "You did it," he growled. "You just tempted fate, you stupid punk!"

"Hey!" The blonde world wanderer protested. "We are safe! We're in the middle of a desert, yes, but we ar-"

"Aha! You activated my trap card!" A boisterous voice shouted, as spikes emerged from the sand, almost impaling the group by surprise.

"Not so fast," another person coldly shot back, "I activate my Susanoo's special effect, making it immune to all monster effects, trap cards, and magic cards for a turn!"

The spikes vanished suddenly. "It's cheating!" A blonde clad in orange, wielding a strange machine on his arm, rasped angrily. "No monster can have such a massive game breaker without any drawback and freaking 4,000 attack points!"

"I'm your former friend turned awesome villain," a teen with black hair, dark robes, and the same machine, snorted, a powerful warrior chuckling in front of him. "Now, I activate a magic card from my hand, Great Snake Escape!" A big card representing a huge purple viper facing a huge explosion appeared next to him. "I immediately recuperate all my life points and half yours!"

"That's against the rules!" The blonde whined. "You can't use a magic card on your opponent's turn, and certainly not from your hand!"

"I'm a Uchiha! I have a loads of money so screw the rules!"

"And I'm the hero!" The blonde gritted his teeth, looking at his machine. "I use Gamabunta's monster effect! By removing him from my grave, I gain another turn!" He took a card in his hand, dramatically not staring at it. "The fate of the world now depends on it…"

Chibaku massaged his temples. "Guys!" He attracted the two madmen's attention. "What the hell are you two doing?"

"We are playing cards," the blonde, a copy of Naruto, replied, as if it was obvious. "The winner will gain ultimate power, and reshape the universe in his image! I must defeat him alone, because I'm his rival and an invincible hero protected by the plot, meaning I will win using the power of friendship!"

"… forget what I said, it was a stupid question," Chibaku massaged his temples. "However, if you need to decide the fate of the world, I have something both quicker and fairer."

"What?"

"A coin toss."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Omake 2: Sanity, where are you?<strong>_

"So… if I understood it all, you are all a band of Naruto with the same power as I…" Kazama briefly wondered what he was doing there. The rest of the group had wisely fled long ago. Even Naruko, the second she saw them… "I have some doubts…"

"Yeah," a Naruto disguised like Kakashi replied lazily, "I thought the same the first time." He continued to read his Icha Icha book. "But we're saying the truth." He giggled. "The best part…"

"We are the beautiful Yellow Brothers!" A Naruto looking like a bodybuilder shouted crying. "It's the best day of my life!" He tried to grab Kazama, who jumped to the side.

"I need to gain a second level!" A Naruto looking like a sheet of paper added. A green bar called HP was floating above his head. "Please, can you help me storm the next dungeon and gain a lot of XP?"

"I am invincible!" A Naruto with the Rinnegan, Sharingan, Mokuton, strange bones covering his skin, and standing on a dragon summon laughed. "I have the power of Mary Sue, and I can woo all the girls I see just because I'm awesome!"

"I want to be the Pirate King 'cause everybody thinks I can't," a blonde with a straw hat said, "and I'm also an elastic man!"

"Power ranger!" A Naruto shouted, becoming covered with a kitsch red suit. "Why can't you cease to doubt? We are a team assembled from all the corners of the multiverse to fight injustice forever!"

"That? I never doubted," Kazama corrected them. "But I still suspect you aren't me… just mental ward escapees."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Omake 3: What the Feral Gale was doing in a very distant multiverse<strong>_

_**aka, why you should never try to listen to madmen, because that's just plain stupid and suicidal, **__**especially when they bring you to a world with giant robots and where logic doesn't apply.**_

"What the hell does this have to do with fighting opponents that can manipulate the time space continuum?" Naruto Uzumaki roared frantically as he dodged another giant metal fist and stopped himself from getting crushed. Even for a giant robot this one was off in his opinion, with its bright colors and the fact that its body was a giant face. "I wanna join up with those other me's! It looked interesting and they needed the help!"

"Do not question my logic!" His psychotic and childish master proclaimed on a cliff in the distance. His dark sunglasses were warped such that they were now massive and pointing out at a weird angle to either side of his head. "Believe in the me that believes in the you that believes that I know what the hell I'm doing! Now steal that fucking giant robot! There's a mech competition that we need to enter! The guys hosting it were smart enough to not allow Coop to fight so the odds of it lasting long enough for a winner to be determined are actually above 25%!"

"Not really convincing meeee ohcrap!" The blonde shouted as he jumped and flew through the air and attempted to dodge all the missiles that were just shot from the robot, which exploded violently near him and surrounded his body in large fireballs. "Why the hell is that thing's body its head and where the hell did those things come from!" He roared as his charred body was thrown skyward.

Only uncontrolled psychotic laughter met his ears in response.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's Notes:<em>**

**_Yeah, no Madara this time. Crossing the void between two universes will do that to you._**

**_Pure character development, as promised. The Kakashi-Yugito feud is ended, but the latter resents the first a bit. They're not friends, but they tolerate the other._**

**_Yeah, the locked memories are going to be a plot point, just as what the hell is happening to Kitsune and the truth about Inner Council. Expect shocking revelations at the end of the Arc._**

**_Kitsune will stay in this state for a time. As stated, he's a sleepwalker, unaware of what he does. Unfortunately, he does have a feral streak when not watched over... special thanks to ABitterPill for suggesting the sleepwalker way of acting._**

**_Let's celebrate Chibaku's entry in the great community of the ninja world's super-perverts. He will come to regret it, I can tell you that._**

**_So write you next time people, and don't forget to give your point of view. Character development is kind of the heart of a story, battles being the blood..._**


	20. Omake: christmas

**_Okay, people. First thing, good Christmas everyone! It's a bit late, but I made a little omake for you... parties and dinners and dinners again prevented me from uploading it. It hasn't been beta-ed (I didn't want to bother my beta during Christmas), so there might be a few errors... my fault._**

**_Also, since December was completely taken, I couldn't advance much with the new chapter. Don't expect it before January._**

**_Anyway, thank to all the people that supported and followed my story this year, and, hopefully, will continue to follow it in 2012!_**

**_Merry Christmas and happy new year everybody!_**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Christmas Omake<em>**

In the salon of Jiraiya's house, a huge pine made of sand, ice and wood, was surrounded by boxes, gifts, presents... and two girls.

"I don't know why," Naruko whispered, "but I have the feeling we missed something."

"I think I know what," Haku said, joining her fingers. Instantly, a big star-looking snowflake formed on the tree's top. "Better?"

"Wonderful," Naruko confirmed. Hearing someone advancing toward her, she rotated. "Yugito-chan, Gaara-chan" She shouted. "You're so beautiful!"

""R-really?" The redhead asked, obviously uncomfortable in her brown kimono. Yugito didn't simply create robes for the Jinchuuriki; she also added a little blue flower in her hair, making her very cute. "I don't look strange?"

"Not at all," Haku reassured the troubled teen, before staring in awe at the Nibi's container. "Yugito-san, where did you find this dress?"

The blonde lady sighed loudly. She was wearing a beautiful purple kimono that espoused her curves perfectly, and she had released her hair, which were now falling like a golden waterfall in her back. "It's a gift from Jiraiya."

Naruko raised an eyebrow, imitated by Haku. "That's suspicious." The Kyuubi's vessel examined the kimono, just in case there could be hidden opening through which the pervert could see the lady's body.

"I already examined it carefully," Yugito stated, changing subject. "What about _your_ dresses?"

"Fortunately, I had two of them in reserve," Haku smiled, looking at her pink dress.

"They look great on me!" Naruko smirked. The boys began to descend downstairs, all wearing black kimonos. "Boss, how do I look?"

"You're perfect," the world wanderer said. He observed the rest of the girls, and reddened noticeably once he saw Yugito. "Oh my..."

"I totally agree with you, pal," Chibaku stated, as red as a tomato. "Just... whoa. Every dude there must feel his hormones awakening..."

"Wrong," Sasori snorted, completely unfazed by the supermodel in front of him.

"You don't count, you do not have any hormone anymore," Zabuza stated.

"Point taken." The puppeteer stared at the stairs. "You two, we are waiting for you."

"Why do we have to do this?" Jiraiya's voice asked.

"Because you are two pervs!" Naruko yelled. "You deserve it!"

"For you beauty, we would do everything..." the Sannin's apprentice replied from upstairs. "Jiji..."

"Yeah, yeah..."

As soon as they appeared, the girls immediately laughed.

"Oh come on ladies!" The toad sage shouted, wearing a red geisha outfit and a lot of makeup. "This is horribly cruel! Ridiculous!"

"That's too fun!" Naruko corrected him.

"And this is well-deserved," Haku added.

"Ladies, ladies, it's Christmas!" The pervert Naruto smiled at them. "Can't we make love, and not war?"

"Never!" The girls shouted at the same time.

"Too bad," Zabuza snorted, taking his present. "I wonder what I got..." Tearing apart the packing, the swordsman stared at... a book. "_How to become a nice person, in five lessons,_" he quoted, his eyes blazing with fury. "What kind of dead guy signed his death warrant by sending me this?"

Kakashi began to whistle, trying to look innocent.

"Cool, Kitsune," Kazama chuckled, putting a red scarf around the werefox's neck. "You look like a noble wolf now!" The creature raised his head arrogantly, attempting to imitate the proud beast.

"Well, Kitsune, you certainly look cute," Yugito smiled, approaching it and Kazama.

"Ha!" Haku jumped on place. "Yugito, Kazama, look above you!"

The two did, and noticed the mistletoe...

Everyone, especially Jiraiya, grinned ear to ear. "Kiss!" They shouted. "Kiss!"

Kazama reddened noticeably. "Oh,that's-"

"That's tradition," Yugito interrupted him, joining her lips with the world wanderer's, under the crowd's applauds and cheers.

"That's..." Kazama whispered, when the kiss ended. "That was good..."

"It was," Yugito confirmed with a seductive smile, making the boy even more embarrassed.

"What a lucky guy," Jiraiya muttered to himself. He took his present, and grinned like a madman. _Tsunade's naked calendar..._ He felt as if he was in paradise. _Thank you, Father Christmas..._

"Pervy, I got your present!" Chibaku shouted, as pale as a ghost. He traded a black box with a beautiful doll almost faster than the eye could follow, and immediately took a step back, trying to put as much distance as possible between himself and his counterpart.

"What is inside?" Sasori asked absentmindedly, examining his gift: a miniature theater.

"Something for adults," the boy said, obviously traumatized. "Dont ask. Just... don't ask."

"Cool, a sword!" Naruko shouted happily, holding a long, golden blade. "Now, I need a badass nickname!"

"The heavenly blade?" Haku suggested.

"The blonde comet?" Kazama proposed. "The golden lightning?"

"No..." Naruko's eyes shined with awe. "The orange ass-kicker!"

Haku and Kazama cringed.

The kunoichi didn't seem at all bothered by the duo's uneasy silence. "Boss, what did you receive?"

"A black metal armor..." The world wanderer looked at the letter next to it. _Now you can finally join the dark side of ninjustu, Darth Vad- I mean, Mikaboshi. _"Oh great, a fan's gift..."

"Strange, I received a book," Haku said, observing the orange object.

"That's mine!" Kakashi shouted, grabbing it before the girl could read the cover. "That's yours!" He gave her a pendent, and left.

"Hey, Kakashi, Yugito!" Zabuza growled, pointing his finger at the roof. "Mistletoe!"

"Again?" The kunoichi blinked, surprised. "First, I receive a ball of wool, and now I have to kiss Kakashi?"

"It seems," Kakashi chuckled smugly, preparing to take away his mask.

Yugito suddenly noticed something hidden behind the mistletoe. "Stop, what is this?" She examined the object carefully...

A puppet.

Blazing with fury, the kunoichi's eyes found the string of chakra and drifted toward Chibaku and the pervert Naruto. Kakashi looked downright disappointed. "Guys, couldn't you be more discreet?"

"Crap," Chibaku stated. "I think she noticed us..."

Two punches propelled the duo through a wall, much to everyone's amazement. "I was about to score!" Kakashi yelled, as the kunoichi jumped and landed on the two boys.

"We... were so close..." the pervert Naruto muttered.

"To find... what was under... this mask..." Chibaku finished, before raising his head. "Wait, nobody is going to save us? HELP!"

Everyone faked being deaf... except Yugito. "You..."

"Please, have mercy!" Chibaku begged.

"You..." she approached her lips from the duo's ears. "You will put the mistletoe above Kazama," she whispered.

The two boy's eyes widened. "Wh-"

"You have a way of redeeming yourself," Yugito warned them, before leaving. "Think wisely."

The two boys stayed silent a few seconds. "Chibaku, what are you waiting for?" The pervert muttered. "Obey her, or else she might return!"

"Two seconds, I'm still amazed to be still alive..."

The pervert Naruto looked at Kazama. "What does he have that I don't?"

"Maybe she's just messing with us?" Chibaku suggested.

"I'm not in a hurry to find out."

* * *

><p>"Everyone!" Naruko shouted. "The time to sing has come!"<p>

"Alright!" Kazama replied._ I wonder where Kitsune has gone... too bad._ "Dashing through the snow

In a one horse open sleigh

O'er the fields we go

Laughing all the way!"

Naruko continued. "Bells on bob tails ring

Making spirits bright

What fun it is to laugh and sing

A sleighing song tonight!"

Sasori and Chibaku sang together. "Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride

In a one horse open sleigh!"

Kakashi and Zabuza continued. "Jingle bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride

In a one horse open sleigh!"

Jiraiya and his apprentice joined hands. "A day or two ago

I thought I'd take a ride

And soon Miss Fanny Bright

Was seated by my side!"

"The horse was lean and lank," Haku and Gaara sang, the latter holding the doll she had received as present.

"Misfortune seemed his lot

We got into a drifted bank

And then we got upsot!"

Everyone joined hands. "Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride

In a one horse open sleigh!

Jingle bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride

In a one horse open sleigh yeah!"

Suddenly, the roof broke, and four forms crashed on the floor.

"Jingle bells, jingle bells," three masked men sang,

"Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride

In a one horse open sleigh

Jingle bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride

In a one horse open sleigh!"

"Ho-ho-ho!" Tsukiyomi said, disguised as Father Christmas. He had even put a false beard under his mask. "Merry Christmas everyone..." The Uchiha faked incomprehension, as all those staring at them were as pale as ghosts. "Why such astonishment?"

"Told you I would make a better Father Christmas," Amaterasu stated, disguised as a green imp.

"It was our fate to lose at 'Shuriken-Kunai-Scroll'," Susanoo stated, wearing the same disguise. "At least we didn't obtain the deer role..."

Kitsune barked happily next to the three masked men, balancing the false horns badly pasted to his head.

"You know what?" Kazama muttered. "I think the author didn't take only water before writing this chapter..."


	21. Chapter 20: Wanderers

**_Hello, people. Long time no see... I hope you spend a good end of the year, and began 2012 without problems. I want to personally thanks all the people that followed my story in 2011, and hopefully, will continue in 2012. Especially my betas, Third Fang, ABitterPill, and Alpha142, for giving me their very precious help and support._**

**_With the vacations, exams, other activities and the like, I unfortunately couldn't finish this chapter before now. Fortunately, the next one has been almost completed, and will probably be updated next week or so. So rejoice._**

* * *

><p><em><strong>TravelerOriginal Naruto: Kazama Arashi.**_

_**Puppeteer Naruto: Chibaku Arashi.**_

_**Werefox/Hybrid Naruto: Kitsune Arashi.**_

_**Female Naruto: Naruko Arashi.**_

_**Deceiver/Original Madara: Tsukiyomi.**_

_**Destroyer/Rinnegan Madara: Susanoo.**_

_**Warrior/Collector Madara: Amaterasu.**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't owe Naruto. I do not have the rights over a story of badass ninjas... I'm so broken.**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Twenty: Wanderers<strong>_

The sky was yellow.

Yellow, a sick, strange yellow. Not blue. Taking mental notes, Kuebiko briefly used a jutsu to test the atmosphere's composition. Unknown substances were involved, along with a very high percentage of water, which was strange, as there were no clouds. Absolutely lethal to humans and most species.

Fortunately, the traveler had a formidable protection. The shapeless white helmet he was wearing sustained him with purified air, allowing its wearer to survive the hostile environment.

"Reality-526," he said, his helmet recording his words and sending them to the scientist's colleague. "The atmosphere is completely unfit for humans, explaining why I have detected no hint of our species' existence on this planet." He observed his surroundings, endless plains of grey rocks. "The soil's composition is similar to the common Earth, but I have yet to find a life form. Any life form."

"Not even bacteria?" his partner, Fukuro, whispered to his ears, communicating through the helmet.

"None," Kuebiko replied, advancing toward a local hill made of salt and what looked to be concentrated calcium. "This whole rock seems to be a lifeless husk."

The other scientist grunted. "However, we have already seen various species adapting to much, _much _worse conditions. While human life can't live there, it can be the case for others species."

"I agree…" Kuebiko began to climb the cliff. "It is entirely possible life indeed existed on this world, until a critical event. A meteor impact, perhaps?"

"One big enough to wipe out _every _creature on a whole alternate Earth, even microscopic ones, would be multiple times bigger than the Moon," Fukuro chuckled. "There wouldn't be any planet left after this kind of cataclysm. Maybe a solar event?"

"I can't tell, I lack data," Kuebiko said, reaching the hill's top. "Has my suit sent you any noteworthy info?"

"No," the distant scientist replied. "Well… until now." He grunted. "Kuebiko, be wary, it's detecting a spike of alien chakra…"

"I sense it," the masked man cut in, staring above him. "It's very enormous. Prepare the next jump, just in case."

"My friend, not to be pessimistic, but you should jump _right now_. There's a big mass of chakra coming right at you and it's colossal!"

"I'll be ready," Kuebiko replied, before frowning. "Wait… what do you mean by mass of ch-WHAT IS THAT?" He shouted, observing a black mass descending from the skies.

"Kue, what the hell is happening?" His partner's voice was laced with concern, and rightfully so.

"I… I can't…" Kuebiko replied, observing the shapeless network of tentacles, eyes, horns, mouths, and strange appendages floating toward him. "I can't find the words to describe this… _thing_!"

"That's helping me a lot, thank you," the scientist deadpanned. "Can you be more precise?"

"Well… can you picture, in your mind, a squid and a human woman having a baby, which was born infected with cancer, transformed into a living tumor until it reached the size of a mountain?"

"Absolutely not."

"I envy you, as it is ten time worse." Using a jutsu, Kuebiko analyzed the creature's chakra. He instantly recognized its composition. "A Bijuu?"

"Not any Bijuu…" Fukuro stated darkly. "The first of them all, the great ancient…"

"The Juubi…" Kuebiko realized, the monster's thousands of mismatched eyes noticing him. He cursed. "By Izanagi's toilets…" Gritting his teeth in dread, the man touched his helmet, hoping he would escape in time. "JUMP!"

The Juubi began to shine like a living, ill sun, radiating nauseous, destructive chakra. Kuebiko's suit protected him from the toxic, malevolent power, and began to analyze it…

"Human chakra detected…" Kuebiko whispered, his eyes burning. "A Jinchuuriki…"

_**"The life disease…" **_A maddened male voice muttered in the scientist's mind, intruding it like a sentient and disgusting poison. _**"It must be cured… it must be **_**burned**_**…"**_

The Juubi's eyes snapped widely open, and unleashed a powerful beam of light at Kuebiko, intending to annihilate him. The scientist stayed motionless, facing death…

Less than a second later, the monster vanished, being replaced by a blue, beautiful sky full of clouds. The rocky desert and the hill were now a beach of shining sand, with crabs and birds walking on it. No human was around… _A deserted island?_

"Kue?" His partner's voice whispered through the helmet. "Kue, are you alright?"

"That was… one of the most horrifying experiences in my whole life," Kuebiko said. "I've seen worlds populated by monsters, but this creature was…"

"I can imagine," Fukuro muttered. "From what your suit have gathered, we can confirm it was a Jinchuuriki. Maybe the Sage of the Six Paths, I can't be positive."

"Impossible," Kuebiko replied. "He wouldn't-"

"First rule of physics: the absolute zero possibility doesn't exist in the Infinity, and since everything that can happen will happen, the impossible cannot be," Fukuro replied, quoting Kuebiko's own research. He, of course, knew his friend had learned them by heart. "Your statement would contradict everything we know about reality's splitting laws."

"Alright, alright, it's possible the Sage lost control of the Juubi. Happy?"

"Completely," Fukuro mocked him. "I suppose I classify that world as a Class-X world?"

"It would be madness to return there," Kuebiko agreed. "We can guess the diverging element was the Sage losing control of the Juubi, or something of the kind. We won't try to confirm it by investigating, so Vajra has to accept that explanation." The scientist observed his surroundings. "Where did you send me, exactly?"

"Reality-355, codename Responsible Jiraiya World. The diverging element was Jiraiya taking his responsibilities and adopting his godson, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, after the Kyuubi Incident. Omoikane discovered it two years ago. It's a relatively stable and harmless place, hence why I teleported you there. You must be on an island near the Land of Fire's coasts."

"I see…" Kuebiko trailed off. "Could you make me jump back to the base? I'm kind of tired."

"Don't you want to take a break? It's a beautiful play- hey, what's that?"

"Problems?" The scientist asked to his friend.

"Your suit detected a spatial anomaly in this reality," Fukuro stated, transferring some data to the helmet. "A few miles away from you, in fact."

Raising an eyebrow, Kuebiko made a few hand-seals. "Extrasensory no Jutsu," he whispered, focusing on locating the anomaly. His mind, temporarily freed of the limits of the human body, quickly noticed the tear in the veil of reality. "It looks like a breach in space… I think. I can't be sure, I have never seen this kind of anomaly."

"Then go ahead and investigate," the other replied, as if it the most obvious thing in the world to do. He had, apparently, completely forgot about advising his partner to take a break…

"Prepare a jump, just in case," Kuebiko said, preparing a teleportation jutsu. "Who knows, another cosmic horror might be lurking around."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Victim, Kitsune<strong>_

"Hello, Naruto-kun," Hinata welcomed Kitsune in the Academy's courtyard, bowing slightly in front of him. "I hope you slept well."

"I did, Hinata-chan," he replied with a grin. "Even if I had strange dreams... And you?"

The Hyuuga heiress smiled slightly. "I dreamed of our graduation. We ended in the same team with Sasuke, under Itachi-sensei. Together, we passed the test with flying colors, become the best genin of the year." She stared at him. "You said you had strange dreams?"

"More like nightmares," Naruto replied, shuddering when he remembered the gruesome part where he became a monstrous fox and killed Sakura in the streets. He didn't inform Hinata of it; his friend had a fragile constitution and would be deeply disturbed. "In them, I was traveling in different realities."

"Different realities?"

"Imagine worlds where history changed slightly." He stared at the street, knowing Sasuke would soon come to school. "Like... what if I was born as a girl, and not a male, or what if Tsunade-hime had had a son with the Yondaime Hokage."

Hinata chuckled, amused. "It is hard to imagine that."

"More strangely, I met copies of myself," he laughed. "All special and unique. We hung out together and had crazy adventures... we even fought the legendary Madara." He chuckled. "He kicked our asses so hard it wasn't even funny."

"Really?" Hinata asked, putting her fingers on her mouth, horrified. "That's terrible."

"I awoke right after that," Naruto concluded. "Really, it was a strange dream." He frowned, trying to locate the Uchiha brothers among the people crossing the street. "What is Sasuke doing? He's never late."

"Maybe clan matters?" Hinata asked.

Naruto smiled. "You're the respected heiress of the Hyuuga. Your father views you as the next coming of Tsunade-hime, and yet you always manage to be right on time. Sasuke is just Itachi's little brother, he doesn't have work." He stared at the end corner of the street, hoping to see his friend...

Instead, two completely white eyes stared at him blankly.

A teen whose body was as black as night, save his white eyes, hair and mouth, was standing at the end of the street. His face was devoid of any emotion, and an unnatural aura was emanating from him. Naruto immediately recognized his features.

"Kazama?"

The figure had vanished.

"Naruto?" Hinata asked, taking his arm. "Are you alright? You are pale."

"It's... it's nothing," the boy replied, trying to understand what just happened.

The heiress frowned, obviously not believing him, but then tilted her head to the side. "Sasuke is there."

With a smile, Naruto stared at the incoming boy, who was accompanied by his elder brother. "Hey, Sasuke, you're late!"

"I needed sleep," the Uchiha replied with a smirk. "I'm sure you understand. After all, you made me wait one hour last time."

"That was an accident!" Naruto shouted. "My alarm didn't work!"

"Right," Sasuke snorted, while Hinata giggled.

"If this is all, I have work to do," Itachi stated, bowing slightly. "Naruto-san, Hinata-sama. Sasuke, have a nice day."

"You too, Itachi-aniki!" He shouted, as his brother disappeared faster than the eyes could follow.

"Class, it's time," Iruka announced.

"Right!" Naruto said, entering with his two best friends.

He smiled. He was Konohagakure's best rookie; he was loved by everyone; he had Sasuke and Hinata.

He had everything he ever wanted.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The traveler, Kazama<strong>_

His eyes closed, Kazama focused on the world surrounding him, trying to visualize the energy in the air and earth. He tried to picture the woods, the trees, the soil…

_The Azure Dragon knows the world is divided in two. In and Yo, Yin and Yang, negative and positive, darkness and light. The Azure Dragon is the ruler of the tempest because it does not master one, but both._

_By separating the two-as-one, the Azure Dragon releases the primal power of lightning. His devout follower, by separating the Yin and Yang of his chakra, can command the Divine Lightning; by gathering it at his fingers and unleashing the celestial punishment at his enemies, the follower can destroy any target without fail._

_To separate the Yin and Yang is a difficult task. The follower of the Azure Dragon must have a will of steel, and a total absence of trouble; the mind must be at peace, untroubled by the sensible and by emotion. At this moment of perfect stillness, the follower must then split the self in half. From the unbalance, a great power shall be born, one without mercy._

"The basis is to divide the Yin and Yang natures of your chakra," Jiraiya stated. "… Which is kind of hard."

"Good to know," Kazama deadpanned. "Can't you be more helpful?"

"Apart from telling you have chosen a very difficult technique…" The sage chuckled, obviously amused by the struggling blonde. "This is not Lightning Release, boy, but Lightning Creation. The first is about vibrating your chakra until it becomes a pale imitation of true electricity. The second is about creating a lightning bolt, aka a lethal discharge of electricity that will annihilate its target and probably start a fire at the same time."

"You make it sounds as if it was a strange thing," Kazama replied. He had seen people summoning giant beasts, creating ice, or fashioning tidal waves, so why should he be impressed? "It seems difficult to pull off, but not so dangerous, in my humble opinion."

"Normal for you, you're an Uzumaki," the man shot back, adopting a 'lecture tone' similar to Iruka's. "Your chakra is so potent it will protect you from the nasty side effects of this technique, like the intense heat. It will act as an insulator and direct the lightning somewhere else than your body, but not everyone has this chance. Any other person would lose his hand, or even his life."

"This technique belongs to my clan," the world wanderer said calmly, trying to achieve the state of perfect stillness necessary to use sage mode. "Hence why it can only work with them." For once, he would actually live up to the Uzumaki name…

"Then prove it," Jiraiya replied softly. "You are a master of the Kage Bunshin, a Yin-Yang release technique. After using it so much, I'm sure you have developed a good affinity with it. Just stop thinking; a human is a being of emotion. A momentary lack of any would 'cut the self in half', as they say. Just have a feeling of detachment…"

Kazama ceased to listen. The world around him was silent, and he himself stopped moving. In this perfect moment of stillness, he tried to clear his mind, ceased to think about Konoha, Madara, the Multiverse, Orochimaru, Naruko…

He pointed his fingers in front of him… and nothing happened, images instantly filling his thoughts.

"Crap," the blonde muttered, disappointed as he opened his eyes and observed the forest surrounding him. "I can't get it. The rightful state of mind, I mean." Then again, he had so much to think about…

He couldn't stop thinking and wondering and speculating. Who exactly could be dangerous enough to control the Inner Council? What had Jiraiya, _his _Jiraiya, planned to do with him? What were his locked memories hiding, and who sealed them in the first place? Plus, all the usual thoughts about his counterparts…

Naruko had told him she intended to train under Yugito alongside Gaara to learn how to work with her Bijuu. The world wanderer had said yes, slightly disappointed he couldn't teach her a few things he knew. Reason had triumphed over feeling though. The blonde knew he couldn't do all of Naruko's formation himself, and Yugito seemed to be a nice and powerful kunoichi. It was for the best…

"With all the events that happened to you, I guess it was to be expected," Jiraiya grunted, giving Kazama his scroll. "To be honest, if you had done it on your first try, then I would have thought you were either a sage in disguise or a total psychopath. Both these two have the peace of mind necessary for this… the sage, because he can control his heart, the psychopath, because he doesn't have one. Want to try a new technique?"

"Yes," he said, skipping the Divine Lightning chapter. "However, I would have preferred using the Sage Mode…" He was still feeling disappointed by what happened…

"I've told you a hundred times, you can't," Jiraiya complained. "Haven't you learned that yourself?"

"I have," Kazama said harshly, remembering the hours he had lost, trying to activate this power though meditation. It had been all for naught, the blonde was not able to channel natural energy. "But I'm very angry to have been prepared for a technique I can't use."

"Your seal is wonderful, kid," the toad sage said. "Thanks to its secondary abilities, no sensor will ever be able to locate you, not even Sage Mode users. However, this power to appear invisible to detection also makes you unable to master natural energy. How could you be? Nature doesn't even _notice _you. You are unfortunately too… too…"

"Unnatural?" Kazama proposed.

"Yes, that's the right word," Jiraiya nodded. "You seem so alien to nature its chakra cannot mix with yours."

"Great…" the blonde trailed off. "I guess I will have to rely on myself again…" he stated, reading the instruction of a new technique.

_Chakra Pulse._

_The Azure Dragon is the king of the proud and the mighty. As such, it possesses the power of censorship, preventing others from attacking. His followers are imbued with the same power, in order to defend the good name of the Azure Dragon and of the virtues it embodies._

_The power of the Chakra Pulse allows its user to reduce every technique within a given perimeter to its primal state of spiritual and physical energy, thereby neutralizing it, by releasing its own, vibrating chakra. The perimeter varies with the user: one with a frail body can negate only attack reaching his skin, whereas someone graced with the blood of the Uzumaki can negate techniques coming from a whole mile._

_However, the power of censorship has a great cost, and will burn out a great quantity of personal energy. The Chakra Pulse applies to every technique in the area, even those from allies. As such, this power must be used carefully._

"This is exactly what I need," Kazama stated, memorizing the necessary hand-seals. "A defensive jutsu that can also serve as an offensive one." He remembered his old battles, and was aware he severely lacked in defensive techniques. He hadn't needed one most of the time, as he could use his clones to protect himself, but against large-area jutsu like Madara's…

"Good choice," Jiraiya nodded. "However, as I told before, it's a Lightning Release, an affinity opposed to yours. It will give you more versatility, but it is far more difficult to learn it than another Wind jutsu." He smiled. "Then again, you pretended to have enough techniques based on this element… overspecializing is generally rather risky, because you can't beat a threat designed to counter your area of expertise."

Kazama nodded, remembering Temari's fight with Tenten, back when he was still a Genin of Konoha. The latter had been utterly trashed by the former, whose Wind jutsu couldn't be overcome by the weapons of Lee's teammate.

"Now, we need to discuss a more important subject," Jiraiya said gravely, locking eyes with Kazama.

"Which one?" Kazama raised an eyebrow. Maybe it was about the Inner Council, or Madara…

Jiraiya grinned ear to ear. "Which girls in your group do you plan to date?"

… or maybe not.

"Oh come on!" Orochimaru's killer groaned loudly. "Can't you stop thinking about girls for one day?"

"I can't get past the morning," the pervert sage laughed. "Come on, I don't understand you. There are three beautiful ladies in your team, and you haven't even thought of asking one out? In your place…"

"Stop talking," Kazama shuddered. "Your counterpart already had a similar discussion with me, and I still have nightmares remembering it."

Jiraiya grinned wickedly. "Let me guess… he told you about the birds and the bee-"

"Just shut up, I'm trying to become deaf."

"Did he teach you courting? Because I can tell you how to woo that Yugito hottie, or miss Haku… if you can get past Zabuza… and I'm not so confident about this girl from Suna…"

Kazama struggled very hard not to shout angrily at Jiraiya. The debacle at Wave had been bad enough, but Jiraiya was on a whole new level…

"I am not interested," the blonde replied. "We are currently fleeing a group of near-indestructible mass-murderers. I'm not really in a good position to start a romantic relationship." True, Haku, Yugito and Gaara were beautiful girls, and he liked them all, but they were his companions. He had other things to think about than starting a relationship with one of them.

"Your loss," Jiraiya shrugged, disappointed. "You know who to speak with in case you need advice."

"An advice for what?" Zabuza asked with a grumpy tone from right next to them. Kazama hadn't even heard him arriving. _Damn assassin training… why can't I sneak up on others instead of always being surprised? _"How to be a pervert, a loser and a senile old man?"

"Hey!" Jiraiya gritted his teeth, his pride wounded. "I'm not senile! And I barely hit fifty!"

"I don't care!" The swordsman glared at the sage, his eyes blazing with fury. "The next time I see you and your damn apprentice look at Haku's chest again, you will learn why I have been nicknamed the _Demon of the Mist_!"

"Argh, an overprotective dad…" Jiraiya shook his head sadly, putting his hand on Kazama's shoulder. "You will have a hard time getting rid of that if you want to date the little lady…"

If glares could kill, the Sannin would have fallen dead instantly, burned alive by the blonde's angry stare. Zabuza eyed the teen suspiciously. "I hope for your sake that's just one of his jokes, or else I will castrate you," the swordsman said. "I really mean it."

While the world traveler simply cringed, the Sannin snickered. "You can't keep her as an infantile child forever. She is what, fifteen, sixteen? It would be good for you to let her grow now, as you won't be always there to make decisions in her place."

For a few seconds, Kazama wondered if Zabuza was going to kill Jiraiya on the sport, as the blonde fully expected him to. Instead, the swordsman frowned sinisterly. "Old man…" he growled. "Do you know how much I would have given up to stay pure for a few more years?"

The tone was cold, but the world wanderer detected sadness behind that veneer of detachment. The teen was genuinely taken aback by the reaction. _Zabuza…_

"Haku already lost enough of her childhood," the missing-nin declared. "If I can make her profit off whatever is left of it, then I will. I owe her that, at least."

Kazama's eyebrows raised in surprise. _He's like me… _he realized, empathizing with the swordsman's feelings. _I'm acting like him…_

"You cannot stop time," Jiraiya pointed out. "All you will manage is to make her less adjusted to social life and more dependent on you."

_Too true… _Kazama thought, remembering Haku's fate on his homeworld. It had been a terrible loss, and she didn't deserve to die again.

Zabuza shrugged, unconcerned by the Sannin's critics. "We shall see… I'm not here to talk about parenting," he declared with a laconic tone, locking eyes with the blonde. "I'm here for your trophies."

"My trophies?" Kazama raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Of course, change the subject…" Jiraiya grumbled. "You are not correcting your problems, only delaying them."

"The blades you took from Orochimaru," Zabuza grumbled, blatantly ignoring the toad sage. "Isn't it obvious?"

Frowning, Kazama took a sealing scroll from his belt, a gift from Sasori. Releasing the two sealed blades, the world wanderer seized their pommels. "What about them?"

"I don't know, they're just two swords with special properties," Zabuza deadpanned. "I thought you would like to practice with them."

"They belonged to my teammate," Jiraiya added. "That fact alone is disturbing. They might even be cursed if all the rumors on the Kusanagi are to be believed."

"If what you said about these weapons' history is true," the swordsman from Kiri explained, "then your skills at using them should have increased as you killed their last owner for real this time." He frowned. "You didn't even consider testing them?"

"I had other matters to think about," Kazama replied, waving the weapons. He had already noticed they were easier to manipulate, yet… in his hands, they seemed like feathers. "Plus I-"

His reflexes saved his life, making him jump backward and dodge Zabuza's incoming blade. "What the hell?" The teen roared in surprise, the missing-nin preparing to strike once again.

"Back up," the former Kiri-nin told Jiraiya, who was forming a Rasengan. "What better than a fight to test his skills?"

Kazama glared at Zabuza. "Fine… I will kick your ass the way you want." He stared at the still tense Jiraiya. "I'll take care of hi-"

The swordsman of the Mist was already charging, trying to slice the blonde vertically. Compulsively, the world wanderer moved to the side, and attempted to stab his adversary with one of the Kusanagi. The missing-nin leapt backward, dodging the attack.

Or so he thought, Orochimaru's former sword extending on its own, almost impaling Zabuza's chest. The man used his huge blade as a shield, which barely stopped the murderous Kusanagi, which, continuing to grow, pushed the Kiri-nin to a tree's bark, before retracting.

Kazama hadn't even used chakra to do this. _These blades… _he frowned, remembering what happened after killing Orochimaru. _Are they really sentient?_

The two weapons briefly lightened, as if they said _yes_.

_Great, you can hear my thoughts… _the blonde smiled. _What else can you do?_

Images suddenly filled his mind, making him jump on place. He saw Orochimaru wielding them, then a disfigured man, a Samurai, a criminal… he saw hundreds of people using them to fight and kill, until he saw a large being of light defeating a colossal black snake with eight heads. The creature roared, and Kazama returned to reality.

_So this was your life and experience? _He thought, once he returned to reality. The blonde remembered how people used to swing them, even if he had never met them in the flesh…

The teen's attention returned to Zabuza, who was charging again. Instinctively, the world wanderer threw one of his two weapons at him. He of course dodged it, but Kazama's will made the sword change course. As the blade turned around to stab the missing-nin in the back, the blonde attempted to flank him at the same time, confident he wouldn't be fast enough to dodge both attacks.

Instead, Zabuza deviated the flying sword with his own, and punched Kazama in the face with his other arm, propelling the teen to the ground. Before the blonde could react, the missing-nin put his sandal on the teen's face and kept him pinned on the soil.

"That's better," Zabuza said, absentmindedly dodging the flying sword and catching its pommel with his free hand. "So you do know how to use these blades…"

"You punched me…" Kazama muttered, shocked by the man's pragmatism. "In a _sword _fight."

"And?" Zabuza chuckled. "A ninja uses every tool he has to win a fight. In battle, the only rule is to have none." Throwing the Kusanagi next to the Uzumaki's neck, the swordsman then grabbed his opponent by the collar and forced him to stand up. "Plus you're the one that tried to stab me from behind… or maybe was it the sword itself?"

"It was me," the blonde admitted, defeated. "I can command them at will, like Orochimaru."

"You can do much more than that," Zabuza snorted. "You had the reflex to flank me, and your moves were sloppy yet professional." He chuckled. "You weren't wielding your swords, isn't it? _They _were wielding _you_."

Kazama didn't answer, thinking about what happened. "They gave me their knowledge… their memories…" he said. "I knew how to use them instinctively."

"Memory transplantation?" Jiraiya raised his eyebrows, before paling. "Oh crap… now I know what inspired Orochimaru's weird reincarnation technique…"

"You may know how to use them, but you can't do it right yet," Zabuza grumbled, ignoring the Sannin. "You lack all the reflexes needed, the muscles, the experience… your blades are good, but you aren't. You know the theory, but not the practice." He wavered his huge sword. "I have a good solution to that problem."

Kazama cringed visibly. "Trying to kill me?"

"To maim you," Zabuza corrected with a sadistic tone. "The brain is a fantastic machine. It will build you good reflexes after you manage to dodge many blows, and increase your awareness of your opponent's reactions."

"Ah," Jiraiya smiled. "So there is a reason behind this behavior. I thought you were simply a sadist."

Kazama found Zabuza's lack of an answer deeply disturbing.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Sand Witch, Gaara<strong>_

Gaara didn't understand what pushed her to sit in front of this rock called a house, listening to a lesson given by the older Jinchuuriki. Naruko had offered her to come with her and she had accepted almost compulsively, not even thinking…

"Girls," Yugito started, sitting in front of the two and next to Haku, who was simply assisting to the lesson because she had nothing else to do. Kitsune was peacefully sleeping at her side. "The basis about Jinchuuriki training is the need to have a good relationship with your Bijuu. If you are on bad terms, your respective chakra won't mix well and it will cause more harm than good, both destroying and regenerating your body and costing you years of your life for nothing." She looked at Naruko and Gaara. "Are you on good terms with your Tailed Beast?"

_**Of course, **_her mother rasped angrily, furious at someone doubting of the bond she shared with Gaara. _**Isn't it obvious?**_

"Mother and I are close," Gaara whispered softly. Mother had always been close to her, comforting her when she was alone, cuddling her with the desert's sand… Yugito couldn't know that, and Mother grudgingly agreed.

"Kyuubi and I are good buddies!" Naruko smirked. "It gives me chakra whenever I ask!"

"Good," Yugito smiled. "Could you channel a bit of your tenant's chakra? Not much, just enough to enhance your abilities."

_**We can take her by surprise, my baby, **_her mother whispered. _**I can crush her and drink her blood… you just have to ask, and she is dead in the minute.**_

Gaara listened to the offer, but the answer was obvious. _No, Mother… they believe in me._

The Shukaku growled. _**Nothing is more fragile than trust, my dear Gaara… but if it is your wish, I will do what she wants.**_

Joining her hands, Gaara drew into the Bijuu's chakra, her eyes taking a golden color. Naruko's became red, and her appearance turned more bestial.

_**So Kurama has indeed taken a liking to its container, **_the Shukaku chuckled. _**It seems I'm not the only Bijuu with parental instincts… that's one thing we have in common, apparently.**_

"Very good," Yugito said. "Your chakra mix well with those of your sealed Bijuu. Now… what can you currently do with your beast's help?"

"Well…" Naruko scratched the back of her head. "Kyuubi can shape a cloak of chakra around me and create tails."

"Tails of chakra?" Yugito raised an eyebrow. "How many of them?"

"Two," Naruko replied. "I never get past two."

"I see…" the eldest looked at Gaara. "And you? I already know you can fully transform into Shukaku, as I fought you in that form before, but what else can you do?"

_**She might use this information against you, **_her mother whispered, cautious. _**Are you sure you want to give her a chance? Except for me, everybody you trusted has betrayed you, don't you remember?**_

Gaara hesitated. _Uncle Yashamaru died for me._

_**My brother was the exception that confirmed the rule, **_the Shukaku replied bitterly. _**He sacrificed himself so my husband could think you were the emotionless killer he wanted, and leave you alive. But there is no common blood between you and these people. The little blonde saved you, and I am grateful for this, but can you really trust the rest of them?**_

"I…" Gaara muttered, unsure about what to say.

"Gaara…" Yugito whispered kindly. "Nobody forces you to talk about this matter, so if you don't want to, I respect your decision..."

"I…" the sand witch trailed off, ceasing to hesitate. "I can transform partially into Mother…"

_**Gaara…**_

"Partial transformation?" Yugito's surprise was obvious. "Can you show me?" Nodding, Gaara transformed her hand into her mother's paw. "I'm impressed… but if you could transform fully, it was to be expected." She frowned. "However, something bothers me. When we fought on the battlefield, you seemed to have been completely overtaken by Shukaku. Did you temporarily lose control of it?"

She shook her head in negation. "When I sleep, mother awakes and we switch places in the seal. She is in control when it happens, until I wake up."

"Ah, so it's only a pseudo-full transformation," the Kumo-nin nodded. "And can you make a chakra cloak around yourself, like Naruko-san?"

The redhead shook her head again. "I can only transform partially or let Mother takes over my body."

"Alright," Yugito said. "Then this first lesson will be on the different stages of Jinchuuriki forms."

Gaara and Naruko nodded, and listened.

"First thing, you all know that there are nine different Bijuu?" Yugito started. "Their chakra reserves depend on the number of their tails: the Shukaku's are similar to five Kage ranked shinobi put together, while the Kyuubi's can seem near-limitless. However, all Tailed Beasts possess different abilities that allow them to match each others, depending on the circumstances."

_**Hear that, Kurama? **_The Shukaku chuckled. _**Even humans disagree with you!**_

"For example, the Ichibi is nigh-unstoppable in the middle of a desert like Suna," Yugito stated. "It took hundreds of ninja, multiple sealing techniques, and me fully transforming to restrain it the last time we fought. In fact, all Bijuu, except the Kyuubi, possess a specific ability that can be transplanted to their container. The Kyuubi, having enough chakra to destroy mountains and create tsunamis easily by just moving, doesn't need any secondary offensive power. Its strength is simply enough to overcome every kind of opposition.

"All Jinchuuriki, despite their differences, can access four different stages of transformation," Yugito stated. "The version 1, the version 2, partial transformation, and the full-transformation."

"Version 1 and 2?" Naruko repeated. "What does that mean?"

"We call version 1 a special state where a Jinchuuriki is covered with a shroud of animated chakra," Yugito explained. "This is basically your two-tails form. This state allows you to enhance all your basic abilities more than when you tap a little in your Bijuu's chakra, and also gives you a protection, as the chakra will move to fight alongside you and shield you from blows.

"Version 2 is a more advanced form where the cloak of chakra is modified to become physical matter. It basically turns into flesh, blood and muscles, making you look like a deformed, miniature version of your Bijuu. While you don't have the chakra control necessary to use complicated jutsu anymore, you become a true juggernaut. Your strength is multiplied, and almost no attack can break through your second skin. While you do not have the sheer destructive power of a full transformation, you can fight without the risk of hurting your allies so long as you remain in control.

"Partial transformation is simply you manifesting a part of your Bijuu's body, like the tail," Yugito continued. "A full transformation is when you assume the appearance of your Tailed Beast without breaking your seal. In this state, you can cause mass destruction, but also endanger your allies.

"Most of the time, apprentice Jinchuuriki begin by learning the version 1, continue with the version 2, then the partial transformation, and finally the full transformation. This is to allow them to have the perfect control of the Tailed Beast's chakra that makes a full transformation possible." Yugito eyed her two students. "As such, Naruko, I will teach you how to achieve the version 2 state, while I will teach you, Gaara, how to use the version 1. Are you okay with it?"

"Of course!" Naruko grinned. "I'm going to become even more badass!"

Yugito smiled kindly, and locked eyes with the sand witch. "And you, Gaara?" she asked. "I know we have met on bad terms, but… I think we can actually become close, the two of us…" Her tone was embarrassed, and she presented her hand to the redhead. "Can we make peace?"

Gaara looked at the hand.

And shook it.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The swordsman, Zabuza<strong>_

The brat was walking. Bruised, yet walking. Zabuza refused to admit it out loud, but he was genuinely impressed by the blonde's affinity with his blades. The missing-nin had judged him not to be really made for Kenjutsu, due to a lack of balance and precision… until now. Killing Orochimaru had done him a lot of good. Why didn't he do it sooner?

However, it wasn't enough.

It was clear the brat was suffering from the flaws of dual wielding styles, in spite of whatever boon he had gained after murdering the Snake Sannin. The brain wasn't really hardwired to hold two weapons simultaneously, and Kazama wasn't ambidextrous by birth. Dual wielders also had to keep track of far more variables in a fight and if they were in deadly duels they couldn't parry most attacks as easily as someone with one weapon since they only had a weapon in each hand, while others would have two hands to hold their weapons giving them more stability. This made melee combat extremely risky.

In retrospect, it could explain why Orochimaru had been defeated. The fool had fought a literal one-man army with a style made for dueling. What a fool…

"That's awful," Zabuza stated. "You're pathetic, but it can be excused by your stupidity… you're using two swords while you aren't ambidextrous." The words were harsh, but necessary. The blonde had to build a resistance to insults in battle, or else he might lose his cool and become sloppy. Better badmouth his abilities than see him getting killed.

"Then what am I supposed to do with them?" The brat frowned, still weary about a possible surprise attack.

_Good reflexes, _the missing-nin thought with appreciation. The boy was improving, and rather quickly. "Use only one sword, and keep the other as a replacement, or give it to someone more worthy than yourself, like one of your clones," Zabuza snorted. Maybe Kitsune would use it well once he regained his original form. Seeing the boy in such state was terrible and the swordsman hoped the problem would be solved quickly. Jiraiya had said a Yamanaka would help the werefox, but Zabuza wasn't so optimistic…

A boy possessed by demons was a special case. Yagura had been a clear proof of that.

The blonde glared at him, before staring at the Kusanagi in his left hand. Zabuza briefly wondered if he was actually talking to his weapon, and the scene reminded him of Kisame's relationship with his sword, or Yagura's trances. The mad Mizukage sometimes seemed lost in his thoughts, but only a few people knew he was instead talking to the sinister demon lurking in his head, debating with it whether or not a bloodline user was to be skinned or burned alive, or if Zabuza deserved to be eaten alive by the monstrous Sanbi for his treason…

The sudden transformation of the Kusanagi into a small, purple snake snapped Zabuza out of his sinister memories. The reptile winded around Kazama's arm, disappearing inside his clothes. The blonde smirked. "I'm loving them more and more with each passing day."

"Good for you," the missing-nin grunted, secretly preparing to strike again, just to see if the brat would react fast. He however changed his mind, seeing the tension in the blonde's neck. _Smart boy… he's trying to hide the fact he knows I'm going to attack… plus that snake will try to bite my arm the moment I try, I'm sure of it. _Smirking slyly, Zabuza decided to disappoint the boy. "I want to you to do some exercises to practice," he showed him some swings of his blade. "Repeat this again, and again, and again, until you can do them perfectly without even thinking about it… now!"

Compulsively, the blonde obeyed, much to the missing-nin's delight. It was just like the time he trained Haku and Kimimaro… the two had been far more disciplined and obedient, eager to please their adoptive father.

Thinking about Haku made Zabuza remember what Jiraiya had told him. Even if the Sannin wasn't really a great example of good parenting, he did have a point. _Haku is growing up, _he thought laconically. _She's almost a woman, now. Maybe I should give her more freedom, indeed…_

"Tell me, Zabuza," Jiraiya's voice whispered to his ear, snapping the man out of his thoughts. "Why are you always so harsh with others?"

The missing-nin snickered. _If you're too soft, people mistake your gentleness for weakness_, Kisame had told him when he was young, the day Zabuza massacred a genin class. _Better to be feared than loved… today, Zabuza, is the day you will mark your name in the minds of these sharks. May this ultimate crime end this madness once and for all._

"You didn't answer."

"You never learned, old fool," Zabuza asked, "that to gain respect, you have to prove yourself as the biggest shark of the pool?"

Jiraiya said nothing. For once, he seemed to have put his brain to work and wisely decided to shut up. Zabuza focused on his blonde student…

And then on the man spying on them.

"Drop the genjutsu," he ordered, staring at a tree's branches. "The scent of oil is quite different from the wood's, so I can smell you. I can cut this plant in half, just to be sure if you continue to stay hidden." Just how long that person was there, spying on them, he didn't know. He or she appeared to be quite skilled at stealth, to be able to sneak up on him…

Kazama's eyes drifted from his sword to the tree, while Jiraiya assumed a bored expression. He had obviously noticed the intruder early, probably at the same time as the swordsman. "Too bad… I wanted to do the reveal myself more dramatically."

Zabuza simply snorted, as the branches changed shape, taking the form of a… well, of somebody. The person was clad in a grey and black, thin armor covering his whole body, and a shapeless white helmet covered his face. The mysterious figure leapt on the ground quite gracefully, his attire perfectly espousing his body movements.

"Who are you?" _He or she stinks oil… _Zabuza thought. "A spy? An assassin?"

"Only a scholar," the armored person declared with a soft, male voice. "I apologize for my behavior, but I didn't want to disturb your training… my name is Kuebiko."

"Kazama Arashi," the blonde replied, apparently taking the man's lack of hostility for friendliness. Then again, if he had wanted to attack them, he would have already.

"Is it?" The armored man touched his helmet. "I guess it's true… depending on the world which you do belong, you could have been called Uzumaki Naruto. How did you cross into this universe?"

Zabuza felt his blood freeze in his veins. Judging their expression, his two companions were in the same state of shock. "What did you say?"

"I asked how did you opened a way between this reality and another," he replied. "My helmet indicates your physical signature is different from this reality, proving you aren't from it originally. The data I gathered on the breach indicate thirteen people crossed it, and since your physical signature is different from the reality you left, the only explanation I find is that it's not the first time you did it." The man explained, looking at Zabuza. "And your own signature is different from your companion, so one joined the other during the other's travel. Am I right?"

Zabuza's eyes narrowed. "Who the hell are you?"

"Well," the man shrugged. "Someone like you… another world wanderer."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The puppet master, Sasori<strong>_

"It's not what you think!" Chibaku stated, trying very hard to hide the stolen bra behind his back. "I swear!"

"He's telling the truth," Kakashi nodded. "I was there."

"We were absolutely not stealing girl's personal possessions," Chibaku's perverted counterpart smiled innocently. "It's a big misunderstanding."

Sasori eyed them blankly. "Do you really think I'm going to believe you?" _Do they think I am a fool?_

Chibaku shrugged. "Oh come on, Sasori-sensei…"

"You always use that nickname when you lie to me, or, rather, try," the puppet master cut in. "If you ever want to hide something from me, you still have a very long road in front of you, my disciple."

"… crap," his student cursed. "I forgot you were a living lie-detector."

Sasori angrily sat on Haku's bed, joining his fingers. "So, can you explain me why were you breaking into one of your comrades' room and stealing her bra? I hope you have a good excuse, because I certainly will have a hard time believing it."

"Well…" Chibaku smiled, embarrassed. "If I say it was to increase my infiltration skills?"

"Then you certainly did a sloppy job," Sasori deadpanned. "It took me only one minute to hear you unlock the door and intercept you. Plus, if you really wanted to train, you would have asked for advice from me and certainly not these two," he pointed out, eying the two covert and outspoken perverts before shrugging. "I thought your perverted streak wouldn't advance to this stage, but I was apparently mistaken. Those photos were bad, but nothing compared to this. I hoped you wouldn't follow their example…"

"Wait!" Chibaku jumped on place, as pale as a ghost. "YOU KNEW?"

"You can't spend years tutoring someone without discovering at least a few of his hidden dark secrets," Sasori said. "I tolerated your… eccentricities… as they weren't really harmful to your development. I was sure it was simply a minor quirk you would get rid of on your own, so I didn't bother correcting it… how could I have been such a fool? I was impressed you managed to take photos of an elite kunoichi without getting caught, but now you have lost all common sense."

"Oh come on," the pervert Naruto complained, Chibaku being obviously crushed mentally. "What is wrong with being a pervert, anyway?"

"It's a waste of your potential," the redhead puppeteer replied, before locking eyes with his student. "Chibaku, don't you understand that obsession with naked women is a loss of time? It occupies your mind and prevents you from doing developing your creativity. It adds tension and mental instability. And it makes you act like a socially maladjusted idiot. And it will weaken you on a battlefield. And-"

"I can't stop myself," his student whined, theatrically putting his hand on his chest. The boy was a good actor… "I have this perverseness inside me. Like a darkness corrupting all my thoughts…"

"I guess I will have to cure you manually, then," Sasori replied, cracking his artificial fingers. "A few seals should make your sexuality completely nullified."

"Wait, that's brainwashing!" The pervert Naruto put himself between his counterpart and Sasori. "That's criminal!"

"It's pragmatic," Sasori countered. "And it's not like I didn't test these seals. I have put them on myself, and never before have I felt this good."

"Hmm…" Kakashi rolled his one eye. "I almost said you were not a good example, but not being one myself, I guess it would be hypocritical."

"But Sasori!" Chibaku complained. "You told me thousands of times that I shouldn't become a carbon copy of yourself!"

"I meant it," Sasori stated. "However, I cannot tolerate such behavior from you ever again."

"They corrupted me!" His student pointed his finger at the two perverts accusingly. "They used some damn book to-"

Suddenly, the pervert Naruto slammed his hands together, filling the whole room with smoke. Taken by surprise, Sasori prepared to release his puppets. _Have they betrayed u-_

"Let's do this!" Dozens of girly voices shouted. "Harem no Jutsu!"

When the smoke cleared… Sasori gaped in pure shock.

Dozens of naked girls surrounded him, seizing his arms, entwining him… his student's nose was bleeding profusely, while Kakashi was laughing loudly.

"… What?" Was the only word Sasori's lips managed to blurt out.

"It's the ultimate perverting technique!" One of the girls smirked. "No man can resist it!"

Sasori disagreed as he regained himself by poking her face, dispelling the Henge. He then used a chakra disrupting seal he had placed on the room's ground to eliminate all the Bunshin.

"How?" The pervert's eyes were wide open, just as his mouth was. "That's impossible!"

"I don't have hormones anymore," Sasori told him blankly. "That's a very crass technique you have there, but since it managed to make me blink, I assume it has a lot of potential for surprise attacks…"

"That almost killed me…" Chibaku whined. "How did you get the idea?"

The pervert smirked. "Jiji told me no technique could beat him, so I invented this on the spot to prove him wrong."

"Cool… how does it work?"

Sasori absentmindedly looked through a window, barely listening to the conversation. His student's obsession had grown out of control, but he had a point. A seal might not be the best option. He would reeducate Chibaku for the better, or maybe transform him into a puppet too, removing the limits of the flesh…

The puppeteer almost had an heart attack.

A masked man was observing the house from the outside. His mismatched eyes met Sasori's, and he joined his hands.

"Everyone!" Sasori panicked, unsealing his puppets. "Mada-"

Everyone barely had the time to blink before a powerful shockwave blew the house apart.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Sage, Jiraiya<strong>_

Jiraiya had a bad feeling about today.

Not that he was naturally pessimistic, quite the contrary… yet his intuition never tricked him. When he had a bad feeling, catastrophes always happened: Tsunade discovering him peeping on her, the Kyuubi being released, a crazy Uchiha trying to murder Naruto, and so on. It was exactly like Tsunade's winning streaks.

Strangely the new guy was _very _strange, Jiraiya didn't feel uneasy around him. It had to be something else…

"You are a world wanderer?" Kazama asked, pale. "Like us?"

"Not like you," the other shook his head. "We do not use the same method to travel… yours is so much better!"

Much to Jiraiya's surprise, the mysterious man shook hands with the shocked Kazama. "Please," Kuebiko said, "what kind of power allowed you to transport multiple people in another reality? We never managed to get past two-hundreds kilograms on one jump, yet you did without the use of a dimensional resonator! You cut through the Veil without creating a mass imbalance between two universes! How? Did you use protons, quarks, a particle accelerator?"

"Stop the gibberish," Zabuza grunted. "I did not understand anything."

"Me too." Kazama frowned. "Could you first explain things in comprehensive terms?"

"Forgive me," Kuebiko excused himself. "When I'm speaking about science, I can't stop myself. Then again, it's my job."

"You're a scientist?" Jiraiya asked. "You said _we_…"

The man nodded. "I am a member of a small group of scientists studying the Infinity. We are trying to explore and map all the realities we discover. I was visiting this reality when my equipment noticed an anomaly, and I came to investigate. I found the breach, and then you."

"The Infinity? You mean the multiverse?" The teen's surprise was obvious. "There are other people traveling though realities?"

"You are the first group I met," Kuebiko replied. "Our own is composed of four people, and we thought we were the only ones… you just proved we were wrong. I should have expected this, as everything is possible in the Infinity."

"Wait." Zabuza's jaw dropped. "You said you were trying to map the multiverse? Isn't it impossible?"

"This is our goal," Kuebiko nodded. "We explore it and study it. The Infinity is full of wonders, and for every thing we discover, ten new mysteries pop up. Our quest is long and hard, and might never end, but it is very rewarding. I suppose your own travels were marvelous too?"

Zabuza and Kazama locked eyes, embarrassed. "Well…" the former trailed off. "To be honest, it sucked. A lot."

"Ah…" Kuebiko said. "Let me guess, you visited a reality were lizards became the dominant specie instead of hominoids?"

"Not really." The blonde breathed deeply. "We have been attacked."

It was at this moment Jiraiya realized the source of his bad feeling, and stared at Kuebiko. "Wait… did you say _thirteen _people crossed the breach?"

"Yes, that's what my helmet concluded when I analyzed the breach." He seemed surprised by his interlocutors' horrified faces. "It is a problem?"

"Shit!" Kazama shouted, taking Kuebiko off-guard. "They are here, so soon!"

"Good," Zabuza snickered, even if his tone was saying otherwise. "They owe me a companion, plus interest…"

"No, it's not good," the blonde snapped. "Jiraiya's house is not far from the breach, and our friends are unaware of the danger. Scratch that, Madara must already be attacking them!" He showed the palm of his hand. "Worse, the counter indicates I still have to wait one whole day to use the transport safely, so we can't escape!"

"Keep your composure, brat," Jiraiya said, preparing to unleash the Sage Mode. "We can save them now, if we hurry, and kick your pursuers' asses at the same occasion." _Or I hope… _Madara Uchiha helped found Konoha, and was one of the strongest ninja to ever live. Three would be extremely hard to deal with.

"I'm afraid to be lost," Kuebiko interrupted them calmly. "You are under attack? Maybe I can help you?"

"Really? Thanks! I will explain you on the way." No sooner did Kazama finish did he ran toward Jiraiya's house.

"Can you give me a quick briefing about our enemies' competencies?" Jiraiya asked Zabuza as they followed. "We can make a strategy and prepare."

"There are three of them," the swordsman explained. "All with the Sharingan. One has some strange powers over gravity and can shoot lasers, and also reanimate corpses to control them. Another is a master swordsman and a real powerhouse, with a huge collection of weapons and a Bijuu-killing technique."

"Bijuu-killing?"

"I'm not sure how it works, but the guy lost his eyes in the deal, so I doubt he will do it again. I don't know much on the last one, but I heard he can survive lethal wounds easily."

"Great, three immortals," Jiraiya gritted his teeth. _I guess I might have to use __**that **__technique… dying would be nothing compared to losing my pupil. The Dead Consuming Seal would probably be able to take care of them. _"Nothing else?"

"One can apparently summons strange masked beasts, I'm not sure."

"Uchiha Madara?" Kuebiko wondered out loud, interrupting Jiraiya's discussion. "You are pursued by Uchiha Madara?"

"You know him?"

"Yes," the armored man answered to Kazama. "Probably more than you all. Is he the same madman obsessed by Hashirama and his clan's betrayal? A stupid question, of course he is… I guess some things never change…" He shrugged. "It will be an honor to fight at your side."

"We should prepare a formation," Jiraiya said, unleashing his Sage Mode. "Maybe-" He stopped talking, as his brain computed new information. "No…" He trailed off, recognizing the too well-known scent of dead corpses burning. "Please, it can't be possible…"

Yet, the second he saw what was left of the village near his mansion, he realized that yes, it was. Houses were burning, consumed by a black fire; the earth had been scorched and blood had been shed.

"You are so slow," a masked man whispered, his armor red and his arms crossed... He was standing atop a pile of corpses. Jiraiya recognized the villagers he used to visit from time to time… all of them. The baker selling him bread, the pretty daughter of a merchant, the kids attending the local school…

"I almost thought you fled, depriving me of a good fight," the monster stated calmly. "How fortunate: I was wrong."

"You bastard…" Jiraiya growled, his rage boiling. "You didn't need to kill them! They were defenseless people!"

"Don't be so bothered by this vermin…" Uchiha Madara declared softly, descending from his makeshift mountain. "These rats did not deserve to live. They didn't even have the will to protect their home or flee to save themselves. They simply _whined_, hoping _you _would bail them out of trouble." His tone was full of disgust. "Culling the weak is the strong's right and duty. Once-"

"Once all those unworthy to live have been wiped out from the face of the earth, then the worthy will strive," Kuebiko continued. "Violence shall break men and free them in a way they cannot understand. The flames of war shall purge them from their flaws, and in the burning world, life will not be offered, but earned."

Uchiha Madara stayed silent a moment. "How do you know the creed?"

"Because you would never cease repeating it to Hashirama," the armored man explained, taking off his helmet. "That motto… reminds me of old times."

Jiraiya blinked, recognizing the familiar, wrinkled face. "Impossible…"

"You?" Uchiha Madara asked, imitated by Zabuza and Kazama.

"It has been a while, Madara," whispered the lips of Tobirama Senju, Nidaime Hokage of Konoha. "I hope kicking your ass will be as satisfying as it was decades ago."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Cat, Yugito<strong>_

Getting up, slightly dizzied, Yugito quickly regained her awareness. The house had been brought down, a few meters away, reduced to a pile of rocks and wood. In the center of a large crater encompassing the whole area Naruko, Haku, Gaara and Kitsune were standing, recovering from the brutal shock that had put them on the ground.

_Nibi, I need the soul vision. I need to check up the rest of us. They were in the mansion…_

_**No problem, kitten. I assume we are under attack?**_

_Yes, _the lady replied. Her sight changing, Yugito scanned the remains of the house. Fortunately, Sasori, Kakashi, Chibaku and his perverted counterpart were still alive, protected by what looked to be a summoned huge toad…

"Hello, my friends," a deep voice declared, Yugito's eyes immediately drifting in its direction. Two masked men appeared atop the ruined house, one with one Sharingan, the other with mismatched Dojutsu. The one-eyed ninja stared at Naruko, his soul a literal endless pit of hatred and sorrow. "We were visiting this world, so we decided to drop by. I unfortunately forgot to bring you gifts."

"Jerks," the blonde little girl snapped, Kitsune roaring next to her.

"Oh, so you decided to recruit?" The man with mismatched eyes glared at Yugito, and then at Gaara. His soul was one big ball of depressing fatalism and pessimism. This man did not care about anything, and hated the world… but especially himself. "How futile."

"Mother doesn't like you," Gaara hissed, sand whirling around her. "She wants your blood."

"I am afraid I will have to deny her request," the man replied. "I assume you are talking of the Shukaku? Only its vessel can conjure the power of the desert, after all."

"Your visage reminds me…" The one-eyed man peered at Yugito's face, and probably recognized her. "Yugito Nii, Jinchuuriki of the Nibi. Enchanted to meet you."

_**For someone wanting to kill kids, he's surprisingly polite, **_the Nibi mused.

Not bothering to answer, the blonde lady quickly made hand-seals. _Mouse Hairball, _she thought, firing mouse-shaped fireballs from her mouth at the two Uchiha. The one-eyed Madara shrugged, air twisting around him to consume the projectiles. "It's not polite, to show disrespect to your elders… _kid_."

"Talking to you is a waste of time," she replied, preparing to strike again.

"Right," Naruko agreed, forming a Rasengan in her hand.

"Don't you ever learn?" The Uchiha with mismatched eyes asked. "How many times will I have to beat you into submission, until to cease to rise up?"

"I will never surrender!" Naruko boasted. "Even if you break my legs, even if I can't stand, I will just crawl and bite you!"

_**Well said! I like this kitten more and more with each passing minute…**_

_Naruko… _Yugito smiled. _This determination will get you far._

The man fell silent, narrowing his Dojutsu. "I do not understand… why are you still fighting? I outclass you so much, it's like a mouse fighting a dragon. Fate has clearly designed me as your superior in every domain… so why won't you give up?"

Naruko smirked. "To spit on you, and prove your 'fate' is just crap!"

Everyone stared at her in shock.

"I am sick of your fate talk!" She shouted. "Yes, I was born with the Kyuubi. Yes, I'm not born with super-powered eyes! I don't have a bloodline limit, a clan, a cool sword, talent, or whatever! Ever since I tried to become a ninja, people told me I would stay a friendless loser forever! And I proved them wrong!" The girl glared at Uchiha Madara, who was obviously taken aback by the outburst. "I have found a family! I have found friend! I have trained until I could fight a Bijuu! So screw fate! It's just a scam!"

Silence.

"… a scam?"

The Madara with the mismatched eyes leaned his head to the left side, his stare full of hate. His soul began to burn with the fire of rage, and Yugito annulled the vision before it could blind her. "Fate… a scam?"

Then, he roared, laughing madly.

While his partner cringed slightly, the girls were simply astonished by the spectacle. "Do you know how much this scam took from me?" The Uchiha glared at Naruko, and if looks could kill, she would have dropped dead on the spot. "DO YOU KNOW?"

Yugito winced at the shriek, and Naruko apparently didn't find anything worth replying.

"Do you know how much I lost and sacrificed on the altar of this _scam_?" Madara shrieked, any hint of composure having vanished. "I lost my _brother_, my _clan_, my _freedom_, my _life_! It left me nothing but memories, so I could revel in fear of its almighty decisions, and a destiny to fulfill! What does a immature child like you knows of fate?"

"… I'm sick of hearing you talk."

Suddenly, something sent the remains of the house flying, making the two Uchiha leap a few meters backward. A huge red toad emerged, four males under it.

"You're just whining," Sasori stated, two puppets, looking like armors of wood, standing next to him. "Fate is the excuse men use to better accept their current condition, or find answers to question he doesn't bother to find the true answer. Yes, you suffered and lost people, probably for nothing. _Deal with it_."

"If fate does exist, then I must thank it for making us cross path again," Kakashi stated, taking back the part of his mask covering the Sharingan. "Give me my students back. _Now_."

Madara chuckled madly. "With pleasure."

Two objects descended from the sky and crashed where Kakashi used to be before he jumped to the side with the others. Two boys stood, wearing white robes meshing badly with their strange, purple eyes.

"Kakashi-sensei," they both declared at the same time, "why did you abandon us?"

"I…" The grey-haired man didn't finish his sentence. He looked at the rest of his group. "Leave… leave them to me… it's my duty… I owe them this."

"Alright," Yugito stated, glaring at the Madara with mismatched eyes. "You use his own students against him? How can you be so _despicable_?"

"It doesn't matter," the man shrugged. "Nothing matters. We are just puppets, submitted to the strings of a will none of you fools can understand. Nothing of what we do matter, in the end." He raised his arms. "Only those fulfilling their destiny can progress and strive, and those who resist it are doomed to be crushed! I will prove it, by crushing your empty, meaningless lives!"

"Bring it on!" Naruko snapped, charging.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's notes:<em>**

**_First thing, I originally didn't plan this chapter like it. In the original plot, Madara would have intercepted them a few chapters later, and Kuebiko wouldn't have appeared until later. The Arc would have continued with the group crossing multiple worlds. I unfortunately realized it didn't mesh well with what I wanted to do._**

**_I wanted to spend most of the second half of the Great Chase Arc focused on character development, and one battle in the middle of it didn't seem right to me. So I instead moved it in the next chapter. After the following one, there won't be a _real_ big battle until at least four chapters._**

**_Plus, the same formula of the characters visiting one world, meeting people, then moving on, seemed to become a bit repetitive. So I found an alternative, that you will discover in the next chapter. To be honest, this one is just a transition until the next one._**

**_Also, the other world travelers will appear again, and have a major role in the story._**

**_As ever, give your point of view with reviews, and write you soon._**


	22. Chapter 21: Turning Point

_**Hello, everybody. As promised, the new chapter came more quickly. **_

_**Special thanks to Third Fang, ABitterPill, and Alpha142 for betaing my story and improving it.**_

_**Disclaimer: yeah, I don't owe Naruto. How many times will I have to say it, until it changes?**_

_**Traveler/Original Naruto: Kazama Arashi.**_

_**Puppeteer Naruto: Chibaku Arashi.**_

_**Werefox/Hybrid Naruto: Kitsune Arashi.**_

_**Female Naruto: Naruko Arashi.**_

_**Deceiver/Original Madara: Tsukiyomi.**_

_**Destroyer/Rinnegan Madara: Susanoo.**_

_**Warrior/Collector Madara: Amaterasu.**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Twenty-One: Turning Point<strong>_

Zabuza didn't hesitate to take advantage of Amaterasu's surprise. He immediately attacked, rushing toward the warrior faster than the wind, and swung his blade. Opting for a vertical slice, the swordsman felt his lust for blood boiling under his skin. _Kisame… this is for you._

The Beheading Knife, as Zabuza nicknamed the sword he used for most of his career, was swiftly stopped.

For a few seconds, the swordsman stayed motionless, unable to believe his own eyes. Madara had seized the blade between the thumb and palm of his left hand, bending his legs not to be crushed under the weapon's weight.

"The Beheading Sword," Madara stated, unfazed by the attack. "A fine weapon for a fine warrior. It was designed to behead horses, at the time samurais ruled on battlefields." Behind his mask, the legendary ninja seemed nostalgic. "Good times. Don't you agree, Tobirama?"

"The age of samurai ended long ago, Madara," the man wearing the Nidaime Hokage's face muttered, sealing his helmet somewhere in his armor. "I thought you agreed, when we founded Konoha together."

"My clan agreed. But I, Amaterasu, never forsook the old traditions." The Uchiha hummed the air. "The ninja way never quite convinced me. The monumental failure of Konoha just confirmed my fears. The world of deceit shaped by the ninja is an abomination." He absentmindedly caught Zabuza's punch with his other, free hand, not even bothered by the sneak attack. "A world of treachery, where values like duty and truth have been sacrificed on the altar of fear and lies, must be burned to the ground and purged by steel. The ninja system must be destroyed, and its incarnations wiped off the surface of this world... of all worlds."

"If you hate ninjas, then why are you using their weapons and techniques against them?" Kuebiko asked.

At that moment, Zabuza realized that Kazama and Jiraiya were whispering to each other, probably plotting to take their enemy off-guard. Looking at Amaterasu, the former Kiri-nin saw that the Uchiha's lone eye was entirely focused on the Nidaime Hokage. A grave tactical error, as some of the greatest warriors died because of arrogance.

Unless…

_He is not alone. _Zabuza's blood froze in his veins. _He has back-up, but where? _His eyes drifted from Amaterasu to the mountain of corpses behind him. _Under it…_

Amaterasu chuckled, and the former Kiri-nin understood the bastard had read his mind. "Indeed," he said, but Zabuza didn't know if he was talking to him or the Nidaime Hokage. "Ninjutsu in itself is just a weapon, a tool that all warriors can use. When used dishonorably, however…" Releasing his grip on Zabuza's blade and hand, Amaterasu allowed the man to leap backward, next to his allies' side. "The ninja system promotes dishonor, treachery, and cowardice. It traps the earth in a state of perpetual cold war, of a realm where vermin like spies and backstabbers are prospering. I will annihilate the ninja ideology, and make a new world of warfare, one where lies will not exist and where the law of Bushido rules supreme."

"This will be hell on earth, not heaven," Kuebiko replied. "The Bushido, the samurai code, promotes values like honor, duty, and courage, but it is incompatible with peace and evolution. That is why the ninjas replaced the samurais, because their continued existence had trapped civilization in a feudal age of warfare, where the strong oppressed the weak and where strength was more important than happiness and prosperity."

_His brothers were dead._

_They had come to kill them all. The men wielding red cloaks and daggers. In Kiri, his parents had taught him, brigands didn't count. Rapists, beggars and murderers were nothing unusual. Only __**they **__mattered._

_The Blood Police._

_"Yondaime-sama deemed Momochi Hakura's blood to contain the seed of failure." Their voice was cold. Their faces were white. Their eyes were empty. They were not humans, just demons in disguise. "He shamed Kirigakure. It cannot happen again. The impure lineage must be exterminated."_

_They first killed Zabuza's mother, right in front of the whole family with their bloody daggers. Then they killed his father, carving his heart out of his body. Then they killed his brothers. Only he survived. "This poison can induce fake-death for a time, my son," his father had taught him. "People think you are dead, and will leave you alone... alone to prepare to fight again."_

_He had laced the poison with his knife, faking suicide, as his father had told him. But his brothers hadn't been lucky. They had been too mad, too enraged, to follow the plan. Only Zabuza had obeyed. He had been a coward. He hadn't fought to defend his family._

_And he was alone, in his house, alone with the corpses and the scavengers that came to loot his home. Alone, with the blood of his family on the ground._

_Because they were not fit to live._

Snapping out of his ghastly memories, Zabuza looked at the mountain of flesh. "Guys," he whispered to Jiraiya and Kazama. "Under it…"

"That is exactly what I seek." If Amaterasu could hear them, he didn't show it. "Peace is an illusion. A beautiful, misleading one, yet an illusion nonetheless. War and conflict are the essence of human progress. We are never more disciplined or efficient than when we fight."

_"We are all sharks." The teen with the blue skin smirked, showing his teeth. He offered a piece of meat he had stolen to Zabuza. "To survive, you must be the biggest in the pool. The two of us are the biggest sharks in this lake." He eyed the port, full of poverty, orphans and cutthroats. The place Zabuza considered to be his home, after the first one burned out. "But now, we must move on into the ocean." He stared at the Ninja Academy, the blue dome hiding the blood inside. "Well... I did. Now, it's your time."_

_He gave Zabuza a knife. "Time to make a name for yourself, young shark. May your actions end this madness Yagura calls __**human progress**__."_

"I know, I can feel them." The toad sage now looked a bit like a frog, his eyes yellow. The former Kiri-nin could feel the energy emanating from the Sannin. "I don't know what they are, but there are four of them. I can sense hearts beatings, human hearts, but the rest of their bodies are not composed of flesh."

"So killing each other savagely is a sign of progress?" Kuebiko asked.

Kazama frowned. "The masked creatures we saw through Ghost's portal."

"Savagely? No. Properly, yes." Amaterasu raised his hand. "An honorable, good battle, against valuable opponents. What more can I ask? I missed fighting people like you, Tobirama, for too long. Kisame Hoshigake was fine, but young and broken by the corruption of the ninja world. Fighting one of my archenemies once again is something I dreamed to do ever since I discovered these alternate realities." He stared at the Nidaime. "When I heard you had vanished, using that experimental Space-Time manipulation jutsu to escape the Kinkaku Force, I thought you were dead. But now, I know what happened. You crossed the veil between worlds, years before this kid."

"It had almost been my end," Kuebiko replied. "Thankfully, a more experienced traveler saved me, before I was lost through time and space."

"But whatever techniques you now use to travel is nothing compared to the blonde, is it? Or else, you would have either escaped or brought back-up." Amaterasu crossed his arms. "No matter. Susanoo shall extract all your secrets from your brain once I kill you with my bare hands." He stared at the three others. "Of course, this will be a duel. One for each of you, so everyone can test his own limits. The winners shall come out of this ordeal stronger than ever."

_"You are all kids." The Yondaime Mizukage stared at them, and spoke softly. He was short, had grey hair, a large scar on his cheek, and pink eyes devoid of emotion. He was wearing green and white robes, but Zabuza could almost smell the blood hidden under them. He was a predator. The biggest the boy would probably ever see. "This ordeal shall make you adults. Better, faster, stronger... killers." He grinned lightly at the assembled genin, and then locked eyes with the young Zabuza, chilling him to the bone. "Kill, bleed... and grow. __**Only the strong survive**__. Tasting the flesh of the weak make one stronger than ever..." He raised his hand. "Entertain me..."_

Then, Amaterasu snapped his fingers.

Instantly, the mountain of corpses erupted, and four creatures emerged from the bodies. They were made of black threads and yarns, intertwining to look like legs and arms. Each possessed a mask serving as their face. One represented a red dragon; another was purple and featureless; another was white, and seemed to represent a wolf; the last was yellow, and appeared to be made to look like a snake. Three ran toward Zabuza, Kazama and Jiraiya, one, the red dragon, stayed motionless, and Amaterasu charged at Kuebiko.

"The Earth Grudge Fear," the Sannin explained, forming a Rasengan and waiting for the white wolf mask to come. "Each mask contains a heart that makes the structure function. They can use elemental manipulation, and the threads are hard enough to pierce your body."

"As long as I can pierce _them_," Zabuza replied, rushing at the purple mask.

"Same deal," Kazama said, extending the Kusanagi at the yellow snake. The creature easily avoided the sword, and opened its mouth, unleashing a powerful blast of fire. The blonde jumped on the side, and the attack went past him, hitting a burning house… which resulted in a huge explosion.

Leaving the boy to his own fight, Zabuza focused on his opponent. The purple mask shifted, and a hole opened on it. A rain of shuriken was projected at the swordsman, who used the Beheading Knife as a shield while running. Slamming the blade on the mask, making it crack a bit, the swordsman had to take a step back to dodge the threads. He avoided being crushed, and swung his blade to cut the creature in two.

The shuriken the creature had shot before moved into the blade's way, deflecting it. They winded around the yarns forming the monster's arms, and began to _melt_. _Elemental manipulation? _Zabuza grunted, as the liquid metal solidified, taking the form of two long swords, one in each of the creatures' 'hands'.

It sharpened them, and then charged at Zabuza.

Not wasting his breath, the swordsman easily parried one horizontal swing, and lowered his head to dodge the second blade. The monster took a step back to avoid Zabuza's counterattack, and twirled like a top, quickly advancing toward the swordsman with the clear intent of shredding him to death. Using his Beheading Knife as a shield, the former Kiri-nin checked the monster, making it lose its balance. The mask shifted uncomfortably, and it began to agitate its blades like a madman, assaulting Zabuza with multiple quick strikes.

On the defensive, the missing-nin grunted when two swings grazed his chest and shoulder's skin slightly. Waiting for an opportunity, Zabuza suddenly seized one. Pushing the creature back with another thrust of his blade, he head butted the mask with all his strength. He grinned slightly when he heard the sound of it cracking.

The creature jumped backward, half his mask falling down on the ground. A pulsating heart was revealed, and the monster seemed to hiss in pain. Its two blades melted, and fused.

In less than two seconds, the masked monster was wielding an exact copy of the Beheading Knife.

_The man with the Beheading Blade stared at him darkly, his red cloak floating. "So you want to kill me? Has Yondaime-sama decided to test us?"_

_"I'm not here for Yagura," he replied. "I am here for the blade."_

_"So you want my blade and my place? For Yondaime-sama's respect?"_

_"For my ambition, for my land, for power, but more importantly, for my _family_."_

_"Your family was impure," the member of the Blood Police replied with a cold tone, as if he was talking about weather. "You proved yourself not to have inherited their defect. You should thank me, to have freed you from them before they could infect you with their weakness. They were keeping you down."_

_"Currently, you're the only one restraining me," Zabuza shot back, charging. "To advance, to accomplish my goals, I will kill you!"_

Unimpressed, the swordsman waggled the fingers of his free hand. "Bring it on… copycat."

The creature hissed again, and rushed. Its sword was lifted for a vertical strike. Unfazed, Zabuza waited for the assault.

When the creature swung its weapon, the swordsman simply took a step to his left side. The beast's sword ended up embedded in the ground, and it didn't lift it again as fast as it should have. In one horizontal swing, Zabuza cut the mask in half.

The mask and the heart inside shattered in a mix of blood and wood, and the monster's body fell on the ground, lifeless.

"Idiot." Zabuza smashed what was left of the heart under his foot, just to be sure. "I wielded this kind of blade almost all my life. I know all its strengths… and _weaknesses_." He turned to see what his allies where doing. The Nidaime Hokage and Amaterasu were locked in a duel of ninjutsu, the former using water and the latter fire.

Kazama's Kusanagi pierced the yellow snake mask. Blood fell on the ground, quickly followed by the creature itself.

Jiraiya had literally pulverized his opponent. It had been reduced to a large red spot, in the middle of a snow white field.

_Haku created a wall of ice. "Zabuza-sama, I did it!" Kimimaro smiled, making a snow castle nearby._

_"Good," he replied, caressing her hair. She was so young, so innocent, so eager to gain love and adoration... everything he wasn't himself._

_But nobody, not even Kisame, knew how much he would give up to not change that. No one had to face the ordeals as he, or Haku, or Kimimaro, did._

_He would make Yagura's madness stop once and for all._

"An Ice user?" Zabuza glared at the snow.

"It didn't have the time to put its abilities to use." Jiraiya stared at the two other destroyed beasts. "They all seemed to be able to use unique elemental releases. Magnet Release, Explosion Release… Scorch Release," he stated, looking at the last monster. It was currently burning the villagers' dead bodies and houses, reducing the place to big field of ashes. "I can't imagine how long it took to collect these hearts."

"Years." Amaterasu apparently listened to their conversation, while warping space to absorb a miniature tsunami summoned by the Nidaime. "It has been a while since I have lost one of my hearts, let alone three… I am impressed." He stared at the group. "Why don't we join forces?"

"We already refused your offer before, Madara." Kazama summoned his chains of chakra. "We are not interested."

"You should be. No matter how much you deny it, we are more alike than you think. We were both born with unique powers, and a great destiny. We are the sons of powerful clans, and we both have rejected Konoha and its ideals. The only thing you lack is a vision, youngster." He stared at Zabuza. "And you… I can see your entire story in your eyes. The desire for power animates us both. The desire to be the strongest, the greatest, to change the world in our image, we share it."

_"I am a reflection of you, Zabuza," Yagura smirked sadistically. "The darkness lurking in some corner of your mind. We are survivors. Predators. We eat the flesh of the weak, and we never give up on our prey. So why don't you join my pack, instead of trying to destroy it?"_

_"Because I am not you," Zabuza replied, Kisame and the five other members of the Seven Swordsman backing him up. "You are just a deluded monster. A rabid, insane animal. I am a man. I want something other than bloodshed, meat and survival, Yagura." He raised his blade. "I want a future!"_

"We may have some things in common," Zabuza agreed. "And that's where our similarities end. I am not going to join someone that killed my teammate just because we share some qualities. You represent everything I stood against, Madara." He joined his fingers. "I cannot let a second Yagura succeed at creating another Kirigakure."

"Then this is regrettable," Amaterasu stated, the last masked beast winding around his body and vanishing under his armor. "Naruto Uzumaki is the only need I need alive. The rest of you shall perish by my hand."

"No, _you _shall!" The Nidaime joined his fingers, the liquid he had created previously accumulating around him. "Water Release: Water Dr-"

"-agon!" Zabuza shouted at the same time, the two ninjas combining their technique. The water took the form of multiple dragons, all flying at Amaterasu. The Uchiha stayed unfazed. His eye became a hole in space that absorbed the attack.

The mad samurai leapt backward, avoiding Kazama's chains. Jiraiya seized the opportunity to hit him in the back with his right palm. Black spots began to cover Amaterasu's armor. The Uchiha attempted to punch the Sannin, who quickly lowered his head and slammed his fist on the bastard's face. Madara was pushed a few meters backward by the blow, but he appeared more surprised than hurt.

"It should have gone through me." The Uchiha glared at Jiraiya. "This is the same technique that puppeteer used on Susanoo, isn't it?"

"The basis is the same," the Sannin replied, beginning a jutsu. "No more intangibility or space-warping."

"I still have the Sharingan," the Uchiha replied, his visible pupil changing form. "Heavenly Fire: Amaterasu!"

Surprised, Jiraiya barely had the time to blink before being put on fire.

Ignoring the man's shrieks, Zabuza rushed to hit Amaterasu, Kazama following him. Kuebiko ran to Jiraiya's side, and the Uchiha locked eyes with Zabuza. The samurai suddenly vanished.

Zabuza then distinctly felt the bastard's punch connect with his face.

His nose breaking under the strength of the attack, the swordsman from Kiri was propelled on his back. Quickly getting up, he saw Kazama trying to impale the Uchiha with the Kusanagi. An exact copy of the blonde's blade appeared in his hand, and he easily parried the Uzumaki's swings. He quickly thrust the boy back, dodged his chains, and grabbed him by the neck.

The two locked eyes, and Kazama paled, instantly knocked out. A powerful Genjutsu, probably.

"You are too valuable to be put in danger." The masked monster from before lurked out of the man's armor, seized the unconscious blonde, and crawled away. Amaterasu then rotated to face Zabuza. "As I said, you shall die today. You cannot stand against me... against War made flesh."

_**"I shall destroy you all!"**__ Yagura growled, taking a monstrous, reptilian form. __**"I shall eat you, and become stronger by devouring your strength! I am the ultimate predator, and to me, you're just preys!"**_

"I doubt it," Kuebiko stated, appearing at Zabuza's side. "Let's take him down."

_"Together, we can defeat him," Kushiare Kiriura stated calmly, Yagura adopting the shape of the Sanbi. "Before his... reinforcements... arrive."_

The swordsman from Mist frowned. "No."

Both Amaterasu and Kuebiko stared at him in surprise. "We must fight together, if we want to beat him." The Nidaime stated, pointing a finger at the half-burned body of Jiraiya. "He won't be able to help you."

"If that bastard's spawn reaches the other Madara, then they will teleport away with the brat and use him for whatever goal they have, and everything is lost," Zabuza growled. "He might be an idiot, but he's still one of my students. I'm the only one that gets to hurt him." He glared at Amaterasu. "I will take care of him."

"But he wi-"

"Leave now!" Zabuza ordered as he blocked Amaterasu's path.

Kuebiko stared at him with a clear look of respect. "I will not fail," he promised, using a Shunshin to vanish.

"That is very noble of you." The Uchiha snapped his fingers, and the Kusanagi in his hand was replaced by a long, black katana. "I doubt you will delay me for long, but I admire your valor. I shall make your death as epic as I possibly can."

_**"Sacrificing yourself to buy time for your allies to escape your failed coup?"**__ Yagura chuckled, his eyes burning with insanity. The shredded and dismembered bodies of his defeated enemies were lying next to his reptilian, green legs. __**"You cannot even slow me down!"**_

_Looking sideways, on the back of Kisame, Zabuza eyed his companion, Mangetsu Hozuki. The young man was smirking confidently. "Zabuza-sama is the heart of our revolution, and my superior. His experience is too precious to be lost." He breathed heavily. "Please, Zabuza-sama... survive."_

_"Mangetsu..." Zabuza whispered. He didn't know if his friend had heard him. If only he hadn't been wounded..._

_"We can't do anything for him," Kisame muttered with regret. "His death will be avenged."_

_He was lying of course. Everything had been lost that day._

Roaring, Zabuza swung his Beheading Knife. Amaterasu dodged it, and replied with a horizontal slash. Zabuza blocked the blow with his blade, facing a tornado of steel. Most of the cuts were aimed at the swordsman's head and legs, and Zabuza felt quickly outmatched. His enemy was incredibly fast.

Soon, he felt the katana grazing his skin at different points of his body.

Calmly, Zabuza tried to propel Amaterasu back with a thrust of his blade. However, the Uchiha wasn't like his minion, and was barely shaken. Zabuza faked a low cut, only to change it to a high one. The surprised samurai still dodged the beheading blow, but the blade touched his mask, damaging it slightly.

"Impressive." Amaterasu stated. "Now, my turn."

His katana slipped through Zabuza's guard, and slashed the left side of his face vertically.

Pain raced through the Kiri-nin's body, as he lost half of his vision. "My eye!" He roared, feeling the blood descending toward his mouth.

"I am not stopping there." With his last eye, Zabuza saw Amaterasu raising his blade. "Swallow Reversal."

When the Uchiha stroke downward from above, the former Kiri-nin managed to use the Beheading Knife to shield himself.

But when Amaterasu immediately stroke again, from below this time, he didn't react fast enough. Steel met his left arm roughly at the elbow, and cut it in half.

Shrieking in pain, Zabuza put his last hand on the wound, trying to prevent it from bleeding. His sword had fallen on the ground, and Amaterasu looked upon him. "It seems I hav-"

He didn't finish his sentence. Zabuza head butted his mask, and seized his blade with his last hand before the Uchiha could recover. Using all the strength he still had, the swordsman attempted to smash the samurai with the enormous sword, swinging it with one arm…

However, it was all for naught.

The Uchiha deflected the sword with his katana, and in one strong motion, made Zabuza lose the grasp he had on his blade. Unwilling to give up, the missing-nin punched the bastard's mask the moment he knew that he wouldn't be able to hold onto his weapon, moving faster than his opponent could react, and breaking it utterly. Its shards of wood fell on the ground, and the former swordsman of Kiri stared at Amaterasu's face.

It wasn't a human face.

"If you want a fistfight, I will gladly give it to you." The Uchiha dropped his weapon, and punched Zabuza in the chest, breaking ribs. His face's flesh was deathly pale, but also sick and twisted. The visage had neither lips nor a nose. The red Sharingan were bleeding slightly, making the whole thing look like a surreal horror.

Distracted by the image, Zabuza unfortunately let his guard down as the bastard then began to beat the hell out of the swordsman from the Mist, his blows savage and merciless. Amaterasu seized the swordsman's hair, and pushed his head against his armored knee. The former Kiri-nin felt blood against his tongue, and maybe one tooth. He rushed to recuperate the Beheading Knife, using it as a shield…

Amaterasu's next punch shattered it utterly, before connecting with his chest, drawing more blood.

Zabuza couldn't believe his own eyes. The sword that stopped a demon's assault, torn apart Yagura's demonic flesh, and never failed him… had been broken, reduced to mere black shards.

"Your Beheading Sword is now broken, just as you will soon be." Amaterasu stood over the wounded swordsman from Kiri.

"No…" Zabuza growled, tightening his hand on the pommel and the shard attached to it. "It's the Beheading Knife to me..."

Amaterasu frowned. "Why so?"

"Swords are made to cut." Zabuza, mustering all the strength he still had, attempted to hack his enemy with his broken blade. "Knives are made to _butcher_!"

Amaterasu easily caught his hand, stopping the blow. "Your bones, on the other hand, are made to be _broken_," he stated. Right after, he tightened his grip and crushed Zabuza's forearm. The swordsman heard his bones being broken in a loud crack. He dropped the pommel.

… And seized it with his teeth, biting through the bandages around his mouth.

In a flash, he slammed the shard on the surprised samurai's skull, making it break in a flow of white blood and bones. Amaterasu fell loudly on the ground, and Zabuza jumped on his body. He shredded apart the corpse time and time again, blinded by his bloodlust.

Suddenly, no more body. Only the ground.

A powerful kick hit him in the nose. He was propelled backward, but he refused to lie down. He stood still… even if he didn't know how. Amaterasu was completely unharmed, except one of his eyes had turned white. "I underestimated you. You cost me one of Itachi's eyes. This is incredible."

A hand caught Zabuza's neck.

"I have a hard time believing you can still stand," Amaterasu whispered, lifting the swordsman above the ground. "The blood loss will kill soon, but you have fought with valor." Another katana appeared in his hand. "Any last word, worthy warrior?"

The wounded soldier attempted to slash Amaterasu's face again, but the Uchiha avoided the blow.

"If so… I shall still offer you a warrior's death." Zabuza could only watch as his enemy raised his weapon.

… and dropped him on the ground, a Rasengan hitting his back.

"Go to hell," Jiraiya spurted, as the Uchiha fell on the ground, his armor broken. The Sannin's body was charred with burns, yet he was not dead.

"You are still alive?" Amaterasu asked, moving his head to the side to face his opponent. "My fire should have killed you, yet you managed to sneak up on me. Ho-"

A Rasengan crushed his skull.

"The Sage Mode accelerated my recovery, and the Nidaime extinguished the flames. How, I don't know. As for how I sneaked up on you… long ago, I developed a jutsu giving me limited invisibility to sneak up on girls. And I'm not a good infiltrator for nothing. I know how to make _no _noise. To boot, the natural energy of the Sage Mode easily hides my chakra signature." He smirked. "Another question, mister War made flesh?"

The corpse suddenly vanished.

Pale, Jiraiya looked at the unharmed Uchiha, standing a few meters from the Sannin. His two eyes were now white. "You damn spawn of the Senju..." Amaterasu growled. "I will break you so hard you won't stand anymore. I will shatter every bone in your body." A red light appeared in the skies, taking the appearance of a red Sharingan. "Storm of Blades!"

Hundreds of swords descended from heavens.

"Crap!" Jiraiya cursed, seizing Zabuza's body and running to dodge the projectiles. "How the hell can he still do that?"

"I might not be able to warp space anymore, thanks to your seal," Amaterasu spat, "but my pocket dimension can still do it on its own. I cannot use it to travel or absorb, but it can still work as an instant armory and weapon launcher."

_He is trying to locate us by sound, _Zabuza realized_,_ remembering his last battle with the man. _That's how he guessed my position last time... fortunately, Jiraiya is too experienced to fall for this. But he can't be stealthy while carrying me... _His lone eye stared at the Sannin's face, conveying a clear message.

_Drop me._

Biting his teeth, Jiraiya reluctantly obeyed. He then turned to face Amaterasu.

"Gate of Opening, open."

The Uchiha vanished, before reappearing a few meters from the two. The bastard punched the ground, shattering it utterly. He was obviously trying to hit his enemies randomly. "Gate of Healing, open." He moved again, and destroyed another part of the landscape with a kick. "Gate of Life, open!" His body began to radiate with chakra. "Gate of Pain... OPEN!" Sinister white chakra winded around his body. _**"Gate of Limit... OPEN!"**_

Then, the Uchiha began to race.

Like a red comet, Amaterasu randomly ran through the village, demolishing the remnants of houses and burning the soil under his feet. _He's trying to hit us randomly, _Zabuza thought. _He will ram us and beat us to death... if the shock doesn't kill us first..._

His vision fading, the swordsman was helpless as he saw a red flash coming into his direction...

… And was stopped by Jiraiya.

Almost knocked out by the resulting shockwave, Zabuza gaped. The Sannin's leg was next to his head, the man wrestling with the enhanced Uchiha. _Sage Mode must have increased his strength... this is incredible. _The swordsman chuckled difficultly. _Was I really worth it?_

In one powerful move, Amaterasu grabbed Jiraiya's neck, lifted him, and slammed the Sannin on the ground. Before he could react, Jiraiya received a kick in the face, drawing blood. The Uchiha stood over the man, a katana appearing in his left hand.

_He's going to kill him... _Zabuza realized. _He's going to kill him... and then..._

A picture of Haku being beheaded formed in his mind. He saw Amaterasu, wielding Yagura's face, laughing madly on a burning battlefield. Children were killing each other, people in red cloaks were slaughtering entire families, and the Sanbi was devouring the fallen. In the center of this madness, a whole mountain made of the corpses of the blonde brats Zabuza had trained, puppeteers, kunoichi, the swordsmen of Kiri...

And atop it, Haku.

Not even aware of what he was doing, Zabuza stood on his legs.

His last forearm hanging useless, a shard of the Beheading Knife in his mouth, the swordsman observed Amaterasu slowly raising his weapon. Stealthily, Zabuza touched the fountain of blood he had called an arm with his broken blade. Drinking the red nectar, the shard grew, until it looked like a sword again.

_Silent Killing, _Zabuza thought, running toward Amaterasu.

The Uchiha never heard him coming. The Beheading Knife connected with his chest, breaking through the armor, and harming the vital organs. Propelled backward, Amaterasu crashed on his back, his body covered with white blood.

"Never... surrender..." Zabuza rasped, the sword falling from his mouth. He stared at the very much bruised and shocked Jiraiya. "Never... give up..."

A powerful shockwave shook the earth. His legs failed him, and he fell.

Fortunately, two hands caught him midway. "Damn..." Jiraiya whispered. "I can't believe it... that was awesome." He stared at Amaterasu... and paled. Imitating him, Zabuza didn't feel his last eye widening. He had lost the sense of touch.

Amaterasu was standing, blood flowing from his wound. Slowly, he walked toward them, one hand on his chest and the other raised. When he reached the two, his hand approached Zabuza's face...

The Uchiha loudly fell on his back... defeated.

"Astonishing..." The Uchiha whispered. "I could kill a Bijuu... and you two managed to beat me. To beat the unstoppable." He chuckled. "Congratulation, worthy warriors. You won."

"You don't seem so surprised," Jiraiya replied at the dying Uchiha. "No mental breakdown?"

"I have prepared for my death, ever since I chose how to live my life." The Uchiha seized a portion of the ashes surrounding them, letting it flow through his fingers. "A violent life leads to a violent death. The important thing, is to die with meaning and honor." He stared at Zabuza, his eyes white. "Just like we did."

"It could have ended differently," the Sannin stated.

"No. No, it couldn't have." Amaterasu stared at the sky. "I was what remained of a dead era. My end was simply inevitable. Izuna made me promise on his deathbed to never renege on my loyalty to our code and honor. I followed this promise, even as my own clan turned to the ninja way, until the very end. That is all that matters." He chuckled. "You realize the youngster is a lost cause, don't you?"

"We will recuperate Kazama from you," the Sannin stated.

"It will only delay the inevitable." Amaterasu replied. "The August Star will have him in the end, no matter what you do. With him, it shall restart the world back from zero, until everything has been remade in its image. The world of endless warfare I envisioned might come into being, with or without me to witness it. It will depend on his wishes."

"What the hell… are you talking about?" Zabuza whispered.

"I am foreseeing the future, just like Izuna. Maybe this is just a hallucination, but I can see her... your apprentice. She will become a renowned warrior, and surpass even yourself, Momochi Zabuza. In the end, you made the right choice. You left a legacy." He chuckled. "Unlike me. Fitting, I guess. Even if war is a powerful force… it has no future." His eyes widened, before closing. "My last heart ceased to beat. Life is a battle, and I lost it. Izuna... please, forgive your failure of a brother."

The samurai's body turned to ashes, leaving only an empty armor and a katana behind.

"Old man…" Zabuza grunted. "Do you think… I can survive? I can't… I can't feel my body."

The Sannin's lack of answer was enough.

"I see…" He chuckled, spitting blood. "No pun intended…"

"Don't die on me!" Jiraiya growled, taking him in his arms. "I still have the time to get you to your medic and beat some asses! Plus, your daughter would never forgive me!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Broken Man, Kakashi<strong>_

Never before had watching Naruto's face been so painful.

"Here I go sensei!" The blonde with both the Sharingan and Rinnegan grinned wickedly, pointing his finger at his former teacher. The experienced jonin sensed an invisible force pull him toward the blonde's direction. Sasuke jumped toward him mid-air, kunai in his hands. Forcing himself to move, Kakashi kicked his former Uchiha disciple in the face, and both hit the possessed Naruto as a result.

Taking a step backward, Kakashi, prepared to incinerate his students with a jutsu… until Sasuke locked eyes with him.

_Kakashi blinked. "You want to ask a girl out?"_

_His student nodded. Sasuke was passively observing the scene. Their teacher was sweating. So it finally arrived... "Kids, I am going to give a very important lesson today. Sit on the grass with me."_

_They obeyed, ready to listen to their master's wisdom. The background was especially appropriated: a clearing under a big tree. The sage began to talk. "When a boy and a girl love each other very much, er, well, they try to 'know each other', if you know what I mean."_

_"I don't, and I'm not sure I want to," Naruto stated. The second boy nodded._

_"When they try to know each others, the boy begins by saying 'wanna make out?', 'my bed is too cold', 'I want you to be with me' or 'I want you to spend time with me'. Then, they have to touch the skin of the other. Don't ask me why, it's a universal rule. Then, they must 'prepare', with a kiss or two, and then... it goes on naturally."_

_"I understand!" Naruto shouted, as he rose up. "I must go see Sakura, ask her to be with me, touch her, and then kiss her. That's what I must do, right?"_

_Kakashi nodded. "At least, that's the secret the pervert prophet Chibaku revealed to me, once I offered him my banjo."_

_"I will have to thank him, the next time I see him," the blonde genin declared. He stared at his teammate and teacher. "I feel ready, but can you please stay near me? If I screw up..."_

_"You won't," the jounin said reassuringly._

_"We're with you." Sasuke added._

_"Thank you," Naruto declared. "I will immediately go to Sakura."_

Memories defiling before his eyes, Kakashi stayed motionless, even as Sasuke's arm turned into a metallic canon and lightened up.

_"What is it, Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked the blonde, as he approached her before Tazuna's house._

_"Sakura," he started, apparently struggling to maintain a calm face. "I want you to be with me," he managed to blurt out._

_The girl opened her mouth in surprise, blushing. "What?"_

_He took her hands within his own, and kissed her on the lips, much to her astonishment. While Sasuke was only smirking, Kakashi was grinning widely under his mask. The couple stayed like that a moment, like statues, until they separated. Both were panting heavily._

_"That... that was unexpected..." Sakura muttered, as red as a tomato. "But... enjoyable..."_

_"Ye-Yeah," Naruto said with difficulties. "So..."_

_"So what?"_

_"Are you okay dating me?"_

_She smiled. "But of course."_

_"YES!" he jumped on place._

_"YES!" Kakashi imitated him. "Chibaku's advice work!"_

_**I am so happy for you two... and I hope things will stay like that forever.**_

Tears dripping from his eyes, Kakashi snapped out of the memories as a powerful beam of light was fired in his direction.

The ninja stayed immobile, his Susanoo appearing to protect him from the attack. His heart broken, Kakashi stared at his two students, horrified by what he was about to do. "Please… forgive me…" His Sharingan began to bleed. "Heavenly Fire... Amaterasu."

The two kids suddenly burst into black flames, and screamed, screamed, screamed, until their teacher almost was almost deafened. The shrieks shook the man to his very soul. Even as his students turned to ashes, the pain didn't leave.

Enraged like never before, Kakashi tilted his head to the side, glaring at the responsible of this horror. The Uchiha, after punching the blue toad back to its home, was easily blocking Naruko and Yugito's blows, even as they were wrapped in clouds of charka, red for the former and blue for the latter.

His ethereal armor shaped a Chidori in its hand, and Kakashi charged. "MADARA!"

The Uchiha looked at the source of the roar, and blinked. "Shinra Tensei!"

As the ball of lightning almost connected with the asshole's head, Kakashi was suddenly propelled backward, just like Yugito and Naruko. Crashing on his back, the jonin then felt something landing on the Susanoo's belly.

"I WILL KILL YOU!" Kakashi roared, as his armor's arms moved to crush the Uchiha. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHAT YOU DID TO ME?"

"I forced you to destroy what you loved the most." Madara blocked the Susanoo's hands with his own, and they began to shine. "It was meant to be painful, and it worked perfectly."

The Susanoo vanished in a blink of an eye, the chakra composing it absorbed by the Uchiha. Kakashi attempted to use the Amaterasu on his nemesis, but the madman put his right hand on the jounin's Sharingan, and his left on his victim's forehead. "Ready to die?"

A powerful kick wreathed in blue chakra connected with his white mask, propelling him backward. "Get up, Kakashi!" Yugito stated, one tail of chakra moving in her back. She placed herself between the jounin and Madara, and Naruko joined her. "We still have work to do!"

"Foolish girl…" The Uchiha roared, his hand transforming into a canon. "I am Susanoo, and I wield the eye of the gods! You cannot even hope to-"

"Dynamic entry!"

Susanoo blinked, as the pervert Naruto fell from above and slammed his hand on the bastard's mask. "Summoning Jutsu!"

A huge puff of smoke later, the pervert was standing atop a giant red toad… who himself was sitting on Susanoo.

"Hey, tadpole, I was taking off a nap!" The toad boss Gamabunta grumbled. He stared below and noticed Kakashi. "Hello, Kakashi, long time no see." He smirked when he noticed Yugito. "Who's the cute girl next to you?"

"Yugito Nii," the blonde lady answered. "You must be the legendary summon Gamabunta, I presume?"

"The one and only!" He chuckled. "I'm also the boss of the tadpole standing on my head, by the way."

"Speaking of that… when will I get promoted to boss myself?"

"When I will get crazy enough to appoint you as such, tadpole?" He grunted, before looking at the ground. "Hey, there is something under me…"

The giant toad was suddenly thrown in the air. He landed dozens of meters away, the resulting shockwave almost made a newly-standing Kakashi fall on the ground. At the spot where Gamabunta had been, Susanoo was standing, surrounded by a blue, ethereal warrior. It looked like an armored knight, covered with spikes, and one of its eyes was glowing with a red light.

"I have had enough of all of you!" The Uchiha roared, his armor's left hand turning into a bow and the second into a sword. "Now, you face my true power! Look at your doom, and despair!"

"I don't know who you are, guy," Gamabunta stated, unsheathing his blade. "But these people are under my protection, so will have to get past me. READY TO KICK HIS ASS, TADPOLE?"

"Let's rock!" The pervert shouted.

In a blink of an eye, Gamabunta jumped toward Susanoo.

"We have to get out of here!" Yugito stated, as two giant blades met. "Or else we might get caught in the crossfire."

Kakashi nodded, but gave one last glare to the Uchiha. _It's only a setback, Madara. I promise it._

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Puppeteer, Chibaku<strong>_

His new puppets were awesome. Made of dead bodies, but awesome none the less.

"MORE!" He shouted madly, as his two humanoid dummies unleashed a real sea of fire on Tsukiyomi. "MORE FIRE! MORE BURNING! FLAMETHROWERS ARE AWESOME!"

_**My chakra is better, **_the Kyuubi replied.

_Can't hear you, can't hear you..._

"No, they aren't," Sasori stated, his wooden soldiers firing multiple missiles. "He's absorbing the fire."

"Indeed." Space twisted, and the flames vanished. Tsukiyomi, however, didn't swallow the missiles. He simply moved out of the way. "I remember what you did to my teammate last time we met. I suppose some seal was put on these projectiles to tamper my abilities? Why else would you use projectiles I can easily absorb?"

"Who knows?" Of course, Chibaku knew the Uchiha had guessed right. Sasori was just too mean to admit it. "I have other tricks in my hand."

"I do not doubt it." The Uchiha absentmindedly let the transformed Kitsune get past him. The creature had attempted to bite him from behind, but only managed to land next to Chibaku, confused. Gaara and Haku fired multiple arrows of sand and shards of ice at the man, which _also _went through him. "These attacks are pointless. Just tell me where the traveler is, and we will leave without harming anyone."

"A few weeks ago, I might have accepted," Sasori replied coldly. "But that was before you killed one of my assistants. Before you trashed my priceless collection. Before you proved yourself to be completely untrustworthy. And, more importantly, before you tried to kill my _legacy_."

Chibaku was completely shocked, as his teacher's usual stoic expression turned into one of rage. _His legacy? Is he talking… about me?_

_**Of course he is. I can't believe someone can be that dense...**_

"I prepared to fight you, Madara." The wooden soldiers' chests opened, revealing large canons. "So please, just die already."

The canons fired purple beams of light. They seemed to hit Madara, resulting in a large explosion and cloud of smoke.

"Whoa…" Chibaku stated, impressed. "What was that?"

_**Who cares? This jerk is finally dead!**_

"Beams of focused, concentrated chakra." Sasori frowned. "He survived."

_**... note to self: don't tempt fate again.**_

Indeed, when the smoke cleared, Tsukiyomi was still standing, unfazed. But he wasn't alone. A purple, ethereal creature was surrounding him, sheltering him. It looked like a demonic humanoid with a devilish face… and a _second_ one behind the first. The monster had four arms, and his fingers looked more like claws than anything. Its eyes were glowing with a yellow, sinister light. The whole chakra construct was radiating with a malevolent power.

"I see you have learned your lesson." Madara clapped. "Indeed, focused enough, pure chakra is able to harm me. Very bright of you to have figured it out. I suppose the traveler's chains gave you this idea?"

Sasori didn't bother to answer.

"It is not polite to ignore your elders, youngster." Madara joined his hands, and much to Chibaku's horror, his armor did the same. _Three hand-seals synchronized sequences… this is going to __**suck**__!_

_**Relax, I can make you recover from anything he can throw at you...**_

"Celestial Aster: Fire Star."

For a few seconds, nothing happened.

Then…

The sky began to redden.

A red ball of light fell from the sky toward them, like a bloody tear. It was shining, a miniature sun ready to burn the world.

_**... or maybe not. I would have liked to say it has been an honor, brat, but it hasn't. At all.**_

Suddenly, the comet exploded mid-air.

Chibaku barely had the time to blink before a powerful explosion knocked him unconscious.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Deceiver, Tsukiyomi<strong>_

The destruction he brought down to earth was impressive.

When the small, icy rock from outer space exploded in the sky, it resulted in one of the most powerful explosions that had ever graced the land. The earth was still shaking, and even Madara had difficulties remaining standing. The last time he had used this technique, aka when he invented it, the Uchiha had made the comet explode too late, almost killing himself in the process. Fortunately, he had done it in Sunagakure's desert, so nobody had noticed...

The shockwave had razed the entire forest. No tree was left standing or remained unscathed. Most were burning, and blazes were quickly spreading, unleashing tons of smoke and ashes in the skies. That spectacle was simply… marvelous. He could have done more damage, but his teammates and his prey were in the vicinity. Mikaboshi would probably protect the latter, and the former would have survived the attack anyway, yes, but Madara hated to take unnecessary risks. This shockwave would have killed everyone in the vicinity, liquefying brains and annihilating bones. He would better be wary.

Tsukiyomi tried to locate his opponents. Without Susanoo to protect them, they should have been killed, but he didn't want to leave a job unfinished. As long as he didn't find what was left of their corpses, the Uchiha assumed they were still alive.

Hashirama had made a major mistake during their fight, not bothering to check out if his foe had survived or not. He would _not_ imitate the Senju in that regard.

And remarkably, they had survived. The Ice user Susanoo told him about had created a huge, nigh-unbreakable dome of ice around herself and her companions, shielding them from most of the conflagration. Yet, the shield was cracking and melting. Plus, the deceiver was pretty sure the shockwave had knocked most of them out.

Deciding to finish it the fight right now, Madara mentally ordered his ethereal armor to attack. "Yasaki Magatama," he spoke, as four arms formed a chain of chakra tomoe. They whirled above its head before the Susanoo projected them at the dome. The resulting explosion shattered it utterly, revealing multiple unconscious bodies…

… Behind a growing mass of sand.

_**"You hurt my baby," **_the Shukaku growled, as it took its original form. The giant tanuki glared at the Uchiha. _**"I WILL KILL YOU!"**_

Madara simply snorted. "People and creatures far stronger and determined than you told me that thousands of times already. You cannot even compare to them, tanuki, so return to your seal like the good pet you are... or else I will whip you into obedience."

_**"DIE!" **_The rabid Bijuu opened its mouth, and unleashed a powerful blast of wind at the Uchiha.

The Susanoo didn't even shake, unfazed by the attack.

"On a second thought, the whip is too good for you. Rabid animals like you only deserve shackles." One of the Susanoo's arms turned into a long purple chain, which wound around the Tailed Beast's body, making it scream in surprise and rage. It tightened, and crushed the Shukaku, reducing to sand. Its female Jinchuuriki fell on the ground, near her unconscious teammates.

Briefly, Tsukiyomi stared at his counterpart, who was fighting the great Gamabunta. The giant toad had been too far away from the exploding star to take damage, and was evenly matching the self-proclaimed fatalist. The summon was currently using a cooperation jutsu with the unknown Naruto on his head, breathing fire at the very pissed Uchiha lord. The combination between the boy and his summon was impressive. He had been trained well, but it wouldn't be enough.

Knowing his counterpart would triumph soon, Tsukiyomi eyed his defeated opponents. Unwilling to face the possibility of them getting up, he ordered his Susanoo to form another Magamata. _Nothing personal, _he thought, firing his projectiles. _It's just business._

A white warrior put itself in harm's way, shielding the sleepy ninjas with its body.

Tsukiyomi was slightly surprised, but more importantly, impressed. "Already using the Susanoo, Kakashi? For a non-Uchiha, this is an exceptional feat."

"Keep your compliments for yourself," Hatake replied. Yugito Nii and the female Naruto were standing behind him, ready to attack. "Just die."

"I just wanted to be polite, but if you do not care about praise…" Madara made hand-seals, imitated by his Susanoo's four arms. "Fire Release: Majestic Fireworks."

The Susanoo opened its mouth, and breathed a sea of blue fire toward Kakashi. His Susanoo stopped the attack, but Madara's Sharingan could see his enemy sweating.

_First rule about the Susanoo: it protects you from flames, but not from heat. _Kakashi was nearly out of chakra, that much was obvious. Either the Susanoo ended and fire would roast the jonin, or it would stand and Kakashi would be cooked. Win-win situation.

But of course, one bloody creature clawed the Susanoo's head, making it flinch and stop the blaze.

Madara had already seen Jinchuuriki using the 'Version-2' transformation, but Yugito was still something to behold in this state. The creature looked like a skinless cat, her flesh blue, her eyes yellow, her body radiating with power disproportional for her size, and two tails were balancing in her back. Simply making his armor flinch was impressive.

Of course, the Susanoo simply punched her in the face in retaliation, propelling her a few meters away. Her back met the ground, shaping a little crater.

_It seems cats do not always land on their paws… _Tsukiyomi thought, his armor easily stopping a punch from the female Naruto, who was clad in a red shroud of chakra, two tails behind her back. The Susanoo slapped her away and sent her crashing on Kakashi's own armor with enough strength to make it crack. The white warrior vanished, and both the jonin and girl dropped on the ground, knocked out. Observing the red chakra receding, Madara then turned to face the newly standing Yugito.

The blonde lady had retaken a humanoid appearance, but was still clad in a blue shroud of demonic chakra. Opening her mouth, she fired a huge cone of fire at Tsukiyomi. While the Susanoo protected him from the flames, he could sense the heat increasing.

_She figured it out. _Tsukiyomi was impressed by the lady's brilliance; the kunoichi had guessed what he had planned to do to Kakashi, and used the trick on its inventor. _Unfortunately, it won't be enough. I shall show you what a true Katon master can do._

"Fire Release: Blaze Eater." His Mangekyo Sharingan activated, summoning the flames of Amaterasu. The unnatural inferno began to devour Yugito's, almost reaching her mouth. When the lady interrupted the jutsu, taking a step back for good measure, one of the Susanoo's arms caught her and slammed her against the ground, knocking her unconscious.

Dropping the body, Madara prepared to kill his defeated foes, when he detected a familiar chakra signature. "So you indeed captured him, Amaterasu," he whispered to the masked monster walking toward him. It was holding the traveler in its threads. "Very good."

A jet of pressurized water hit the mask in its back, making it's explode in a mix of blood and wood.

Surprised, Tsukiyomi was propelled backward by a huge ball of water. He and his Susanoo landed on their back in a large cloud of ashes.

They got up… just in time to see a ghost seizing the blonde and putting him on his back.

"YOU?" Madara couldn't believe his own eyes, and lost his composure. "Tobirama?"

"You can call me Kuebiko," he replied, using only one hand to make seals. A tornado of water whirled under the Susanoo, making it fly.

"How is this possible?" Madara wondered out loud, using a wind technique to float on the air and land peacefully. "How can you be there, alive and standing, Senju?"

"You are not the only one to have survived through ages." Summoning a large amount of water, the Nidaime Hokage transformed it into a torrent that slowly pushed Madara backward.

"I will correct this." Tsukiyomi was both enraged and delighted to see one of his deadliest foes alive. "It will feel so good to crush you."

"The feeling is mutual." Mixing the water with the soil, Tobirama used it to cover the Susanoo, making it sink through the muddy ground. He was trying to bury Madara alive. "I will finish what Hashirama started, years ago."

"Even Hashirama and his wife together couldn't defeat me now." Madara's Susanoo used its claws to get him out of the Nidaime's trap. "Your brother striking me down made me stronger than ever. My endless hatred purged me of my flaws. My brother's love kept me determined and willful." He began another three way hand-seal sequence. "My Susanoo is now empowered by my and Izuna's dreams. It cannot be broken, it cannot be defeated."

"I wouldn't say that."

_Another pest again? _The newcomers were a half-burned man, holding a mortally wounded Zabuza Momochi in his arms. "Jiraiya…" Madara whispered, recognizing the person. "What happened to Amaterasu?" _They can't have defeated him… no one could._

"Zabuza killed him." Jiraiya smirked, confirming Tsukiyomi's darkest fears. "You're next."

"Amaterasu shall be avenged," Madara promised darkly, showing more anger than he did at the surprise appearance of the second Hokage. "I will burn you to death and scatter your ashes all around the earth for killing my companion."

"I shall have the Shinigami eat your soul for threatening my student and guests," Jiraiya replied confidently. He turned to face Tobirama. "Can you help him?"

"I can only delay his death," the Nidaime replied, wavering his hand over the wounded swordsman. His flesh became clad in a grey energy, and the blood ceased to shed. "The stasis will keep him alive until we find a medic to cure him."

"I won't leave you anything to repair, Senju. Fire Release: Majestic Firework." Madara's Susanoo unleashed the blast of blue fire at his enemies, hoping to burn them alive.

The Nidaime pointed his palm toward the incoming fire, encasing it in grey energy again. The inferno stopped advancing. "Time Dilatation," Tobirama whispered, the blaze being completely extinguished. Both Jiraiya and Madara's surprise were obvious.

"Madara... if you are the undisputed master of _space_," Tobirama said, a helmet appearing in his hands. The faceless mask covering his head, his whole body became covered with the strange grey energy. "Know you are facing the master of _time_."

Suddenly, Tsukiyomi didn't feel so unbeatable anymore.

As Jiraiya posed Zabuza on the ground, the Nidaime Hokage vanished... or at least, began to move so fast even the Sharingan could barely see a grey blur. Before Madara could even react, Tobirama punched the Susanoo's face. The sheer speed made the resulting shock powerful enough to throw the ethereal warrior, and the man inside, on their back.

The Nidaime Hokage jumped on the chakra construct, and began to punch it. Hundreds of lightning-fast blows per second began to make the Susanoo break. "Heavenly Fire: Kagutsuchi!" The black flames of the Amaterasu covered the Susanoo, forcing the Nidaime to relent before he could shatter the unnatural armor. He jumped next to Jiraiya, the grey power leaving him. Tobirama was holding his chest, apparently in pain.

"I knew it..." Madara got up, the Susanoo still ablaze. "This technique is very dangerous for you, isn't it? You accelerate yourself to increase your speed, but at the same time, you must accelerate your aging. I doubt your withered body can hold the pressure for long, even with this armor. I assume you survived for so long by putting yourself into some kind of controlled 'stasis'?" He smirked behind his mask. "The fact you didn't use this jutsu on me also indicates your power is not infinite. You can only completely control the time affecting yourself, and you have only a limited influence on the world surrounding you."

The Nidaime tightened his fists. "I guess I will have to try harder."

"You cannot defeat me, Tobirama." Tsukiyomi eyed the paralyzed Zabuza Momochi. "Simply keeping this man alive must drastically reduce your abilities. Your allies are either unable to fight, wounded, or on the verge of being defeated." He stared at Gamabunta, whose body was covered by cuts. The toad was struggling to keep his enemy's blade from hitting the Naruto on his head. "You cannot fight me _and_ protect your wounded... and you cannot escape with all of them. Your actions will only delay your death."

"You have forgotten something, Uchiha." Jiraiya joined his hands. "We have inherited the Shodaime's Will of Fire."

"A foolish ideal, and a crappy philosophy? This doesn't impress me. My _Will to Power_ shall prevail."

"True strength doesn't lie in ambition or egoism, Madara," Tobirama said.

"True strength lies in helping others and protecting the young generation," Jiraiya added. "Even at the cost of your life."

"True strength lies in having a vision and realizing it," Tsukiyomi snapped. "The end justifies all the means you need to make it a reality. Strength comes when you are not bound like a slave to a morality such as the Will of Fire, that promotes complete obedience to a place, an organization and a nation. It doesn't come from adherence to something as limited and subjective as _morality_. It comes by _rejecting_ these illusions and replacing them by your own personal values, and to live by your own code of conduct. Only this true, unique will can give someone the power to change the world we live in. That is the _Will to Power_! So go ahead." His Susanoo roared. "Use whatever jutsu, kamikaze attack or trick you have in stock. I will survive it, like I survived everything! You are nothing but an obstacle I shall overcome to realize my dream!"

"I might be an obstacle, but you will die trying to overcome me," Jiraiya finished his technique. "For my student's sake, I will kill you and your other self! Dead Consuming Seal!"

At this time, Tsukiyomi's Sharingan noticed a great, monstrous shadow forming in the Sannin's back, floating in the airs. "No…" the Uchiha growled in dread, realizing what was happening. "You used the Yondaime's technique? You summoned the god of death?"

"Who do you think taught it to him?" Jiraiya smirked, charging toward his enemy. Madara prepared to defend his life with all his strength, his Susanoo being ready. He knew it was futile, the Shinigami certainly having the power to break through his armor, yet the Uchiha could always kill the Sannin and stop the technique… or he could just grab Naruto Uzumaki by surprise and escape. _I will kill them another time,_ Tsukiyomi thought, as he prepared to teleport next to the blonde.

Mid-way, the Sannin suddenly changed direction. "What?" Jiraiya shouted, as he jumped on Madara's unconscious prey and grabbed him by the collar.

"What is happening?" Tobirama asked, putting a hand on the Sannin's shoulder… and being punched in the face for his trouble, falling on his back.

"I can't control my body!" Jiraiya shouted, the shadow behind him piercing his back with ethereal claws. A huge, spectral purple arm emerged from the Sannin's belly and seizing the traveler's head.

His eyes widening, Madara projected a fireball in the air, hoping his counterpart would see the signal and come at his help. Rushing, Tsukiyomi attempted to push back the possessed Sannin. "Back off, Shinigami!" _This is bad... very bad._

"What is happening?" Madara's counterpart asked, materializing next to him. "I was in the middle of a-" He stopped, noticing the shadow in Jiraiya's back. "Oh no…"

"We must stop it before it kills the boy!" Tsukiyomi shouted, his ethereal armor touching the spectral arm… and instantly vanishing.

_**"Your efforts are useless, spawn of the Void." **_A disembodied, guttural voice whispered in their mind. _**"Just wait for your turn. I shall devour the two of you soon enough."**_

"You think so?" Susanoo spat, using the Shinra Tensei to push the god back… but nothing happened, much to his surprise.

_**"The Rinnegan is a gift from my kind to yours. It cannot be used against me." **_The Shinigami apparently grunted. _**"To see one of the August Star's minions using it is disgusting, but it cannot compare to this boy." **_The spectral hand pushed its fingers in the blonde's forehead. _**"A human, stealing my power and using it to its own ends. And sheltering our hated nemesis' seed in his heart to boot. I cannot allow him to live and threaten the great tapestry of existence. I shall consume him."**_

_**"That is not going to happen."**_

The Shinigami suddenly retired its arm, a sinister purple glow enveloping the blonde.

_**"I apologize, Shinigami, but this is not possible," **_the August Star whispered, its voice cold and emotionless. _**"He is mine, now and forever."**_

_**"You cannot stop me, Dark Lord," **_the Shinigami rasped. _**"Izanagi's decree prevents you from intervening yourself. You cannot directly influence reality."**_

_**"I might not be able to use my own powers in such situation, indeed." **_The blonde's belly began to shine. _**"But it does not matter."**_

_**"For with my limited control of Naruto Uzumaki's seal, I can use **_**yours**_** instead**__**."**_

Madara barely had the time to blink, before a red light swallowed him, the people around him, and the entire world.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Death<strong>_

Enraged, the Shinigami could only watch helplessly as the August Star activated its stolen power, shattering the veil of reality so brutally a whole chunk of the land around them vanished, sent to all corners of reality. Death's power shielded the human called Jiraiya from being absorbed too, but the rest of the human present hadn't been so lucky. The August Star's spawns, the Bijuu holders, the disgusting abomination of wood and seals, the armored old man… they all vanished.

Only Jiraiya and his student remained. The boy sitting on his summon came near him, tending to the sage's wounds. They couldn't see the Shinigami. Only dying people and cursed ones could.

_**"I will not take my due," **_he whispered to his summoner's soul, not taking it as the price of his coming. _**"By informing me of a very important matter, you earned your life. Enjoy it."**_

Severing the connection between them, the Shinigami vanished, leaving the old man awakening and reunite with his student.

_**This is a very troublesome matter. **_By mere will, the god of death traveled through the veil of space, trying to locate where that blonde abomination had fled. Unfortunately, the August Star had seen it coming. The Dark Lord had immediately closed the breach it had caused, preventing the Shinigami from seeing the boy's destination. Worse, the power of the void was unnatural by nature, and beyond death.

Its vessels _couldn't be located_.

_**This is urgent. **_The Shinigami went on to inform its colleagues and superiors. _**The August Star is on the verge of obtaining the ultimate weapon it needs, and I am powerless to find it. All of the realms are in danger. **_The boy had to be found.

And ended.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Hokage<strong>_

"We received Iwagakure's confirmation, Hokage-sama." Sarutobi said, giving his superior a scroll with the Stone Village's symbol on it.

Reading what was written inside, and noticing Onoki's signature, Konoha's leader nodded. "It is now official," he stated, looking at the council. "The Chunin Exams shall take place in our Hidden Village."

The civilians present grinned ear to ear, the event being extremely good for commerce. Daimyo, visitors, foreigners, would all come and pay cash for services like from hotels to brothels. Obtaining the right to organize the exam had taken a lot of lobbying from the Leaf Village's part, but the Hokage knew it had been worth it.

The shinobi side of the council was also happy, but for different reasons. The Chuunin Exams would be a good occasion to spy on the various Village's new aces, and show off their own to attract investments. Only the always stoic Danzo wasn't smiling, but the Hokage knew his old mentor was… inwardly.

"There is still the problem of security." The Hokage stared at Fugaku. "The ANBU's newest report on Akatsuki's activities affirms the terrorist group will try to infiltrate our town to sabotage the tournament, and let's not speak about our other regular rivals and enemies. The Police Force won't probably be enough to keep an eye on all the foreigners in town. The Inuzuka clan shall bolster your forces."

The Uchiha Head's jaw tightened. He obviously resented not being trusted to handle the matter alone, even if he knew it had to be done. The Hokage was aware he would sulk for a few minutes, before grudgingly accepting the reason behind the decision.

"As you wish… Hokage-sama."

Konoha's leader inwardly winced. The title was always flat, and he could always detect a hint of pride under it, yet it was still strange. Years of receiving it had lessened the uneasiness, but not by much.

"Nothing else to add?" Everyone shook their head. "The meeting is then end-"

A flash of light suddenly filled the room.

Compulsively, the Hokage summoned his Susanoo armor to shield himself, waiting for a blast that never came. When the man regained his sight, the room was completely unscathed, and its occupants too…

There were just three newcomers.

"It hurts…" A little blonde girl was massaging her cheeks. "What happened?"

"Mother is confused… and angry," a redhead girl muttered.

"Waf," a monstrous, huge fox barked, dizzied.

Much like everyone present, Itachi Uchiha, Godaime Hokage of Konoha, blinked. "Who are you?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Wanderer, Kuebiko<strong>_

"This is a very strange story." Fukuro's voice was soft, yet full of care. "But I believe you, as I recorded your fight with Madara. Omoikane and Vajra sent me reports on similar breaches through multiple different realities, allowing us to reconstitute this Naruto Uzumaki's travels. However, the complete lack of second breach after the Responsible Jiraiya reality is a complete mystery, and past the Shinigami's summoning, your helmet ceased to work properly. I lack data."

"My guess is that whatever the Shinigami did to this boy made his power go out of control," Kuebiko stated. He couldn't remember the exact details of what happened, but he clearly saw a spectral hand grabbing the blonde's head. "Can't you tell me what happened to the rest of them?"

"Without breaches to analyze and your help… no. You should return to the base, if you want to locate them."

"I can't leave these people. They need all the help I can give them." He turned around to face them. The Naruto Uzumaki called Chibaku had been wearing a depressed look ever since they dropped in a forest, the man named Sasori wasn't trusting him in the slightest... and the girl called Haku was nearly catatonic.

Her master's death had shaken her to her very soul.

_Holding her master's hand, Haku couldn't keep her tears for herself._

_"Haku…" Zabuza whispered. "Be strong…"_

_"I… I can't, Zabuza-sama…" she cried. Chibaku was looking at her with a blank look, his hands shining with a green glow. Sasori was observing the scene darkly, and Kuebiko stared at her with compassion. He knew the man was doomed. He couldn't maintain the stasis longer, and the blonde wasn't experienced enough to save the swordsman. "You… you can't leave me alone…"_

_"I… I have to…" Zabuza spoke, blood dropping from his mouth. "I… I just wanted… to buy you time…"_

_"You did more than that," Kuebiko stated. "Without you, I wouldn't have arrived in time to prevent Madara from slaughtering everyone, or Amaterasu would have killed us and come to finish the rest of your group." He might have even slaughtered everyone. "It has been an honor to fight alongside you."_

_"That asshole… is dead…" The dying swordsman chuckled, before coughing violently. "He won't... make another... Kirigakure..."_

_Chibaku frowned darkly. "I…"_

_"Spare… it… I know… I'm gonna die…" Zabuza growled. "Blood… loss… how long?"_

_Chibaku bit his lower lips, probably regretting not being good enough to save his comrade. "Two minutes, maybe three."_

_"Enough…" The swordsman tightened his hold on Haku's hand. "Haku… please… become a strong… kunoichi…"_

_She dutifully nodded, pale. "I will. I promise."_

_"You… you must choose… your own path… not… my own…"_

_"I promise," she whispered. "I promise."_

_"Be… wary… the brat… like me…" Zabuza whispered. "At the end… of his way… only darkness…"_

_His hand touched her cheeks. "Your eyes… show me your eyes…"_

_The kunoichi obeyed, locking eyes with her adoptive father._

_"So… beautiful…" The man muttered. "So pure… keep them… like that…" Haku nodded, and Zabuza closed his eyes forever. "In the end… I succeeded… with at least one… dream…"_

_He then fell silent, never to speak again._

_And Haku screamed in anguish._

"Where are we?" Kuebiko asked his partner, as he got out of the forest. Zabuza had been buried under a tree, where no would disturb him. "I can't leave them in a dangerous world."

"I'm afraid you have dropped in a bad one. Reality-108, aka Tyrant World," Fukuro muttered with dread. "Class-5."

_World able to sustain human life, but the danger is considered maximal. Avoid at all costs. _"Could you explain?" He began to saw smoke in the skies.

"Diverging element: Hashirama Senju wasn't selected as Shodaime Hokage. His replacement, the self-proclaimed 'Glorious Leader', then started to invade the other nations in order to make his clan rule the earth."

"Great, so we share a reality with a mad dictator trying to take over this world?"

"I don't think you understand."

"Could you be clearer then?" Kuebiko got out of the forest, and paled.

"He already conquered it," the man stated, as his partner stared at a burning town. Masked soldiers were putting the murdered bodies on spikes, leaving the impaled corpses as a trace of their passage. "Now, he's in the process of _depopulating _it."

"What… is this guy's name?" Kuebiko wondered with dread.

"Uchiha Madara," Fukuro replied. "Although here he's better known as the _Devil_."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Recovering Man, Kakashi<strong>_

Their cell was dark, but rather comfortable. There were beds, and they were warm. The only source of light was an electric lamp above their head.

"Do you know where we are?" Yugito asked him. She obviously resented being left in the dark. And even more being imprisoned with someone she considered at best a rival.

"Yes," he replied, looking at the cell's closed door. "I have already visited these cells." He shrugged. "We are in Konoha's ANBU HQ. In the Interrogation Division's wing, to be precise."

"So we're-"

The door opened, and a familiar person entered, cutting Yugito's sentence. The newcomer was a man wearing an ANBU uniform, a mask, and white hair. "Hello, people."

Kakashi shook hands with him. "Hello… myself."

His counterpart chuckled, and Yugito stood still, observing the two in silent. "That's so strange… when you dropped on my ANBU team's training ground, unconscious, I first thought it was a trick… until we did DNA tests on you and… Obito's eye…" He frowned. "Do have an explanation?"

"I have one, yet I doubt you will believe me." Then again, if they did have done DNA tests on him, they could.

"Oh, don't worry, it can't be crazier than Gai's antics." The ANBU Kakashi looked at Yugito. "We also did the DNA test on you… though it's even crazier to believe, as Yugito Nii is currently Kumo's ambassador in Iwa and _thirty_."

"Like my companion, I doubt you will believe our explanations," Yugito replied.

"Oh, _I_ will believe anything you say to me," the new Kakashi chuckled. "And I'm sure the Hokage will too… or so I think. We're going to see him."

"What? Right now?" Yugito raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," the ANBU Kakashi told them, putting his hands on their shoulders. "He gave me one of his special kunai, so it will be quick."

Before he could even blink, the ANBU and two jonin found themselves teleported elsewhere. Kakashi instantly recognized the place. The Hokage's office was the same as the one the ninja had known…

The people inside, however…

Kakashi almost had a heart attack on the spot.

A man wearing the red and white Hokage robes was sitting in a chair. He was blond, with beautiful blue eyes. His face was handsome, but different from Naruto's. His skin was fairer, and he had no whiskers. He stared at Kakashi with a paternal, yet stern look.

Behind him, a pretty woman was standing. She was wearing black, adjusted robes. Her eyes were brown, her hair short and dark. Two rectangular purple marks were tattooed on her cheeks, signs of her being a member of the Inuzuka clan. Her face was so beautiful… and brought terrible memories to the jonin's mind.

"Minato-sensei…" Kakashi couldn't repress his tears. "Rin…"

"Kakashi…" Minato Namikaze whispered, less pale than Rin. "We have much to talk about."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Traveler, Kazama<strong>_

Pain.

That was what awakened him. His body was suffering, he had a big headache, and he had trouble seeing. Fortunately, the situation didn't last. He regained his sight, and the pain lessened. Kazama moved his head to see where he was. A room made of wood. A bed, with a blanket.

"You are finally awake?" a soft, female voice asked. Kazama's eyes drifted toward its source. It was a very pretty woman, extremely young. She had short blue hair, a pale skin, grey eyes, and a beautiful face.

"Who... who are you?" He asked, his view blurring slightly. "An angel?"

The woman raised an eyebrow, before smiling. She was wearing a black, simple dress, but it was obvious Kazama had guessed wrong. "No… my name is Konan."

"Konan?"

"Don't speak, you have a high fever." The woman posed her hand on his forehead, lessening the pain. A ninja technique, perhaps? "You have had luck that your friend brought you there. You are in good hands now."

"Indeed."

Kazama felt his blood freezing in his veins. "You…" he whispered.

"Hello, my friend." Tsukiyomi lowered his head to stare at the blonde. "Did you sleep well? We have much to talk about."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's notes:<em>**

**_And so this chapter ends. No omake this time, they might have lessened the whole shock and sadness factor I wanted to instill in your minds. There will be a few in the next chapter, I promise._**

**_Some of you might be surprised by how Zabuza's last stand turned out. Amaterasu lost because he decided to fight his enemy evenly, and when he went all out, Zabuza and Jiraiya had deprived him of his Sharingan, crippling his abilities and making him unable to use the Hachiman, his ultimate technique. If he had went all out from the beginning, he would have probably won and helped his counterparts slaughter almost everybody else._**

**_A victory is, after all, not only dependent on your own merits... but on your enemy's mistakes. Trying to fight honorably, as cynical as it sounds, most of the time ends up backfiring for the honorable yet stronger party._**

**_I hope this last battle before four or so chapters of pure character development was awesome as I envisioned it, and made your day._**

**_The Great Chase Arc officially ended right now; I originally intended it to last much longer, until I got the idea of the group being split, which both allowed me to show the worlds I wanted and break from the story's repetitive formula. I hope you will find this new twist more interesting than what could have been the alternative._**

**_Now, the Separation Arc has just begun._**

**_Also, I added not one, but two polls to my profile: to know what you like the most in this story, and who are your favorite characters. Mainly for entertainment and curiosity._**

**_So, like always, don't hesitate to review and give your point of view. Write you soon!_**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Edit: as I recently discovered that no, you can't put two polls on your profile, I will only present one, and present the others when the next chapter will be uploaded. It sucks, but I can't do more. The present poll shall be 'what you like the most in this story'.<em>**


	23. Chapter 22: Separated

_**Alright, two things. The Tyrant!World part is a hommage to Dystopia novels, especially Nineteen Eighty Four, so don't be surprised if you find a few similitudes. Also, the Evil Incarnate POV contains a very disturbing scene. Nothing graphic, mind you, but be prepared when you read it, as you will watch someone cements himself as a total monster.  
><strong>_

_**As ever, thanks, ABitterPill, Alpha142 and Third Fang, for correcting my work and helping me improve.**_

_**Disclaimer: as you can guess, I don't own Naruto.  
><strong>_

_**Traveler/Original Naruto: Kazama Arashi.**_

_**Female Naruto: Naruko Arashi.**_

_**Puppeteer Naruto: Chibaku Arashi.**_

_**Werefox Naruto: Kitsune Arashi.**_

_**Deceiver/Original Madara: Tsukiyomi.**_

_**Destroyer/Rinnegan Madara: Susanoo.**_

_**Warrior/Collector Madara: Amaterasu.**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Twenty-Two: Separation<strong>_

"I can't believe it, yet it seems they are right, Itachi. This is the Yondaime's seal." The Sandaime sat on his chair, letting Naruko pull her shirt over her belly. While she knew it was necessary, as nobody had believed her story, it was still strange to see her former idol again. He didn't seem as ruthless as the one from Kitsune's world, but not as kind as the one she had known. How long since she had seen him last? _Two weeks, maybe_, she thought… but it seemed years for her.

The thin man wearing the Hokage robes and hat in place of the Sandaime eyed her coldly. He was older than Yugito-chan, but not by much; his hair and eyes were dark, and his face completely emotionless. He looked a lot like Sasuke. "I cannot accept this," he whispered. "This must be a trick."

After dropping in a big room surrounded by old people, her last souvenir being knocked out by one of the masked bastards, Naruko had been captured and bound by older ninjas. Gaara and Kitsune had tried to resist but were too weak and tired to be a match for their attackers. The man called Itachi, apparently the Hokage, had ordered them to be interrogated.

So when she had claimed to a stern-looking man with scars on his face she was the vessel of the Kyuubi, people had come to examine her. The Sandaime and the Hokage had then come, examining her again in a dark room with a table and three chairs. A yellow crystal was producing light above them, but it wasn't very comforting for the little girl.

She had to be strong, like Naruto-sensei. _I can't show weakness, _Naruko thought. _Or else they will think I'm just a kid they can intimidate._

Itachi closed his eyes. "There is still a way to confirm her claims." His eyelids opened, revealing the same sinister eyes as Madara's… the Sharingan.

In a blink, Naruko found herself into a familiar sewer, staring at Itachi… and at the large cage behind him.

_**"So, an Uchiha has decided to visit me once again?" **_The Kyuubi slowly approached the bars, its glowing eyes observing Itachi and Naruko. _**"Hello Naruko… are you here for chakra?"**_

"No, Kyuubi-san," she replied. The girl had already visited the demon's cage a few times to ask for chakra, like during Yugito's training and her latest fight with Madara. She hoped she could have visited the demon another day, to talk with it.

The demon seemed so alone, and she wanted to give it some company.

"So this is true." Itachi rotated, staring at the massive beast. "I cannot believe it. It must be one of Madara's tricks or illusions."

_**"The fallen Uchiha lord is indeed responsible for my current position, indirectly." **_The Kyuubi glared at the Hokage. _**"These cursed eyes… you know what kind of price one must pay to use them completely, I suppose? Because you paid it yourself."**_

Itachi frowned, the first time he showed emotion. "Not by choice. Shisui forced my hand."

_**"I don't care." **_The Kyuubi stared at Naruko. _**"Everything she told you was true. We do come from another world, another reality. Your damn ancestor gathered copies of himself to track us down. I do not know what happened, as the last thing I remember was fighting him again, but I think the one named Kazama transported us there. Maybe to save us, maybe by accident. I don't know."**_

_It could only have been to save us, _Naruko said to herself.

"I see…" Itachi stated. "Then we have nothing to say to each other anymore… at least for now."

Suddenly, Naruko found herself sitting in the dark room again. Itachi's eyes had become normal again, and his face twisted into a frown. "She spoke the truth."

The Sandaime joined his fingers. "If she does have the Kyuubi in her belly… what are we going to do with her? Imagine what would happen if Iwa or anyone else discovered her presence?"

"No one beside myself, Ibiki, my trusted ANBU, yourself and Danzo know about what she said. Her secret is safe, if we are careful. My interrogators are currently examining her companions, and will probably confirm her story." Itachi's eyes became red. "Until then… sleep."

And Naruko obeyed, unwillingly.

_She was standing on a white, snowy field._

_Everything was white. The sky was pure and blue, devoid of clouds. The world was silent._

_In front of her, she saw an endless pillar made of an ethereal glass. Approaching, her feet not causing any sound, Naruko watched through the strange substance._

_She saw the academy's classroom. Kids were listening to a lecture given by Iruka. A blonde kid was sitting next to a girl and a boy. Naruko recognized the shy Hinata Hyuuga, the aloof Sasuke Uchiha, and…_

_"Kitsune?"_

_Her friend didn't even look at her, too preoccupied by his discussion. He was the only real one. The others were just transparent images, fake illusions even Naruko could see through._

_"KITSUNE!" She shouted, trying to break the glass with a punch, only to fail. "KITSUNE!"_

_The glass suddenly turned black, preventing Naruko from seeing through it. Red letters appeared on the surface._

_**HE IS MINE. LEAVE.**_

_"In your dreams!" Naruko smashed her fist on the letters. "I won't let some kind of split personality imprison my friend! And certainly not in a cruel illusion like you do!"_

_The letters twisted._

_**I AM NOT PART OF KITSUNE,**_

_**I AM HIS FRIEND,**_

_**THE ONLY ONE HE EVER HAD,**_

_**KONOHA SEPARATED US,**_

_**BUT NOW,**_

_**WE WILL NEVER BE SEPARATED,**_

_**NOT BY ANYBODY,**_

_**AND CERTAINLY NOT BY YOU.**_

Her eyes snapped open.

She was in a bed, under a blanket. _So warm… _she thought, observing the room around herself. It was rather big, with red walls and windows. There was a brown door of wood, a chair, and another bed next to herself.

Gaara was laying on it, paler than a ghost.

"You are awake…" Her tone was so low Naruko barely understood her sentence. "I was waiting for you."

"H-hello, Gaara," Naruko replied, not sure about what to say. "Are you okay?"

"Mother's voice is now mere whispers…" The redheaded looked at her hands. "I feel so dizzy… I don't sense my sand… mother tells me everything will be alright…"

"It will be alright," Naruko reassured her friend. "We're together, after all!"

Gaara stayed silent a moment. "Thank you," she whispered, her voice soft and laced with emotion.

Naruko smiled… before turning her head to face to door.

"My apologies," Itachi said, as he stealthily closed the door behind him. "I didn't want to interrupt your discussion."

If Naruko stayed silent, unsure how to react, Gaara glared at the man. "What did you do to mother? I can't hear her voice well."

"Your 'mother' didn't want to cooperate with us." The powerful Hokage sat on the chair, and Naruko felt his dark eyes piercing her soul. "The Sandaime had to reinforce your seal to prevent the Shukaku from harming your examiners. I apologize, but this was necessary."

"What happened to Kitsune?" The blonde Jinchuuriki wanted to save her companion from whatever 'friend' was imprisoning him in his own mind. She couldn't stand the idea of keeping him in the illusion she had seen for any more second.

"Is that the name of this… Jinchuuriki?" Itachi asked, obviously uneasy. "We had to stun it with tranquilizers, just like the Samehada. He was too savage to be calmed, unfortunately, and his mind too clouded and bestial. The Samehada... even more so."

"Him." Naruko frowned, angry. "Not it. He is a human."

"I know. My men examined his seal. Unfortunately, I couldn't enter his mind peacefully." The Hokage frowned. "What happened to him?"

"He was…" Naruko bit her lip. Could she really trust this man?

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "If this is a touchy subject for you, then we won't speak of it. Everybody has secrets." He joined his hand. "What is your name?"

"Naruko!" She grinned. "Naruko Uzumaki! The best ninja you will ever see!"

"I see… unfortunately, one _Naruto _Uzumaki will dispute your title." Itachi then looked at the redhead. "And you?"

The sand witch narrowed her eyes. "Gaara of the desert."

"My name is Itachi Uchiha, Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure." The man politely nodded. "Happy to meet you."

_So he really is the village's leader? _"But what about the Sandaime?" Naruko asked.

"He gave me his place, a few years ago. To prevent very bad things from happening."

The blonde immediately guessed what he was talking about. "You mean, the Uchiha Massacre?"

"Massacre?" Itachi frowned.

"You wiped out your own clan, under the Hokage's direct orders," Naruko said, remembering her shocking meeting with the Sandaime of Kitsune's world. "They wanted to rebel. Only Sasuke was spared. We have never seen a world where your clan survived."

The Godaime's stoic expression left, in it's place a sad overcame his features, the man showing true emotion for once. "Sasuke… I would never kill him. Even if it would cause my death." He closed his eyes. "So, in different realities, I always caused a tragedy? I guess I should be happy the Sandaime spared my clan." His eyes slowly opened. "He couldn't accept ordering the death of so many people he fought alongside with, so he found an alternative. I was loyal to Konoha, he knew it, so he gave me his position. Why would my clan rebel against one of their own?" He shrugged. "To think the higher-ups didn't take this option in multiple realities is truly saddening."

"I'm sure your clan survived in many universes," Naruko tried to cheer him up, even if she didn't know him. She hated to see people unhappy. "We simply didn't see them yet."

Itachi stared at her, and… smiled. "Thank you," he said softly. "This was very nice of you to say this. Tell me… do you have a family?"

Naruko blinked, surprised by the question. "I have many relatives…" she whispered, the faces of Naruto-sensei, Haku-chan, Chibaku the pervert, Sasori-san, Zabuza-san, Kitsune-kun, Yugito-chan, Gaara-chan, and Kakashi-san flashing through her mind. "You imprisoned one of them, and another is next to me."

Both Itachi _and _Gaara stared at her, the latter wearing a strange, touched expression.

"Then… I will do what I can to reunite you all." Itachi rose up. "You are welcome to stay in Konoha, until your family either comes to retrieve you, or I find a way to help you. However, you will be watched over by ANBU all the time. Security measure, you understand."

"Really?" Naruko asked.

"You lie," Gaara snapped. "You're just like other rulers. You pretend to help us, only to tame us. This is just a lie."

Itachi frowned. "I am not like any Kage, and I am not Madara," he replied. "I have no intent to use you to gain power, or anything. Experience taught me this was pointless. Only when people start to disobey the rules of the ninja world, then that world of pain can be dismantled. It might sound naïve, but I truly believe men and women can change and construct a better future if they trust each other. Simply give me a chance."

If Gaara seemed about to reply by the negative, Naruko nodded. "I will give you one," she said. "But if you try to hurt my relatives, I will kill you." This wasn't a threat, but a reality.

The redhead sand master looked at her, before staring at her blanket. "… Alright. One chance."

"Thank for your trust," Itachi said softly, before smiling. "You will need a place where to stay. Why not go to my clan's compound? I'm sure my mother will like to meet two strong and decided girls like you."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Ice Woman, Haku<strong>_

Even breathing had become hard.

Feeling weak and sick, Haku continued to walk, trying not to look at the dead corpses impaled next to the road. They were fresh, and surrounded by flies. The sky was tainted red, the air saturated with smoke. But more importantly, the protective presence of her master had vanished.

"Haku… that's your name?"

She nodded, not even having the strength to look at that armored man. His voice was soft and warm, almost fatherly so. "I can understand what you feel. I had acted like you when my brother died… it's hard, as these people have become so close to ourselves that their absence is like a hole in our hearts."

"Does the pain ever go away?" Her voice was weak, and she already knew the answer.

"No… it never does, unless you become a complete monster or the ultimate psychopath. In either case, everyone _but_ you will suffer," Kuebiko replied. "But with time, you learn to live with it. You will never forget them… but life goes on. The best you can do now is to live with it and come to term with what happened." He seemed to stiffen. "We are approaching the Capital City. Stay on your guard."

"Wait, that's all?" Chibaku asked. "Aren't we supposed to disguise using Henge, or something?"

"Those who control this reality do not care what we look like; they will try to kill us anyway." Haku raised her head to look at the man, who was touching his strange helmet. "My base sent me all the information they gathered on this reality… and believe me, our appearance is the _least _of our problems."

"How do you exchange information, Nidaime-san?" Sasori spoke softly, but his tone was laced with suspicion.

"My helmet is connected to my base, in another reality. We communicate using special waves that can be projected through space-time, allowing normal discussions." Kuebiko stopped, and looked at Sasori. "I promise I will explain everything and answer all your questions, once we are in a relatively safe place. Outside the Capital City, the ANBU exterminates every human its members run across, and their patrols' pattern are completely unpredictable. The Capital City is dangerous, but less so than the rest of this planet."

"This world sounds like hell on earth…" Chibaku grumbled.

Kuebiko nodded. "You don't know just how _much _you wouldn't want to live there."

"What is this Capital City?" Sasori asked. "Is it the only civilized place there?"

"Pretty much. All the other major settlements have been bombed into oblivion, so the remaining populations live in small settlements to avoid being noticed. Unfortunately, the ANBU here are quite… persistent." He stared at the horizon. Narrowing her eyes, Haku began to distinguish buildings and towers a few miles away. "The Capital City is under a tyrant's control, even if an anarchist movement disputes it with him. If we keep a low profile, both will be tempted to ignore us and focus on their enemies."

"Very nice to know…" Sasori deadpanned.

"That's the best we can hope for." Kuebiko continued to advance. "The City is vast, and we can hide easily. We will find some abandoned building and talk calmly."

Not having anything to reply, the group followed him.

Quite quickly, Haku began to walk through paved, grey streets. They were dirty, covered with dust, and surrounded by destroyed houses.

At one point, they went past two decomposing corpses.

After a while, the streets' became surrounded by huge, grey buildings and houses. Messages were tagged on the walls, like 'Taka lives on', 'a Konoha for Konoha', and 'death to all foreigners'.

A big message written in red was overshadowing them all.

_**THEY ARE WATCHING YOU**_

Then, the group reached a public place. With a mob gathered before a tower, with a giant poster on it.

Konoha's symbol.

"Our country is menaced, from within and from without!" A middle-aged man roared with a demented expression, raising his fist toward the sky. He was standing on a big stage, and the people were listening to him in awe. "Konoha's enemies have invaded our land! They want to take our freedom, our riches, our wives, our lives! But our leader will guide us!"

"Glorious leader!" The mob shouted, Haku and her group observing the scene, disturbed. "Glorious leader! May he live on forever!"

"MAY HE LIVE ON FOREVER!"

"What is this?" Chibaku narrowed his head. "A public speech?"

Sasori shook his head. "No… it's shared madness."

"All his enemies will fall, and we shall become the Master Race! Konoha shall kill the impure, and protect the pure blood of the founders! Death to all the enemies of Konoha!" The man shouted. "DEATH!"

"DEATH!" The mob shouted. "DEATH! DEATH! DEAT-"

Suddenly, one fireball hit the stage, causing an explosion and incinerating the speaker on the spot, much to Haku's shock.

The crowd suddenly disbanded, as another fireball was fired on the large poster. The Yuki's eyes found the source of the attack: three men, wearing grey clothes and slashed headbands. "Good kiss from Taka!" One of them shouted, firing another fireball at the fleeing humans. "Die, sniveling cowa-"

A shadow sliced his throat.

Before anyone could react, the two other fire-users suffered the same fate, two kunai killing them instantly.

Haku's heart suddenly ceased to beat when she saw their blood flowing from their wounds. She remembered Zabuza-sama's body covered with this fluid, and started shaking. The shadow then turned its head to face her.

It was a human wearing a black suit, with a white shirt underneath. It was slightly taller than Haku, and thinner. It was wearing black gloves, shoes and socks. Its face and neck were covered by a white tissue, and a black cap. One couldn't see if it was a male, a female, or even its hair's color.

It stared at her, then at Sasori, Kuebiko… and Chibaku. It stopped moving, eyeing him intensively. "I don't know your number," it said, with a deep, male voice, "but you shouldn't wander in these suburbs. Let us, more experienced agents, deal with the human vermin. That and… hide your face." He took a piece of white cloth from his pocket, just like the one he was wearing on the face. "Security measure, you see. We are legion, but no one must know it. It's to keep our existence a secret, you understood? The cloth won't do anything to you, but it will explode in contact with another's skin. You will be recognized without problem."

"Yeah…" Chibaku stated, faking understanding.

"Good." The masked man then observed Chibaku's companion, and then stared intensively at Haku. "Her features… a Yuki?" He looked at the puppeteer, then at Haku again. "Miss, you shouldn't leave the city center, no matter what. This place is filthy. It might corrupt your noble blood." He then eyed Chibaku. "I understand that you had to assume her security by escorting her, but next time, try to talk her out of doing something that stupid. She's a member of the Master Race. She's too valuable."

"Will do boss," the puppeteer nodded.

"Don't call me boss. Alpha is the only one that can be called as such." He respectfully bowed before Haku. "My apologies, but I must leave. I have to hunt a few hawks," he said, vanishing with a Shunshin.

"What just happened?" Chibaku asked.

"I don't know, but I think you should put the cloth on your face." Sasori stared at the dead anarchists. "I have the feeling things like this happen all the time."

"It does," Kuebiko stated. "Hopefully, the city center will be a bit better…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Traveler, Kazama<strong>_

"I am amazed by the speed of your recovery," Konan said, as she and Kazama exited the house. It was really small and common-looking. "You possess a good constitution."

"It runs in the family," the blonde replied, remembering the specifications of the Uzumaki clan. "Thank you for helping me recover, anyway."

"It's nothing." The woman smiled. "I love helping others. We must support each other… especially in the Land of Rain."

"The Land of Rain?" Kazama asked, looking at the skies full of dark clouds.

"It almost always rains in our country," Konan explained, as water began to fall from heavens. "Some say the sky cries when it sees our land, so all the blood shed there can be purified."

It was a lie, of course. _**The Heavens do not care about the earth, **_Kazama's darkness whispered to his mind. _**Or else, they would have cried when you, and those you love suffered. **_"Sad… there is a war in the Land of Rain?"

"There is a war around us, and the frontlines are around our borders," Konan replied, observing the little village surrounding them. The houses were deserted, and the whole place silent. "But our land is suffering. Being between great nations, we have been a good battlefield for their wars, and our leader Hanzo has decided to isolate us from the rest of the world to protect us."

"But in doing so, he also completely destroyed the country's economy." Kazama stiffened and clenched his fists. "It has little to no fields to feed the populations, and its resources underground cannot be exported outside, the trade routes being closed." Tsukiyomi advanced past the two, and rotated to face them. "And now, your land has been completely asphyxiated, Konan-san."

At that moment, Kazama would have given up everything to have the power to kill that man on the spot. But Madara was too strong, and the blonde knew it. He couldn't even flee; an evidence the number on his palm had confirmed.

Seven.

Seven days to spend on this world, before being able to escape safely. Seven days until he could seek his companions.

Seven days at Madara's mercy.

"Something bothers you… Naruto?"

Kazama gritted his teeth. "Don't call me that."

Madara frowned, and stared at Konan. "Could you please live us, Konan-san? This is a private matter."

Konan raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "I understand. I will be in the house if you need me."

"Thank you," Madara said, as the woman left, before facing the blonde. "Naruto. It is your name, young man. What is a person without a name? Nothing. No one." Tsukiyomi's lone eye locked with one of Kazama. "You should be proud to have one."

"You have no right to even talk to me," the blonde snapped. "You are an enemy. You killed my parents. You attempted to destroy a whole civilization. You tried to destroy my family. And you separated me from them."

"Technically, I didn't do the last one," Madara replied softly. "It was not I who activated your seal, you know. Whatever did saved you and your companions' lives."

"From _you_. The point still stands," the blonde glared at the man. "What are you going to do? Try to kill me too, like you murdered Kabuto and who knows how many other people? Torture me until I obey you?"

"Nothing of the sort." Tsukiyomi turned to contemplate the skies, turning his back to Kazama. A proof of how much the blonde was outmatched. "I simply want to convince you into joining me in the conquest of all of reality. Interested?"

"No," Kazama replied flatly. "I am not interested in ruling anyone."

"This is a shame. What is wrong with ruling? The errors others did, you can avert them. Why not replace the incompetent to do something good for a change? What better way to make sure failures like Konoha won't happen ever again, than by taking over?"

Kazama blinked. "Because…" _Because I'm afraid of becoming like Orochimaru… I'm afraid to turn out like you, Madara. _"I… wouldn't trust myself with power."

"Why? You never wielded it." The rain continued to fall on his mask. "All your life, you have been controlled by someone or something. Konoha; the Yondaime's legacy; your master's teachings. Power is also freedom, young man. Absolute power is also absolute freedom. Why don't you embrace it? Why don't you break your chains? Why don't you cease to be a slave, and become the slaver instead?"

"I don't want to become like Konoha," the blonde replied, crossing his arms. "I don't even understand why I'm still listening to you."

"Because you have no choice, isn't it?" Madara asked, turning around. "You could have torn apart space and escaped, but you didn't… even if you had, and have, every reason to flee. I suppose it has something to do with the little seal on your arm?"

_Crap._

"I guessed right. You should really learn to control your facial expression, as almost any experienced ninja can read your thoughts by watching it. This is for your sake, Naruto."

Kazama fought the urge to punch the Uchiha. "I told you not to call me like that."

"Very well, youngster. Your loss." Tsukiyomi extended his arms in a theatric manner. "Now, tell me… what do you want to do? To be exact… what do you dream of?"

The blonde glared at the man. "As if I would tell you that." Truth to be told, he had no real idea what he would have answered. A long time ago, he would have said he wanted to be Hokage, but now…

What was his dream?

"You don't even know yourself, isn't it?" Tsukiyomi's red Sharingan was piercing the blonde's very soul, and his voice was laced with doubt. "Have you no goal in life?"

"I have one," the teen denied, angered by the question.

"You cannot lie to me. No one can." Madara crossed his arms. "I cannot believe you do not have a dream, with the endless possibilities this seal offers you."

"I have many," he repeated. _I want to rescue myself… to save all the Naruto around the multiverse. I want to live peacefully with those I love. I want to discover the truth about myself. _"You can't understand them."

"You would be surprised by how much I can understand you, young Uzumaki," Madara said, looking at the skies. "Around a century ago, I used to be like you. I was the son of a great clan, born with exceptional skills. I used to be naïve like you were. Unfocused, undetermined, unsure. I fought loyally for those I thought were my friends. I was wrong. They discarded and betrayed me. I think this is around this part where our paths started to diverge. I snapped and lashed out. You haven't reached that stage yet."

"Your counterpart, Amaterasu, said almost the same thing. And like someone I respected greatly said, it's not because we share some history and qualities we are alike."

"Yet, this is my firm belief you will turn out like me. I have experienced all the ordeals you went through years before you. I had the time to… wise up. To contemplate what I had done. There is only one thing at the end of the way, and you are slowly advancing toward it."

Suddenly, he raised his hand, and Kazama's eyes widened, the blonde expecting a sneak attack.

But nothing of the sort came.

Instead, Madara put his hand on the teen's shoulder, his Sharingan locking with one of the blonde's eyes. "Why don't you let the older sinner guide the younger one through this dark path, so he can avoid all the pitfalls he suffered?"

His voice was soft, almost fatherly so…

It disgusted the teen. "What are you suggesting?"

"Why don't let me take you under my wing?" Tsukiyomi asked. "I have so many things to teach you, young man. From battle skills to experience in life. I offer you a study period. Interested?"

Kazama clenched his fists. "You just want to use me, like all the others."

"I don't want to _use _you. I want to turn you into an ally and convince you my views are right. I am perfectly honest about it, unlike those you are referring to." Releasing the teen's shoulder, Tsukiyomi took a step back. "I will let you some time to think about this. Consider my offer wisely."

He vanished, swallowed by twisting space, leaving Kazama alone, under the rain.

He didn't know how long he stayed there, but the blonde realized it wasn't smart, and returned to Konan's house. Inside, he found the woman… practicing origami. Many beautiful sculptures made of folded papers were gathered on a black, simple table. Cranes, a bull, a flower… even a bonsai. Konan looked up at him, and smiled. "Do you like origami, Naruto-san?"

As she wasn't Madara, the name didn't bother him. "I never tried," he admitted.

"You should," she replied, giving him a sheet of paper.

He attempted to fold it, but Konan quickly caught his hand. "Not like that," she said. "Like this. Or else, you will damage the paper." Her fingers guiding his own, the two began to fold a little butterfly. "See? This is just a matter of delicateness."

"I have never been an expert of… delicate tasks," Kazama replied, looking at the little butterfly. Suddenly, its wings began to bat, and it flew in the air. The very surprised teen then saw it land in Konan's palm. "You can control paper?"

"Pretty much." The sculptures animated, and began to move around, gathering in front of the duo.

"This is impressive…" The blonde trailed off, amazed by the level of chakra control that was probably needed for such trick.

But…

"Why are you showing me this?" He narrowed his eyes. "You didn't even know me yesterday. I could be a spy or something."

Konan took the paper butterfly in her fingers, her face stoic. "Your companion told me _'I know about your paper-manipulation powers, young woman; very good Yin release, by the way, but I assure no flying explosive tag is going to protect you from my wrath in case you try to betray us'_." She caressed the butterfly, as it was alive. "He's evil, isn't he?"

"Yes." Kazama nodded. "More than you could ever imagine. He's polite and respectful, but he's just hate incarnated."

"Pain."

He stared at her, and she locked eyes with him. "The source of all hate is pain. Hate is just the need to share it in order to alleviate it. When I saw his eye, I could see an endless hatred… but in the inside, I think he's just a broken man who is lashing out at the world." She broke the eye contact. "Or maybe I'm just imagining things."

"Actually, you might be in the right," Kazama replied, even if the thought of pitying Madara was completely alien to him. "But I'm not in a hurry to validate your theory."

Konan frowned. "You aren't with him by choice are you?"

He shook his head. "He is too strong. He is _insanely _strong. If he says he can fight a Kage, then he's being modest."

"I have a friend that might be stronger," she replied. "His name is Nagato. He and my other best friend, Yahiko, can probably free you from him. They are coming back with sensei, who is very strong as well. They will help you beat him."

Her tone was sincere, and it touched Kazama dearly. "Thank you," he said with gratitude. "But… I must refuse. He will kill you all. I'm the only one he wants alive and free; everyone else is either a slave or an enemy. I don't want you to lose your friends because of me."

She smiled. "Don't worry, nobody is going to die. Nagato is also a Kage level ninja, and Yahik-" Her eyes snapped open. "When you speak of the devil… they have come." She smiled. "With some visitors." The woman exited the house, grabbing the teen by the sleeve. "Come on, don't be shy. I will present you to them."

"Alright, alright…" He said, as he followed her.

A group of four people was standing in front of the house, wearing black cloaks and hoods to protect themselves from the rain…

That suddenly stopped.

"Damn, I hate when you do this, Nagato!" A male, childlike voice said. A young man only slightly older than Kazama himself took off his hood, revealing his spiky orange hair and blue eyes. "It's freaky."

"But it works well to locate people, Yahiko," another young man around the same age said, as he revealed his face. His hair were short and red, and his eyes…

"The Rinnegan?" Kazama gaped, remembering Susanoo's terrifying Dojutsu.

The redhead dropped his jaw in surprise, and observed the teen. "Who are you?"

"A friend, Nagato," Konan explained quickly. "He is need of your help."

_Indeed, someone with the Rinnegan might be able to fight Madara, _Kazama thought. _Might. _"I told you: you shouldn't put yourself in danger to help me."

"Guy, if you need help, we'll help," the man called Yahiko smiled warmly. "What is a hero without people to save?"

"Well said," a boisterous voice said, one the world wanderer knew too well. Gaping, Kazama observed the third member of the group.

"Jiraiya?"

The sage smiled. He was younger, maybe in his forties, the blonde couldn't tell. "The one and only one! Happy to know you have heard of me!"

"Everybody has, sensei," the last member of the group replied, taking off his hood too and staring at Kazama and Konan. "Hello, nice to meet you."

Kazama didn't listen. He was too preoccupied by the face, so like his own… blonde hair, a pale skin, shiny blue eyes, a noble look… one of the people he hated most.

"Minato… Namikaze…" He seethed in rage.

The man blinked. "Yes, you heard o-"

He never finished his sentence.

Kazama's fist connected with his jaw before he could.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Destroyer, Susanoo<strong>_

A sword was embedded in the soil next to a stone. Susanoo didn't know if Amaterasu would have liked his memorial, but he hoped he was happy with it… wherever he was.

_I am Uchiha Madara, _was written on the rock. _God of War. Even if I have known defeat, I did not learn the meaning of surrender._

"Rest in peace, my friend," Susanoo stated. Around him, the hollow battlefield was silent, deserted by the people who had slaughtered one another in the name of their villages. Under which flag they fought, the Uchiha lord didn't care. A body from Konoha was as dead as one from Kiri.

"Did Izuna predict your end?" the Uchiha wondered out loud, staring at the sword. "Did he say you would be killed by a spawn of the Senju and a miserable swordsman, on some distant land? Or did he keep this dark future for himself, trying to make you happy?"

Only the wind answered.

"I… I think he did, personally," he said. "Fate is a cruel master. It gives you one way; if you do not follow it, if you try to fight it, you will suffer. Embracing your destiny and chosen role is the only way to die with meaning, and to accept yourself. The only choice we have is to fight against our nature or not. You were a being of war, and you died accepting it… but… did you do it by choice, or by resignation?"

Silence.

"It must have been by your will." Madara's eyes narrowed. "However… unlike you, I am confused about my place." He looked at the sky. "The sun gives strength to plants. The plants nourish animals. They live in harmony. This world is like finely tuned machinery. The gods made it so, but who made the gods? Who or what gave them this idea, this duty? There must be a superior will in all of it. But… I am beginning to doubt about my place."

_"You shall create… a perfect world…" Izuna whispered, his wounds bleeding. "One where… everyone shall know… its duty… its place in existence… the eye of the gods… it is the key…" He coughed._

_"Promise me… you will find it… promise me… you will accomplish your destiny… or else… everything we made… would have been in vain… you are the chosen one… your revolution will either doom… or save… the world… please… promise me…"_

"The Eye of the Moon, the founder's plan to end it all, seemed to be the answer…" Susanoo whispered. "But… in this endless realm of possibility and realities… am I really the one fated to end the world's confusion? Or is someone else fated to make everyone cease struggling against destiny?"

_"Your fate is just crap."_

Susanoo frowned. "Foolish child. Why doesn't she understand how this world works? She is the living proof fate is absolute. Chosen as birth for a role she can't do anything against. She will forever be a human sacrifice, just as I will forever be the chosen one."

_"Your fate is just crap."_

"I tried to go against my fate, and I suffered for it. I thought Hashirama and Konohagakure could end the Shinobi Wars, and create a better world… but instead, mankind continued to self-destruct, and I lost everything for a false hope."

_"Your fate is just crap."_

His frown deepened. "I shall never believe in another one."

Air twisted next to him, and his counterpart appeared. Tsukiyomi silently stared at the battlefield, then at Amaterasu's memorial. "Fitting, I guess. I'm sure he would have liked it." He touched the sword with his fingers. "He shall be avenged."

"He will, for he was one of us," Susanoo stated. "An eye for an eye… and a kill for a kill." He stared at his counterpart. "What about the boy?"

"Oh, he can't leave this place before some time," Tsukiyomi said. "Maybe not until a week has passed, I think. I have perfect faith in my ability to make him join the two of us within that time."

"How?"

"By giving him everything he needs: training, mentoring, maturity, dreams. However, I would like you to continue to stay hidden for the time being. As I told you before, he might not react well to someone who almost beat his precious female protégée to death."

"He will see me one day," Susanoo pointed out.

"But by then he will see you as a misguided ally and not an enemy. Trust me, I know what I do."

"Then… I guess I should create myself a new set of Paths of Pain…"

"That, and I would like you to find someone." Tsukiyomi put his hand on Susanoo's shoulder in a complicit manner. "I think it is time we recruit another Uchiha Madara… and his statue."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Wanderer, Kuebiko<strong>_

The city center turned out to be even more disturbing than the suburbs.

It was clean, and made of golden, perfect streets. The people there seemed peaceful, wearing rich clothes and discussing happily about things as unimportant as weather. They were varied: redheads, blondes, women and men… In the middle of the city center, a huge tower of golden rock was standing, Konoha's flag atop it.

It wasn't the tower that was disturbing, or the fact this little paradise was in the middle of an ocean of violence.

It was the constant watch of the masked men.

They were all wearing white clothes on their head to hide their face, much like Chibaku. They were on the roofs of houses, near people, at every street corner, observing everybody. They were all wearing ANBU armors, and blades.

And a few were staring at them.

"Hello, miss Yuki," one said with a female voice to Haku. Her white mask then turned toward Chibaku. "You're new? You look small, and don't have a uniform."

"Well… yes." Chibaku's voice was laced with faked boredom. "The guy with black suit told me to bring them there."

"Ah, you met Five?" She crossed her arms. "I don't know why Alpha always sends him in the suburbs… he's our best tracker, but the guy's passion for… _liberating _people is downright disturbing."

Kuebiko didn't need a memo to understand what the masked women was implying.

"Anyway, nice to meet you," she shook hands with Chibaku. "We'll exchange civilities and all after my watch. This is my first year, and I don't want to disappoint Alpha."

"Okay…" the puppeteer replied. "See you later."

As the group left, Kubeiko noticed a bench, near a little park. "Let's sit there." Sasori gave him a skeptical look, but he replied with a firm one. "Have faith, I know what I'm doing."

As soon as the four sat on the bench than the former Hokage stealthily formed a discreet stasis bubble around them, just about sure no one would break it by accident. As grey energy surrounded the bench, altering time, his three companions looked at the world. People had stopped walking, and earth had fallen silent.

"This is a time bubble," Kuebiko explained. "Time pass a lot faster in it than the outside. One second outside is an hour in here. It will be so fast they won't notice it."

"You can control time?" Sasori asked, obvious shock on his usually stoic one. His two companions had even more surprised expressions.

"I can only prevent little areas from being synchronized from the rest of the space-time continuum. I cannot go back in time, but I can alter how it works on a small degree." He crossed his arms. "Go on, ask your questions."

"Where the hell are we?" Chibaku asked.

"What is this power?" Haku asked.

"Who are you?" Sasori asked.

"Calm down, one at the time," the Nidaime answered. "You first, mister Sasori."

"Who are you?" He narrowed his eyes. "You came out of nowhere, helping us, and fighting alongside Zabuza… and apparently killing maybe the strongest of our pursuers. You appear to be the Nidaime Hokage, but who are you really?"

"My real name is Tobirama Senju, but I adopted the name Kuebiko to be distinguished from my counterparts. I used to be the Nidaime Hokage of Konoha, until I decided to fight the dreaded Kinkaku Force on my own to give my team some time." He closed his eyes, remembering the scene. "I used an experimental space-time jutsu to take them all with me. Instead of annihilating us, it tore a hole in space, sending me in what I would later call a Class X world."

"Class X?" Chibaku raised an eyebrow.

"We, aka me and my colleagues, classify the worlds into six categories. Class 1 to 5, then X, depending on the danger. A class X is a world completely unfit for life as you know it; for example, a planet where massive rocks the size of Konoha hit the earth's crust every year, making survival there utterly impossible. A class 1 is a world which is almost-to-completely safe for its inhabitants. A class 2 is world peaceful, but with a few dangerous areas. A class 3 is a reality with medium danger, but whose half of it is relatively safe. A class 4 is an overall dangerous world, but with a few safe areas. A class 5 is a world where life can survive, but where danger is everywhere. It's a living hell where nobody would want to live." He opened his eyes and stared at his companions. "That's the kind of world where we have dropped. Even this city center is not completely safe."

Their expressions darkened at that, but Sasori seemed more thoughtful than anything. "Please, continue your story."

"I landed in what we call the Limbo, a Class-X world. A place where time and space do not function properly. Imaging an endless rock with neither a beginning nor an end. You can stay there until you die without seeing anything worthwhile. Even if life accidentally drops there, it can't survive for long, as it can't sustain itself. As my hunger almost made me die, I attempted to use the jutsu again, and failed by lack of chakra… but fortunately, it attracted the attention of someone."

"His name is Vajra," he explained. "He is someone with the ability to manipulate space naturally, and who has discovered a way to travel through universes by using a prototype of the armor I'm wearing. He took me with him back to the base and nursed me back to health."

"The base?"

"That's what we call our HQ, mister Sasori. It's a place outside conventional space-time, and made of remnants of alternate realities that had been destroyed for a reason or another. Even universes can die, and this place is their grave. We nicknamed it the End."

"Sinister…" Chibaku said. "Now, I won't see things the same way ever again."

"He made an armor for me, and we recruited two other people, Omoikane and Fukuro, to explore the Infinity, or multiverse, depending on your point of view." He stared at the immobile sky. "We hope to understand how it works completely, and map it."

"Map it?" Chibaku dropped this jaw.

"The multiverse is infinite, you can't map it," Sasori replied calmly.

"You would be surprised." He searched in one of his armor's pocket, grabbing a coin. "Observe," he said as he threw it in the air, before catching it. It had landed on the tail. "If I was one of this reality's inhabitants, my act would have just created around three hundred alternate realities, depending on how the piece moved in the air or how I caught it. Being an alien element, my actions here prevent the world from splitting as long as I stay there. Most worlds are nearly identical, so we do not explore them. But sometimes, a change is so big it creates a vastly different branch in the multiverse. Just look at this earth, and the one where you come from.

"Basically, we seek to map the genealogy of the Infinity. We try to find which universe gave birth to which, until we reach World Prime. Then, mapping the whole Infinity would be possible."

"World Prime?" Haku asked, for the first time.

"We theorized, after much calculation, that there was, long ago, a 'World Prime'. An original reality, if you prefer."

"How did you find that?" Haku asked.

"Simple logic. If every world was born from a parent one…"

"Then there must have been a first one that birthed the rest…" Sasori guessed. "Finding the source of all alternate realities would make it possible to create a genealogical tree."

"Yes," Kuebiko explained. "After the birth of this World Prime, every possibility caused the creation of a new world, and so on." He observed the immobile masked men. "Like this one. You want to know what is the diverging element that caused its birth?" He stared at his companions. "Instead of my brother, Konoha chose Madara Uchiha as Shodaime Hokage."

Silence.

"WHAT?"

Not anymore.

"Why would anyone take _him _as their leader?" Chibaku dropped his jaw.

"Everything is possible in the multiverse. We guessed they somehow thought he would be better than my idealistic brother as a war leader." Fukuro's information. "He captured the Bijuu and used them to bomb the other countries into oblivion, conquering their graves one by one, until all the world had been unified under Konoha's flag. Madara then started the 'Purity First' program."

"Good euphemism," Sasori deadpanned. "Let me guess, it's an extermination program? Like Yagura's?"

"A worse, world-scaled version." Haku's face was white and livid. "Madara thought the blood of the Sage of the Six Paths was noble and had to be preserved, so he decided to cull whatever could taint it… aka, just about everyone without a bloodline limit or the dormant gene, aka _ninety percent _of the world's population."

Everybody's expressions darkened in horror.

"As you can expect, they did not accept this. A resistance movement called Taka formed to undermine Madara's empire and protect the population, but years of guerrilla warfare has radicalized the two sides. Now, they just want to exterminate each other regardless of who is caught in the crossfire." The wanderer looked at the city around him. "This city is Konohagakure, and except its center this world is hell on earth. Madara is still in power, prolonging his life through unknown means. The land suffers from famine, and the military watches over everybody. You do not want to live there."

"We must escape," Sasori stated, eyeing the masked men. "I don't know why, but they thought you were one of them Chibaku… that miss Haku and we were citizens of the city. But the second they will realize it's false, they will hunt and kill us."

"I think I can smuggle us out of this world, but it will take time," Kuebiko said, touching his helmet. "Fukuro, when will you be able to make Eon work?"

"By speeding up? Around three days in your world's time," his friend replied through the helmet. "But you do realize we haven't tested it yet right?"

"The longer we stay in this world, the greater are our chances of dying. The other option might not be completely safe-" Sasori frowned at that. "-but it's the better one."

"Alright then," he replied. "Just survive. I will try to contact Omoikane and Vajra, so they can support you."

"Thank you, my friend," he replied, cutting the communication. "We have to stay unnoticed for three days until my companions come."

"Survive might be a better word," Sasori stated. "My apprentice and miss Haku are not trained well enough in infiltration to sufficiently fake citizenship."

"Then we just have to be discreet." Kuebiko dissipated the time bubble, and the world ceased to be silent. People began to walk again. The masked men moved their head to watch them. "It should b-"

_**"Citizens of Konoha."**_

The voice was strong and powerful, coming from everywhere. Taken by surprise, the group saw everyone else stopping moving and looking at the giant tower.

The image of a completely armored man appeared on the walls. His face was old and covered with wrinkles, but Kuebiko instantly recognized Uchiha Madara's face.

_**"The time for unity has come.**_

_**"We are on the verge of becoming the Master Race. Our blood will be purified. We will be freed from the corruption of the foreigners. We shall ascend to another level.**_

_**"We have won another great battle against the filthy, ruthless hordes of Taka. We, noble descendants of the founder of ninjutsu, shall triumph again.**_

_**"All the corrupt and the wicked shall be purged. Konoha will become a pure, perfect place. ALL HAIL KONOHA!"**_

"ALL HAIL KONOHA!" Everyone shouted, raising their arms in a twisted salute. Kuebiko and his group did so, unwilling to be recognized.

_Madara… _the Nidaime Hokage thought. _What sick plan do you have in mind?_

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Healing Man, KakashiKamui**_

For maybe the first time in his whole life, Kakashi had a bit of good luck.

The Hokage's mansion was the same as in his memories. Vast, with a large garden in its center. Walking among the roses, the jounin followed his former teacher and older counterpart. "This is an incredible story, Kakashi…" Minato Namikaze stated, stopping in front of roses. "May I call you another name? To avoid confusing you with my student."

"I…" Kakashi stopped. "Why not Kamui? I always wanted to call one of my jutsu that."

"Fine then… it will be Kamui." The Yondaime Hokage rotated to lock eyes with him. "So… you actually come from an alternate earth, where I am dead? I find it hard to believe."

"It is the truth," Kamui promised. "In my world, you sacrificed yourself to seal the Kyuubi in Sakura. In others, you apparently sealed it in your own son."

Minato's look turned sad, and the ANBU Kakashi's expression darkened. "I did attempt to sacrifice myself there, as Madara unleashed the Kyuubi, but…" The Hokage narrowed his eyes. "The Sandaime knocked me out from behind."

"He betrayed you?" Kamui raised an eyebrow.

"No… he prevented me from betraying my son." Minato seemed lost in his thoughts. "He summoned the Shinigami himself and sealed the Kyuubi in Naruto, at the cost of his life. He then said 'your son has lost a mother tonight, but he won't lose a father'." He stared at the sky. "Sarutobi was a hero."

"But what about Rin?" The ANBU Kakashi observed his counterpart. "You looked as if you had seen a ghost."

"I did." Kamui closed his eyes, remembering the fateful day he had found her body, broken utterly by the man he hated the most. "Kenta… Kenta killed her."

The temperature instantly dropped to zero. If Minato's eyes were full of cold-blooded anger, the ANBU Kakashi's were two pits of fury. "Kenta… so he existed in your world too?" the latter asked. "What happened?"

"I… I had a relationship with Rin," Kamui stammered. The two didn't seem too much surprised. "We had a kid, but Kenta kidnapped Rin and him. He… he murdered both of them." He glared. "I killed him for it, but… they still died because of me."

"I…" the ANBU Kakashi frowned. "Sorry to have brought bad memories… I cannot imagine what you went through…"

"Kakashi…" Minato put his hand on Kamui's shoulder. "I am so sorry for you… I understand what you must feel… Kushina died because I couldn't beat Madara in time… and I know the pain of anguish."

Then, he embraced Kamui in a fatherly manner. "Remember… you might have lost us before, but we are here for you now. We will _always _be there for you."

A single tear fell from the jonin's eye. "Thank you… Minato-sensei," he said, breaking the contact. "How is Rin there? Had she recovered from… our mission?"

"She did long ago," the ANBU Kakashi said. "And Kenta never resurfaced. We suppose he is dead."

"I thought the same thing, and it cost me dearly," Kamui stated. "But… when did the Kyuubi's attack happen here?"

"Ten years ago," Minato replied. His face softened. "He would have resurfaced long before. He was already very old… he must have died of old age or something else."

"Maybe…" Kamui agreed, with but a healthy dose of skepticism. "And Rin?"

"She-"

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!" Three childlike voices shouted before landing in the roses. Kamui briefly wondered if it was Gai… until he realized there was no sunset Genjutsu… and that whoever arrived was _not _immune to pain.

"ARGH!" A blonde, familiar kid jumped on place. He was wearing green clothes. "IT HURTS!"

"Naruto, you idiot! You made us land on thorns!" Sasuke snarled.

"Who cares?" A kid with short grey hairs stated, with a mirthful smile. His bright brown eyes stared at Kamui. "Hello… dad."

At that instant, Kamui's heart almost ceased to beat.

"Obito…" The ANBU Kakashi said, attracting the boy's attention. "I'm here."

"Euh…" The boy stared at the two Kakashi. "What is it, a clone?"

"I'm…" Kamui trailed off, struggling between his Shinobi instincts and the inner emotional turmoil. "I'm…"

"He is your uncle, Obito," the ANBU Kakashi said to the boy. "He's my elder twin, Kamui."

Silence.

"WHAT?" Both the kid, Naruto and Sasuke shouted at the same time.

_He's… my counterpart's son? _Kamui thought, already guessing who was the mother. _So… he is my son. No… he is the son I could have had._

"You heard it Obito," the ANBU Kakashi said, lying easily. "He's my elder brother. He has been working in a foreign country for a long time as a spy, before returning yesterday."

"Your… older brother?" the boy, whose name was apparently Obito, raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Why did you never talk about him?"

"His identity had to remain a secret, and knowing you, you would never cease to talk about him."

"Oh come on!" Obito whined. "I grew up!"

"Not enough to ignore your teammate's insane plots," a stoic voice said.

The three boys cringed, and looked at the voice's source. A familiar Uchiha entered the garden, followed by Rin and Yugito. Both looked exhausted. "Forgive me, Yondaime-sama," Itachi stated to the Hokage. "They slipped through my guard."

"It's a proof of their competence," Minato replied, before frowning at his son. "However, Naruto, you shouldn't make our guest run. Yugito Nii is a very imp-"

"Hey!" The blonde pointed his finger at the blonde kunoichi accusingly. "It was her idea!"

"I said we could play cat and mouse, if he didn't like training," the lady replied evenly. "He took it literally."

"Mom!" Obito shouted, pointing his finger at Kamui. "Is it true? I have an uncle?"

"Obito, it's not polite to do this." Rin gently touched her son's hand and lowered it. She stared at Kamui with a strange expression. "Yes… he is your uncle. He is a very powerful ninja."

"Cool…" Obito trailed off, looking at Kamui. "Hey, what can you do? You have cool jutsu?"

"Yes," Kamui stated. "I might even show them to you."

"Nice!" Obito shared hand with the man. "Welcome home, Kamui-aniki!"

_What a perfect life, _Kamui thought. _I am so happy… that at least in one world, I didn't screw things up._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Evil Incarnate<strong>_

He smiled, when the two dogs licked his hand. The huge black hounds looked at their master with absolute devotion in their yellow, twisted eyes. He loved these eyes. So pure, so perfect… if only humans could have them too.

"Good dogs," he whispered, caressing their belly. The beast barked happily, proud of their master's love. "I brought you a candy. Your favorite." He stared at the closed cell in front of him, and the dog followed his gaze.

They immediately noticed the little girl in a corner.

"Kin, say hello to my hounds," he told her softly. "They came to see you, so it is natural you should do the same. Didn't I teach you to be polite?"

"Master…" the girl moaned in pain, her face charred with bruises and burns. Her punishment. "I can't feel my hands…"

"It was to be expected. I cut them myself." It was the third time he did it this month. Really a bad month. Three failed soldiers was a bad result. Two were okay, one was expected, but three… "I regret having to do it, but it was for your own good. It was to teach you respect."

"I… sorry…" she moaned, her ravaged body hiding in the dark. The hounds were eyeing her silently, waiting for their master to open the door. "I… never… do… again…"

"Of course you won't." He sighed. "You showed such potential, Kin. When I saved your life in the streets, I thought you would make a good spy and killer. You didn't even blink when you stabbed Zaku, alongside all my students. You killed Dosu perfectly, as I told you to. It took me a whole week to find his corpse. But then… you disappointed me." He eyed her with disdain. "I just sold you to this brothel for a night. They paid me a good price to take your purity. It would have made you tougher. But you had to cry."

"Sorry…" Kin cried. "Sorry…"

"I hate when my weapons do this." He caressed his hounds' heads. "Do they cry? Of course not. They just obey. No question, no sentiment. They just ask for a payment. Why did you refuse to be one of my hounds? Why did you stay human?"

"Sorry…" Kin whined. "Sorry…"

"I apologize, Kin, but you brought it on yourself. It could have ended another way, but I have no use for people. I only need weapons." He opened the cell's door. "Hatake, Kakashi, your dinner."

Recognizing their names, the dogs silently entered the cell.

"SORRY!" Kin shouted. "SOR-"

Fangs bit her flesh.

In silence, he observed the spectacle and listened to the bloody opera. Kin's voice was high and melodious. She would have made a good kunoichi, hypnotizing men with songs and legs before strangling them. But she had failed.

It was still a mystery for him. What was wrong with spending a night with a man or woman? Some of his students, male and female, had even _enjoyed _the experience. The girls, less so, and more had cried, but it was still disappointing.

Kakashi never cried. Not him.

"I guess I will have to find another kunoichi," he wondered out loud, Kin screams beginning to be covered by sounds of chewing. "Maybe in Kiri? There are so many there…"

He narrowed his eyes, sensing a familiar presence. "What is it, Karin?"

The redhead medic-nin, one of his best successes, approached her master in silence. Her face was emotionless, her dress grey and very adjusted, her lens blue. Men found her beautiful and superb… but for him, she was plain, like everyone else.

"Master, I assassinated your target, as you wanted," she said, her voice cold and monotone. The teen stared at Kin's still living body with nothing but cold indifference. The conditioning had made her completely immune to compassion.

"Perfect," he said, barely listening. His hounds were hungry, Kin was dying. He couldn't care less. As always, he didn't feel the thing others called regret. Hell, he couldn't even feel at all.

… Except maybe the joy of a success, or seeing someone in pain. Those were always enjoyable experiences.

"Nothing else?" The screams began to weaken.

"Your agent in Konoha sent you a message." She gave him a white card. "He said it was important."

Channeling his chakra, the man began to read the letters appearing on it. His eyes narrowed. "Finally… I waited for so long, and they finally dropped their guard." Not bothering to look up at Karin, he began to give her orders. "Contact Kakuzu. Tell him Ayatsuri Kenta has a well-paid job for him, and bring him there. Oh, and go tell him to take that priest of Jashin… Hidan, I think his name was… with him. He will be needed."

He heard Karin nodding, and leaving. Looking at his hounds, he saw their hunger had been satisfied.

"I wonder if you will like your new candy," he told them. "Obito Hatake is supposed to be one tough boy… just like his father."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Omake: Magical Naruko<strong>_

"What. The. Hell!" Chibaku shouted in confusion and frustration.

"I won't let you succeed, Sasuki!" Naruko shouted. She was looking like a witch, dressed all in white, and flying on some kind of broom.

"You can't stop me, Naruko!" The female Sasuke Uchiha smirked, raising her hand. "I will unseal the _**EVIL**_ Orochimaru, and make love outlawed!"

"I will stop you with the power of friendship!" Naruko shouted, firing a rainbow at Sasuki. "POWER OF LOVE!"

"POWER OF COOLNESS!" Sasuki replied, replying with a badass laser beam.

"... screw it," Chibaku stated, trying to find the nearest tree to hang himself. "I prefer death over that insanity."

He stopped however as lightning struck next to him and revealed a rather short man in a black trench coat with dyed green hair. "You called?" He asked in a bored tone as he glared at the magical girls fighting in the distance.

Chibaku raised an eyebrow skeptically. "You're death?"

The man's eyebrows narrowed as the girls made more childish declarations and pointed one of his palms at them and instantly began channeling an absurd amount of energy to it. "The death of fan girls and magical girls… yes. Now please be quiet while I do the mutiverse a service… with the utmost discrimination…"

"Don't you mean discretion?" The blonde boy asked nervously as his hair began to stand on end.

"I know what I said." The man replied bluntly before the power around him increased threefold and the sky went dark. "Now shut up while I redefine the term overkill for the third time this week. That damn disease deserves nothing less."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Omake: Pokeninja<strong>_

"Youngster..." Tsukiyomi hissed. "Did you have to bring us there?"

"No, but I really wanted to screw with you," Kazama smirked.

"... jerk," the man replied, observing another Naruto and a Sasuke facing each other in the middle of a field.

"Go, Pikachu!" Naruto said to a small, yellow mouse.

"Rayquaza, your dinner!" Sasuke shouted, launching a red and white sphere in the air. A huge, long green dragon escaped from it, and roared madly.

"CHEATER!" Naruto shouted. "It's an UBER! It's forbidden!"

"I'm a Uchiha, so screw the rules!"

"Right... PIKACHU, THUNDERBOLT!"

The mouse launched a powerful bolt of lightning, and the dragon dropped, stunned on the ground.

"It's impossible..." Sasuke said, sending another ball. "Go, Togepi!"

"Toge-pi!" A litte white creature said.

"Ah!" Naruto grinned. "It will never beat Pikachu!"

The white creature punched the mouse, knocking it out.

"Beginner's luck!" Sasuke smirked. "Your Pikachu can beat ubers, and lose to weakling! Too fun!"

"Argh!" Naruto pointed his finger at the Uchiha. "I will defeat you!"

"Yeah, whatever." Sasuke left. "Smell you later!"

Tsukiyomi raised an eyebrow. "Did he just said, smell you later?"

"Don't ask," Kazama replied. "Just don't ask."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's notes<em>**

**_Special thanks to MetagrossZ for inspiring the first Omake, and Third Fang for expanding it.  
><em>**

**_Alright... this chapter mainly serves to introduce four different mini-arcs. The following updates will have one arc per chapter,_ _maybe two,_ _until_ **_**the arc's ending. It's to avoid confusion.**_

_**The following arc will mostly deal with the characters, especially those who have been out of focus lately (Sasori, Haku and Susanoo, for exemple), and introduce a few important characters. Ayatsuri Kenta, the man who made Kakashi's life hell, will be the only OC, however. I wonder if you'l**__**l find my first original villain as monstrous and disturbing as I want him to be. Kuebiko will also explain a lot of things on how the Multiverse work.  
><strong>_

**_Also, I will put the 'favourite character' pool on my profile as well. The characters introduced in this chapter are not counted._**

**_Will answer a few other messages later, I'm currently a bit occupied. Don't hesitate to review and give your point of view, and write you soon.  
><em>**


	24. Chapter 23: Reveal

**_Hello, everyone. I have returned, with a chapter full of... REVEALS!_**

**_... I wonder how you will receive them._**

**_Today's chapter deals with Naruko's adventures. From now on, each chapter shall deal with one individual mini-arc. One chapter deals with one, the next with another._**

_**Thank, ABitterPill, Third Fang, and Alpha142, for your help. And thank Kishimoto for creating such beautiful story. I must say your latest arc regenerated my love for your manga. The sheer awesomeness of it was all I needed.**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Hey, who cares?<strong>_

_**Traveler/Original Naruto: Kazama Arashi.**_

_**Puppeteer Naruto: Chibaku Arashi.**_

_**Werefox/Hybrid Naruto: Kitsune Arashi.**_

_**Female Naruto: Naruko Arashi.**_

_**Deceiver/Original Madara: Tsukiyomi.**_

_**Destroyer/Rinnegan Madara: Susanoo.**_

_**Warrior/Collector Madara: Amaterasu (now dead).**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Currently, they are scattered in four worlds:<strong>_

**_Shodaime!Madara world: Chibaku, Sasori, Haku, Kuebiko._**

**_Godaime!Itachi world: Kitsune, Gaara, Naruko._**

**_Mystery world (for now): Kazama, Tsukiyomi, Susanoo._**

**_Alive!Yondaime world: Kakashi, Yugito._**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Twenty-Three: Reveal<strong>_

"I can't believe it…" Naruko muttered, observing the enormous room where she was supposed to stay. "This can't be our bedroom. It's the size of my whole old apartment!"

"Yet, it is." A raven-haired Woman with equally black eyes smiled warmly. "I hope you do not find it inconvenient."

"Not at all, Mikoto-san," the blonde replied, jumping on a huge warm bed. It was such a change from the ground and the rough makeshift beds she had known ever since meeting Naruto-sensei. "I already adopted it as my own!"

"It feels warm…" Gaara whispered, trying her own at a much slower pace.

"I will let you two make yourselves comfortable," Mikoto said, leaving the room. "I will be in the kitchen, preparing the dinner. Do you like onigiri?"

"I never tried it… could you make ramen too please?"

"Of course."

"Thank you very much!" The blonde girl shouted, her stomach already begging for sustenance. She caressed her belly. "Be patient… I will nourish you soon enough!"

"Naruko…" Gaara whispered, opening a wardrobe. Inside, there was multiple sets and styles of clothes. "What are these?"

Getting up, Naruko approached the wardrobe. Taking out one pair of pants, Naruko noticed a little letter in the pocket. The girl opened and read it.

_A little gift on my part. Your own clothing _was _shredded apart and in bad condition. This should correct the problem._

_Itachi._

"Sweet…" The blonde grinned. "What a nice guy! Clothes! What more can a girl hope for?"

A few hours later, Naruko exited the bedroom, wearing orange, adjusted pants and a sleeveless shirt. She also had black boots and gloves, and she had tied her hair into a ponytail. She looked a lot more athletic now. Turning around, she looked at Gaara, who was too shy to get out. "Don't worry, Gaara, you look so cute!"

"… Really?"

"Yes!" She smiled sincerely. "Don't worry, no one is going to mock you!"

"… If you say so…" Gaara appeared, now wearing a white kimono, with a red sash working as a belt. She was wearing sandals, and her hair were falling free on her back. "You are sure I'm not ugly?"

"Not at all," Naruko affirmed, before grabbing her friend's sleeve and leading her to the kitchen. Mikoto was preparing the dinner, and smiled when she noticed the girls.

"You are so beautiful…" she trailed off. "I wish I had girls as cute as yourselves…"

"We're not as beautiful as you Mikoto-san," Naruko scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. "I can't believe you are Itachi's mother. You look so… dignified."

"I married very young and had Itachi quite early," the woman replied. "But don't worry, I'm sure you will surpass my looks when you grew up. I wasn't half as cute as you are when I was your age."

Naruko reddened slightly, and Gaara beamed, clearly pleased by the compliment. "Thank you!"

"It's the truth," she shrugged. "I hope you will like my ramen. I don't cook it often."

"I'm sure they will," a masculine, yet warm voice replied. A middle-aged, black haired man entered the kitchen. His face was stern, but he stared at Mikoto with kindness. A familiar kid was following him, and he stared at the girls with a calm, somewhat shy look. The older man politely nodded at the two Jinchuuriki. "Naruko-san, Gaara-san. My name is Fugaku Uchiha, and I am Mikoto's husband. I am honored to have you under my roof. This is my son, Sasuke."

"Hello…" the familiar Uchiha said, nodding. His eyes suddenly widened. "Hey, you look exactly like Naru!"

"Who?" Naruko faked incomprehension. _This is Sasuke's family? I would never have guessed… he is so unlike the Sasuke I knew… but then again, his parents aren't dead here._

"It doesn't matter," the boy shrugged. "You will meet him this evening anyway."

"Mikoto, Hiruzen-sama and his two grandsons will be dining with us," the man told Mikoto. "I hope it is not a problem?"

"Of course not," the lady replied. "It's always a pleasure to receive them."

"Will Nii-san come too?" Sasuke asked. "Or is he working again?"

"He might come," Fugaku replied with obvious skepticism in his voice. "But he is the Hokage, and as such quite occupied."

"Yes, but…" Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "He almost never returns home now."

"Don't worry, Sasuke," his mother smiled. "Itachi promised me he would dine with us this evening."

"Really?" the young Uchiha asked. "Alright…" A strange sound suddenly resonated in the kitchen, and he smiled. "It's Naru."

"Apparently," Fugaku stated, preparing to leave… before turning around. "What are you waiting for? Don't you want to welcome our guests?"

"Of course we do!" Naruko said, following the adult man toward the house's door. Fugaku slowly opened it, revealing three people on the doorstep.

"Hello, Fugaku-san, Mikoto-san, Sasuke-kun…" the Sandaime nodded respectfully, before noticing Naruko and Gaara. "Naruko-san, Gaara-san."

"Sarutobi-sama," Fugaku and Mikoto bowed slightly.

"Naruko?" A blonde kid around Sasuke's age asked. He was wearing a blue jumpsuit. "Weird, you look almost exactly like me!"

"Are you twins?" A younger, black-haired kid wearing yellow shirt and pants asked.

"You two…" the Sandaime frowned. "Present yourselves. Don't be rude."

"Ah, yeah, 'cuse me." The male Naruto grinned. "I'm Naruto Sarutobi! Konoha's best genin ever!"

"And I'm his bro, Konohamaru!" The other kid lifted his hand toward the sky. "We're the ultimate duo!"

_So Sandaime-jiji adopted me in another world? _"Nice to meet you!" She grinned. "I'm Naruko Arashi, and this is Gaara."

"… It is nice to meet you," Gaara added with a monotone voice.

"Why don't you go play together, until we dine together?" Mikoto suggested.

Suddenly, and idea came to Naruko's mind, and she smirked. "People… do you know how to play ninja poker?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Hokage, Itachi<strong>_

As Itachi returned to his home, he mentally made a checklist of the different ways he could announce the news to the two kids. Maybe he could say it during the dinner, but since Sasuke and Sarutobi's two hellions were attending… a private discussion might be better.

Opening his home's door, Itachi entered the dining room. His family and guests were sitting, with all the food waiting on a large table. When they noticed the Hokage, the adults prepared to stood up, as the protocol ordered. Itachi wavered his hand, before sitting between Sarutobi and his father. "I am not the Godaime here, just Itachi. Please stay sat."

"Nii-san!" Sasuke looked at him with tears in his eyes. "Please, forgive me!"

"What for, Sasuke?" Itachi asked, taken aback.

"We lost around forty-thousands ryos at a poker game," Naruto said, looking crushed.

Konohamaru stared at a grinning Naruko. "Never seen that. Five royal flushes…" he began to cry. "In a row!"

"Sorry!" Naruko excused herself. "I didn't mean to… it was a complete accident." A sentence that made Konohamaru cry even more.

"I see…" Itachi sighed, Mikoto and the Sandaime openly restraining the urge to laugh. Even Fugaku was smiling slightly. "Well, as the embodiment of bad luck exists in this world, and is commonly known as Tsunade-hime, I guess the embodiment of good luck had to exist too. Strange world."

"Indeed," Sarutobi nodded. "You seem bothered, my friend."

"I am," the Hokage replied, looking at his onigiri bowl, and then at the two little girls. They were already dining, and Naruko had entered an eating contest with her male counterpart and Konohamaru. "I have an information we need to discuss later. It seems these girls integrated well... after three days of house arrest, I expected them to be less... pleasant."

"I find them very friendly and nice," Mikoto stated with a warm smile. "I like them already."

"They are good people," Fugaku added. "My Sharingan didn't notice any hint of hidden evil intents on their facial expression. They aren't faking friendliness."

"Anyway, you trusted them enough to loosen the seal of the Ichibi's vessel," Hiruzen whispered softly. "That alone is impressive. The fact the Jinchuuriki didn't go on a rampage is the proof they are good people."

Mikoto cracked a smile. "I still find hard to accept the fact they come from another world."

"There should be only one Kyuubi, and one Ichibi," Fugaku pointed out. "Yet, there are now three Kyuubi's vessels and two containers of the Ichibi on this planet. That alone is almost unbelievable."

Itachi frowned. "Speaking about the Kyuubi's vessel... Inoichi has found disturbing things about these young ladies' canine friend," he whispered, making sure the kids wouldn't hear the discussion.

"The other Jinchuuriki you told me about?" Fugaku asked with a low tone, understanding the need of secrecy. "The one transformed into a beast?"

"Yes," Itachi continued, eating a bit. Overworking had made him hungry. "Inoichi just finished examining him. His report was… surprising." He stopped eating. "The boy has been subjected to a mind transplantation."

The two adults fell silent, and Mikoto stared darkly at her son. "Which kind?"

"The Uchiha kind. _His _kind."

The temperature suddenly dropped, the adults realizing who he was talking about. Fugaku, in particular, was wearing a sinister expression. "Could you give us details?"

"Our guest told me the boy was taken over by some kind of split personality," Itachi explained. "I think they misunderstood what happened. I don't know why, or how it happened, but _he _used his mind-control technique on the Jinchuuriki, trying to take him over from within. I suspect _he _has been slumbering for years, only awakening recently."

"What would cause someone like him to do that to a Jinchuuriki?" Sarutobi asked. "I thought his grudge only extended to your clan and Konoha's leadership?"

"I do not know," Itachi replied. "He died in a state of deep, suicidal depression in our world. If there is reasoning behind his actions, then it might not be logical at all."

"Itachi…" Mikoto whispered. "We can't let his ghost haunt this boy. I don't know his plans, but they can't be good. He died there wanting to destroy a whole clan, for heaven's sake."

"He tried and failed to destroy the Uchiha there, deeming you sinful and corrupt…" Sarutobi continued with a scowl. He too remembered the events that had almost led to the destruction of the Uchiha clan far too well. "Imagine what he could do with a Jinchuuriki as a thrall."

"I know. He needs to be put down, for his and others' sake." Itachi closed his eyes. "I will have Inoichi send me in the Jinchuuriki's mind, so I can defeat his jailer for good."

"Not alone, son," Fugaku stated. "You cannot confront him on your own, especially not in a mindscape, a place where he's at his strongest. I will help."

"I shall come too," Mikoto said softly. "If I can save an innocent, I will do everything in my power to help."

"If my help is needed Itachi, I will follow you too," Sarutobi added.

"… Thank you," Itachi said softly, touched. "But I will be the one to kill him. I owe him that at least… we used to be friends after all."

"No, you won't."

Itachi raised his gaze, looking, like everyone, at Gaara. "You were listening?" he guessed.

"My sand was," the redhead replied, agitating her fingers, slightly embarrassed. "Kitsune… is family. If an outsider wants to hurt him… we will protect him."

"Kitsune?" Naruko asked. "Outsider?"

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke wondered.

"Personal matters," Itachi replied, looking at Naruko. "Unless you want to speak of your fellow companion openly."

The girl's eyes were full of bravery and hope. "Go on."

"If so…" Itachi joined his fingers and adopted a lecturing pose. "Kitsune's jailer is not a separate personality, as you were incorrectly thinking, but what is left of an old foe of mine… who used a powerful technique to transplant his memories into your friend for unknown reasons. I think I can take him down and free Kitsune."

"HOW?" Naruko asked, her voice full of hopes. The other kids, except Gaara, seemed completely lost, unable to understand.

"I have a subordinate who can allow a few people to enter your companion's mind," Itachi explained. "I, and whoever is escorting me, will be then able to confront the jailer and either defeat him or convince him to free his prisoner, allowing your friend to return to consciousness."

"However, the process is dangerous," Sarutobi added. "You will be able to fight your friend's foe, but he can then hurt you too. Your body won't be in danger, but your mind can be scarred and shattered if our foe kills you."

Naruko frowned. "If you want to scare me, you didn't succeed. I want to join you, Itachi-san." She grinned. "Kitsune is my friend. I will save him."

"… I want to come too," Gaara whispered.

"I didn't understand all of it…" Sasuke stated. "But if I can help, I will."

"Same deal," Naruto Sarutobi added.

"You are unfortunately not experienced enough for what we are preparing to do, and not everybody will come," Itachi stated, observing all the people around him. All were dead set on coming, and determined to help. "Tomorrow, Inoichi will use his technique, and a team shall explore Kitsune's mind and subconscious, before freeing him. However, you girls won't come, that is sure."

"WHY NOT?" Naruko roared in anger.

"Because you have no experience with such travel," Itachi said calmly. "You are not Genjutsu experts, and we are going to face maybe the best one Konoha ever produced. Unless you are a master of illusions yourself, you will be completely powerless in a mental battle against someone as powerful as him. I am sorry, but for your and your friend's sake, I would better take better ninjas with me."

"This is..." Naruko was seething with rage and powerlessness. "This is wrong. We can help."

"How?" Itachi asked. "I doubt your Bijuu can help you in any way for such mission, and most of your techniques are useless in a mindscape. Our foe will crush you in a blink."

"He... he will not," Naruko replied confidently, with a determined look. "I won't let him."

"He shall destroy your very will," Itachi shot back. "He will destroy you mentally until you give up on life itself."

"He won't." The blonde smiled. "I _will_ save Kitsune. I will make him give up on making me give up!"

For a second, Itachi felt his heart stop.

_"Itachi..." The Yondaime stared at the boy with a paternal look. "Remember this: in this world, there shall only be two things that can never be broken. True bonds, and a true will. The first, may they link friends, relatives, or lovers, are unbreakable, for they transcend life and death. A true will is a determination that cannot be troubled. It's a fire in the heart that cannot be extinguished, the urge to never give up on something, be it a goal, a design, or a loved one. Those who try to make someone with a true will give up, shall give up themselves."_

_... so this was what you were talking about, Yondaime-sama? _Itachi thought, smiling, much to his audience's surprise._ You would be proud of your daughter. _"Alright... I give up on making you give up," he said. "You can come."

"Really?" Naruko asked, jumping on place. "THANK YOU!"

"Itachi..." Hiruzen whispered.

"Look at them," Itachi cut in, observing the two little girls. "They have something _he_ will never be able to destroy. It might be the key of our success."

The former Sandaime narrowed his eyes, realizing the obvious. "I see what you are talking about... the Will of Fire."

"Indeed." _Hopefully,_ Itachi thought, _the boy won't have sexual urges yet. Meeting a fetish phantasm would scare these two girls for life._

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Gatherer<strong>_

Awakening from its slumber, the Kyuubi opened one of its eye, staring through the bars. _Again? __**"What do you want, Naruko?" **_it asked with curiosity.

"Well…" Naruko bit her lower lip, as she always did when nervous. "I… I don't know."

Raising an eyelid, the Bijuu was perplexed. It knew its vessel to be impulsive, yet Naruko always visited her for something in particular, like chakra. All humans acted the same. Mito, Kushina… all of them. _**"You don't know why you visit me? Are you sure there is no underlying reason?"**_

"It's just…" Naruko scratched the back of her head. "What does it feel like, to be in your situation?"

The Kyuubi frowned. _Has she come to gloat? _It wondered. _No. She's not the kind of human animated by arrogance and pride. I don't sense any negative feeling inside her. __**"Normally I would prefer to be outside, resting on something soft, and sense the sunlight. But it would bore me quickly… in the grand scheme of things as of late I very much prefer to see you facing ordeals."**_

"Bore you?" Naruko asked, sitting in front of the bars. The Kyuubi was pretty sure its claw could reach the girl.

Yet, it didn't care.

_**"I have lived for thousands of years," **_the Bijuu replied. _**"Believe me, when you live that long, you can't help but be bored by everything. I ran faster than the fastest wind, dove under the deepest seas, explored the insides of volcanoes… dozens of times, until it got repetitive. When Madara and his brother came to capture me, I was actually contemplating suicide."**_

"Suicide?" Naruko asked, quite appalled. The whole idea was foreign to her.

_**"Unlike you humans, we Bijuu do not rest in the Pure World after we perish." **__If we don't get annihilated by the embodiment of void, _the Kyuubi thought. _**"We simply… reform. The process destroys our memories, which would conveniently allow me to find boring activities entertaining again. I see no need to do this now, as your adventures interest me… unlike your predecessors."**_

"Predecessors?"

_**"You are my third Jinchuuriki," **_the Kyuubi stated. It was aware all of them had been Uzumaki, and their whole history, but it wouldn't reveal it. It would be more entertaining to see others explaining it. _**"Both were less… how do you call it… childish."**_

"HEY!"

_**"Even my previous Jinchuuriki, Kushina, who I suspect to have been hyperactive and maybe somewhat brain-dead, was less ditzy than you." **_Really, Kushina had been bad enough, but her daughter had overshadowed her in terms of sheer silliness. It ran in the blood, fortunately. _**"This is not criticism. I like you better. You are more amusing."**_

"Really?" Naruko grinned. "Nice."

_**"Indeed." **_The Kyuubi observed the girl, waiting for any reaction, like an hawk gazing at a prey. _**"You didn't come there simply for the pleasure of chatting, did you? What do you need?"**_

"I… don't need anything in particular," the girl replied, slightly embarrassed. "I thought _you _were the one in need."

… _what?_

"I… thought you were feeling lonely there." Naruko lowered her eyes, unable to support the Bijuu's inquisitive gaze. "I thought you might like to have company."

The Kyuubi… was completely taken aback.

No one _ever _said that before.

Looking for any sign of negative feeling, hidden agenda, _anything_, the Kyuubi tried to understand what was happening. None of its Jinchuuriki had ever tried to speak with it for something else than chakra and help. There was always a reason, a goal, an egoistical justification…

Yet, right now, there was none.

A human had actually come simply to make it _happy_.

_**"I…" **_The mighty Bijuu couldn't even find its words. _**"I…" **_The creature bit its lower lip, accidentally imitating its container. _**"What do you want to talk about?" **_it asked lamely.

The girl seemed embarrassed. "Well… what does the inside of a volcano looks like, Kyuubi-sa-"

_**"No."**_

The blonde stopped, not understanding. The Bijuu locked eyes with her. _**"Kyuubi is just a name humans gave me. I…" **_Spurting it out suddenly felt easier. _**"You can call me…"**_

_**"Kurama."**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Sand Witch, Gaara<strong>_

"Five, Hokage-sama." The blonde man stared at the gathered people: Naruko, Itachi, his parents, the old man from the dinner, and a group of masked men that had previously restrained the Shukaku's vessel. They were looking at the scene in perfect silence, ready to protect the Hokage from anything. "I can take in five people not including myself. Any more would be too much for my jutsu to handle."

They were in a dark room and sitting around a table. On it, under a faint yellow glow, the mindless beast called Kitsune was strapped, restrained, asleep. His living sword Samehada was next to him, waiting for events to unfold.

"I said before that I am going, and that Naruko-san and Gaara-san are needed to guide us though their friend's mind or enter in contact with him, it leaves two post vacant." Itachi stared at his parents. "As you have the most experience dealing with our target, you shall follow. I am sorry, ANBU, but you shall not be able to protect me this time."

The two other Uchiha nodded, but the ANBU was visibly disagreeing with their leader's decision. The old man from the dinner looked at Itachi with a neutral expression. "Are you sure?"

"I doubt it will end badly, but in case things go wrong, Konoha will need you," the Hokage stated, his face deadly serious. "And Sasuke will need a mentor and a parent."

"I shall look over him as if he were my own son," Sarutobi said. "I promise it."

"You have my full trust, Sarutobi-sama," Fugaku stated calmly. "My son is in good hands with you."

"Please, watch over him, Sarutobi-sama," Mikoto asked. "Sasuke is shy, and he needs moral support."

Looking at the scene, Gaara felt some hint of jealousy in her heart. It reminded her of the parents taking care of their kids in Suna, while she had to wait alone in the sand. True, mother was always there, but she was only whispers and sand…

_**"My Gaara," **_the Shukaku muttered in her mind. _**"I will always be there for you. My sand will always protect you. Even in front of Armageddon, I shall never abandon you."**_

… _you promise?_

_**"Even in the darkness of the mind of Kurama's vessel, I will follow and shield you from harm. My love for you shall overcome anything. And…" **_The Shukaku stayed silent a few seconds. _**"She'll also be there for you."**_

"Gaara-chan…" Naruko put her hand on the redhead's shoulder. Surprisingly, the sand didn't come to shield her. "Stay near me. We're gonna free Kitsune, but it might be dangerous."

"… Thank you," Gaara replied. Her friend's skin was warm, and she liked the contact.

"Everybody's ready?" The blonde man joined his hands, as the others nodded. "Then I shall begin the jutsu. Yamanaka Technique: Shared Paradise."

Gaara didn't even have the time to blink before her environment completely changed.

The dark room had left place to an endless desert. The sky was blue, and the sand yellow.

And in front of her, Mother.

Mother's eyes were yellow, like her body. She was sitting, silent, observing Gaara with a kind gaze. Her huge tail was balancing on her back, but one huge black chain was keeping it attached to a huge rock covered with strange symbols. _**"Welcome, my daughter," **_the creature announced with a warm voice. Her eyes then stared at something behind Gaara. _**"Welcome, girl… and you human vermin." **_The tone was openly hostile.

"Wow…" Naruko said in obvious awe. She advanced next to Gaara, like their three companions. The three Uchiha's clothes had changed into ANBU armors… maybe an effect of this place. "You're the Shukaku?"

_**"This is my name, indeed… even if I used to be called Karura in the past, before taking this shape." **_The tone was warmer. The Bijuu looked in the distance. _**"And here comes my sibling…"**_

The desert shook, and one huge cage made of rock emerged from the seas of sand. Inside, a colossal red fox with nine tails was looking through the bars at its fellow Tailed Beast. _**"Happy to meet you, Shukaku. I would have loved to shake paws with you, but I don't think this mindscape would support more proximity between us. Damn Yondaime, thought of every possibility…" **_The creature stared at the desert._**"Very nice place."**_

_**"I had to do some decoration. Unfortunately, I couldn't get sake for our reunion. You know, you are a lot less arrogant than the Kyuubi I deeply despised."**_

_**"We aren't all jerks full of ourselves," **_the Bijuu replied, before looking at the humans. _**"Hello, Naruko, misters and misses… and you, Uchiha."**_

"Lord Kyuubi," Mikoto bowed slightly. The others, except Itachi and Naruko, did the same, obviously intimidated by the Bijuu's reunion. "This is an honor to meet such powerful creature as yourself."

_**"… You remind me of…" **_The Bijuu's eyes suddenly widened. _**"You were one of Kushina's teammates."**_

"Yes," the Uchiha lady replied. "Was yours as… loud as the one I knew?"

_**"Yes…" **_the creature sighed. _**"Did you experience the ketchup incident?"**_

Mikoto's expression immediately turned into pure shame. "I would better not talk about it in front of my son and husband."

_**"I understand. You are going to follow my container into that kid's soul?" **_Mikoto nodded. _**"I will hope for your success. I wish I could help more, but unfortunately, this is not possible."**_

"We understand. Your support is already a great gift." The woman was visibly surprised by the Bijuu's friendliness.

The Kyuubi shrugged, before staring at Naruko. _**"Be safe, Naruko. I won't be able to send my chakra in another's mindscape, because of this seal. You will be on your own."**_

"I'll be fine," the girl smiled. "I promise."

_**"The same can't be said for me," **_Gaara's mother said to her daughter. _**"My seal is still too weak to prevent my chakra from reaching you, but it will only be in small amount. You will keep most of your powers, but you won't be able to transform or hear me. However, **_**I **_**will be able to hear and protect you to a degree."**_

"Thank you, mother," Gaara said with respect.

_**"I have no faith in you, humans, but I unfortunately can't take my daughter's protection in my own paws completely. I don't need to tell you what I'm going to do to you in case she's harmed." **_The Konoha-nins narrowed their eyes, surprised. The Shukaku shrugged, and a little hole appeared in front of it, black and shadowy. _**"Your way to your friend's mind, Yamanaka. Hurry up before I change my mind and slaughter you all."**_

"She's right," the blonde confirmed, looking at his allies. "Jump in it after me." He said, leaping into the hole and falling.

Naruko took the sand girl's hand. "Ready, Gaara-chan?"

The redhead nodded, and the two jumped in the hole, under their Bijuu's vigilant watch.

They fell for several seconds through the darkness, before light overtook their eyes. When Gaara regained her sense of sight, she was in the middle of a street. She was surrounded by houses, shops, and people were walking, talking, as if nothing worthwhile had happened.

Gaara quickly noticed Naruko was there, as they were holding hands. Mikoto, her husband, Itachi, and the blonde man were also there, standing still.

"It looks like Konoha…" Itachi wondered out loud. "Such degree of precision… He even made false odors."

"I can see the Hokage monument," Fugaku pointed out, looking at a mountain with face sculpted on it. "This is a perfect replica of Konoha... Except one thing."

"Your face… isn't there…" Mikoto said, breathing deeply.

"Kitsune?" Naruko wondered, looking at a blonde kid at the opposite end of the street. He was another Naruto Uzumaki, talking to a copy of Sasuke and one girl with black hair and white eyes. "Kitsune!" she shouted, advancing toward him… until a hand stopped her.

"He can't hear you."

The voice was soft, yet unnatural. Gaara turned at its source: the blonde man called Yamanaka.

His eyes had turned red.

"He doesn't even see you…" The blonde man went past them, and faced the group. He was possessed. "His senses are under my total control."

"You… bastard…" Fugaku rasped in rage. "What did you do to Inoichi?"

"I overwrote him. You see, Fugaku, identity is nothing more than an assemblage of memories covering a soul, like a shell. Souvenirs are the true essence of people. Someone with amnesia is like reincarnated form of his previous self. I can induce false experiences in others, allowing me to rewrite memories, and hence a whole identity. Think of it as… the overriding of a person's mind. Inoichi Yamanaka still exists somewhere… his soul is just repressed by my own identity for the moment. A mask wearing its wearer."

"You couldn't do this before," Itachi stated, obviously on guard.

"I spent… six years… I think… in Naruto's mindscape, repressed by his demons and madness. I had the time to invent new tricks Itachi." The illusion changed form, turning into what looked like an adult version of Naruto and wearing Kage's robes. "We both improved… I more than you."

"The Yondaime?" Naruko's jaw had dropped in astonishment.

"No… this is just a joke," Itachi replied. "He always loved theatrics."

"In the real world, I used to be an illusionist. But in this realm of thoughts… I am greater than Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju combined." The false Kage looked at his hands. "I didn't even have a mere idea of the power I could obtain, once reduced to this state. My illusions were outsiders, mere techniques to control an external entity. As a memory, I am an integral part of this mental world. I _am _this world."

"I am everywhere," passengers whispered, their eyes red too. They were all glaring at the group, making Gaara uneasy. "In every corner. In every place. Everywhere. All the time. You cannot escape my watch."

"I could barely influence minds in life… and now in death, I can remake them at will," the false Hokage said. "You didn't see that coming, did you, Itachi?"

"I didn't expect Inoichi to be so easily crushed," the Godaime admitted coldly. "But against someone with the Sharingan, it will be different. I am a Genjutsu expert too."

"You would be surprised by just how wrong you are and just how outmatched you are," the illusionist chuckled. "The only reason you still exist is because of the respect I have for you… and that I don't want to leave your brother _completely _orphaned."

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "So there is still some shred of humanity left in you…"

"Am I wrong, _Shisui_?"

The illusion smiled. His whole body began to twist and change. Gaara was now facing a young man with short black hair and two red, Sharingan eyes. He was wearing black clothes similar to the masked man Gaara had been knocked out by. "So you do remember my name? But humanity… what do you know of humanity, when you are just a mere memory, the mere remnant of a dead man? And what do we Uchiha know of humanity, anyway? We are born corrupt, tainted by the sins of our ancestors."

"You are yourself an Uchiha," Fugaku glared.

Shisui's face twisted in cold anger. "Blood might link us… but I'm nothing like you, Fugaku. How dare you try to ruin Naruto's life again, you and your whore of a wife? Betraying Kushina-sama and Minato-sama wasn't enough for you? You still want to ruin whatever happiness I gave their son?"

"What is this gibberish?" Fugaku narrowed his eyes, trying and failing to understand what the man was talking about.

"Happiness?" Naruko shouted at the illusionist, angered. "This is pointless cruelty! A mere illusion!"

"This is better than reality in his case," the raving Uchiha replied. "He's consumed by guilt… my clan destroyed whatever childhood he had and the Kyuubi forced him to kill dozens of innocents out of pointless sadism. But here, he's innocent. He has friends. He has people who love him for who he is. His hands are clean." Shisui smiled sadly. "He has everything he ever wanted."

"But this isn't reality!" Naruko shouted. "It's all fake!"

"It couldn't have happened another way," the Uchiha replied. "It was the only way to cure him of his madness and seal the Kyuubi completely. This was the only way for him to be safe and happy. Try to understand me."

"There is always another way," Fugaku stated. "Sarutobi-sama taught me this, and I will never forget this lesson. You are simply shaming yourself, Konoha, and the Uchiha clan."

"Shame? You, of all people, think I'm a shame?" The man's eyes were burning with cold rage. "I am _redeeming _the clan! I am atoning for _my _and _your _sins! How dare you talk about shame? I'm finally doing something good! And Konoha, your Konoha… this twisted perversion of the Shodaime's dream… only deserves to be burnt to ashes! This place is the only real Konoha!"

"You're insane…" Fugaku spat. "You have been tricked by your own illusions."

"Please, Shisui," Mikoto began. "Calm yourself…"

"SILENCE!" He lashed out, raising one hand. "You won't destroy this paradise! I won't let you!"

The two suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke.

"What did you to them?" Itachi asked, for once showing true and pure anger. He began to make hand seals almost faster than Gaara's eyes could follow, but nothing happened.

"This is _my_ world!" Shisui's eyes were like an inferno. "I decide who wins, who loses! They will be tortured again and again and again and again, forever! They deserve nothing else than pure pain for all eternity!" He suddenly calmed himself. "They deserve it, Itachi. Don't you remember what they did? I will tell you all over again…" He looked at Naruko. "You… you too deserve to know what they did. You are Naruko Namikaze, no? I saw you in Naruto's memories… you must know who you are." He wavered his hands, and the two vanished like Itachi's parents.

"Naruko!" Gaara shouted, her lips working on their own. She gathered her chakra…

"They're safe. I don't want them any harm," Shisui stated, before a cloud of sand went through him, as if he was nothing but a phantasm. "I don't want you to suffer either. You're a victim of the real world too."

"Bring her back!" Gaara ordered, tears dripping from her eyes.

"I am sorry…" Shisui vanished. "I can only bring you this paradise…"

And Gaara found herself alone, in a street made of madness and illusions.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Girl, Naruko<strong>_

She awoke in Mikoto's mansion.

To be precise, in the kitchen. It seemed slightly different, the decoration being poorer, the walls being smaller. _Another illusion,_ she thought.

Unable to control herself, she sat in front of someone else. She instantly recognized a slightly younger Fugaku. "You wanted to see me, Fugaku-sama?" Naruko's mouth said on its own.

The girl was a prisoner of her own body.

"I did," the Uchiha leader nodded. He locked eyes with Naruko. "You appear tired. You used the pills again."

"If I don't… the nightmares return," Naruko's mouth replied, and her eyes narrowed in shame. She looked at her hands.

Adult hands.

"The Sharingan forces me to relive the war every night." _This is not my body, _Naruko realized, _this is not my voice_. It was Shisui's. "Their faces… all the dead, all the torture, all the wounds… the images always return to haunt me."

"This is the Sharingan's curse," Fugaku said with some hint of sadness in his voice. "We all learn to deal with it, as you shall in time. Fleeing won't help you."

"You are strong. Itachi's strong. But I'm not. I'm an illusionist… I hide behind tricks to survive. I'm not a warrior, just a spy and an infiltrator. But I assume you didn't summon me for talking about this?"

Fugaku frowned. "I need you to accomplish a mission. One that is vital to the clan's survival."

Shisui locked eyes with the man. "I assume it is about the ANBU watching us all the time? Everybody is disturbed."

"The clan is slowly being isolated," Fugaku nodded. "We are being forced to live in the compound all the time, the ANBU is watching us, and our members are expelled one by one from important posts. Konoha obviously intends to reduce us to prisoners, like Uchiha Madara prophesied."

"Why would the Sandaime do this?" Naruko asked at the same time as Shisui. "He's a good and just leader, if a bit old. He is willing to listen to the voice of reason."

"He did accept to give his post to Minato, after the Orochimaru debacle," Fugaku agreed. "But it took the Inner Council reforming for him to accept it. We disbanded the organization after the Yondaime's nomination, but… I think it is time for it to reform if we want to have the power to oppose the Sandaime's decrees. It is vital for our clan's sake. However, the meetings I had with the other clan heads went poorly. They refused for the same reason the Sandaime is persecuting us." Fugaku joined his fingers. "They think we're responsible for the Kyuubi's attack."

… _what? _Naruko wondered, unable to understand.

"But…" Shisui's hands shook. "How could they even imagine this idiocy? You were an ardent supporter of the Yondaime, and Mikoto was his wife's teammate! She was Kushina's best friend! The Kyuubi's escape was an accident!"

… _Kushina… _Naruko inwardly realized. _Kurama's former container? She was the Yondaime's wife?_

"Unfortunately, it wasn't," Fugaku whispered. "An investigation made by Danzo led to… disturbing discoveries. It has been proved the Sandaime's wife, Biwako, and most of the Yondaime's bodyguards had been assassinated by a swordsman when Kushina was giving birth to Minato's son. A closer examination of her broken seal also made abundantly clear it had been shattered manually. Our clan's eyes are known for being able to tame the Kyuubi. Do the math."

… _the Yondaime had a son?_

"This… is madness." Shisui tightened his fists. "Only Uchiha Madara and his brother ever managed such a feat, and they're both dead!"

"Yet, Konoha's leadership got the idea one of us had freed the Kyuubi and unleashed it on Konoha," Fugaku stated. "I wonder how long it will take them to decide to eliminate us permanently."

"The Sandaime would neve-"

"He would," the other Uchiha cut in. "Or Danzo would take the matter in his own bloody hands and exterminate us without anyone's avail. I asked Itachi to spy on them, but I'm beginning to wonder if it isn't the other way around. Only the Inner Council would be powerful enough to preserve us. It must be reformed, with or without its members' will."

"You… you don't suggest…"

"I want you to use your mind-control jutsu on the most important figures of the Village," Fugaku confirmed. "Implant the _undermine the Hokage's policies by all means necessary, unless they are beneficial to the Uchiha, and support the Uchiha clan _command in their mind. The Sandaime and Danzo are too prudent to let you reach them, so we have to go for other powerful individuals like clan heads and influential civilians."

"This… this is a coup in all but name…" Shisui whispered, obviously uneasy.

"It's for the clan's sake, Shisui," Fugaku said calmly. "I wish there was another way. I promise nothing bad will happen to the Village. This is the safest way."

"This…" Shisui whispered. "This is for the clan."

"It is," Fugaku nodded, taking something in his pocket. It was a little, rounded mirror he immediately gave to Shisui. "Like all Jounin, you have been trained to resist the Yamanaka's tricks, but Ibiki or Itachi, should he turns traitor, might be too much for you, in case you are discovered. You know what you have to do."

Shisui nodded slowly, and observed his pale face reflect in the mirror. The Sharingan was red, like blood. "I will never inform anyone, except those already aware of it, about this mission, and never give any hint that might lead to its discovery."

The Sharingan's tomoe shifted, and Naruko lost herself in them.

"You will undermine the Hokage's authority by reforming the Inner Council and oppose his policies by all means necessary, unless they are beneficial to the Uchiha clan. You will also support the Uchiha clan and its decisions."

When Naruko regained her sense of self, she was in front of an adult, male version of Hinata. "Understood."

"Good," Shisui said, vanishing with a Shunshin. He walked into the Uchiha Compound, and entered Fugaku's mansion. "Hyuuga Hiashi, Shikaku Nara, a few important merchants… the others will follow," Shisui muttered to himself, silently opening the door. Approaching from the kitchen, whispers came to the Uchiha's ears.

"I am deeply disappointed by you, Fugaku… and you too, Mikoto. I expected more from my descendents."

The voice was awfully familiar, and Naruko inwardly frowned. _Madara…_

Discreetly, Shisui looked at the door's corner, observing the scene hidden. Fugaku and Mikoto were talking to the armored Madara, Amaterasu.

"Lord Madara," Fugaku whispered, bowing slightly. "Our coup won't succeed without your help."

"These are the words of a coward," the murderous bastard replied harshly. "You have brainwashed others into helping you, am I wrong? Then use _them_."

"You are the mightiest warrior of all time," Mikoto said. "Your help would be invaluable…"

"I do not care. You wanted to stand against Konoha, and you will do it as warriors. I will just observe your work."

"But you already helped us against Konoha once," Fugaku complained.

Amaterasu's twisted Sharingan began to shine slightly. "You came to me with a deal, and I accepted it. You wanted me to take care of the Yondaime and his wife so you could become Godaime, Fugaku. In exchange, you sold me your friends." He chuckled. "You enjoyed it, didn't you Mikoto? Betraying your teammate."

"It was for the sake of the Uchiha clan," she said calmly without a hint of regret.

"No… it was jealousy that led you to inform me of Uzumaki Kushina's location," Amaterasu hissed. "You were jealous of her power, of her will, of her marriage with Namikaze Minato. You wanted to switch place with her when she wed the Yondaime in secret. You never wanted to marry Fugaku, but your marriage was arranged for the clan's sake." He chuckled sinisterly. "I can see your whole story in your eyes, for I am a pure Uchiha, and my eyes all-knowing."

Mikoto bowed her head in shame. Fugaku stayed emotionless, not caring about the situation. Shisui was shivering, and Naruko couldn't think straight, horrified by the situation. _This is a lie… just a lie…_

"And it was pride and lust for power that led you, Fugaku, to betray your lord. You falsely supported him, yet inwardly you were just as jealous as your wife. You are just a parody of the true Uchiha breed. Nothing more." Amaterasu crossed his arms. "No matter. You came to me one night and showed me Kushina's lair, allowing me to release the Kyuubi. Konoha was to be burnt to the ground, and your compound protected. I never had any intention to help you anymore. You called me for nothing. Unless…"

"Unless?" Fugaku asked, hopeful to get the man's help.

"The Kyuubi," Amaterasu stated simply. "Bring me the Kyuubi's vessel, and I will consider helping you."

"We will, lord Madara," Mikoto promised, much to Naruko's horror.

Space twisted, and Amaterasu began to vanish. "I will look forward to watching your land burn."

When the monster had left, Fugaku's face twisted into a scowl. "Asshole… I will have to take dispositions to make sure Minato's brat never becomes a menace. It seems we'll have to start the coup earlier than expected. Lord Madara is an army all on his own."

"This will lead to a civil war," Mikoto pointed out. "Madara will not hesitate to damage the city as much as he can."

Fugaku simply smiled. "Who cares? As long as we take Konoha over, we can tolerate a few deaths… I prefer the clan to rule a grave then not rule at all."

Shisui silently left, his whole body shivering, and exited the mansion. Naruko herself couldn't believe the illusion. _There must be a trick… it's a lie._

"Spying on people, Shisui? This is not polite to listen to the doors."

Shisui instantly rotated, and locked eyes with Amaterasu. "Don't hurt me…" the illusionist whispered in dread.

"Your jutsu can't work against someone as experienced as me," Madara chuckled, twisting space. The two found themselves atop the Hokage Monument. "Surprised?"

"Are you…" Naruko could hear Shisui's always faster heartbeat. "Are you really…"

"Uchiha Madara?" The man shrugged. "Of course I am. Don't you feel the closeness between us? My brother's blood runs in your veins, Shisui. Which is fortunate… your blood wasn't tainted by my wife's. You are pure, a proud son of the true Uchiha clan. I shall not kill you… I can't bring myself to destroy my brother's seed."

Madara's hand suddenly caught Shisui's neck, and lifted the illusionist above the ground. Naruko could feel the man's grip straining Shisui's breath. The monster forced the illusionist to look at Konoha. "Tell me… what do you see?"

"Ko… Konoha… the Hidden Village of the leaves…"

"I see the most despicable place on earth," Amaterasu whispered. "If the sentence 'I spit on you' was written on all walls of this damn city, it wouldn't even be close of representing a tenth of the sheer _hate _I have for this land and the worms populating it."

Shisui was obviously struggling to breath.

"But soon, it shall all end," Amaterasu stated. "My corrupted descendant will make sure of it. They will cause the Village to implode and its citizens to devour each other for all its worth, for they are not warriors but betrayers. And I shall stand on this mountain and watch as Hashirama's dream crumbles to dust before my eyes."

"But… you said…"

"I said I would _consider _helping my brethren." Amaterasu's voice was cold and emotionless. "I never lie, as this is dishonorable. It is not my fault if they _had _to interpret my words the wrong way. I will indeed consider helping them… and decide against it." He chuckled. "The irony… betrayers being killed thanks to their own greed and because they expected not be backstabbed themselves…"

"The clan…"

"We are hate and ambition made human," Amaterasu replied. "We gain ultimate power by killing our loved ones and obtaining our siblings' eyes, and our gift forces us never to forget what we did. That is the Uchiha's curse of hatred. We can only grow strong through conflict and bloodshed, until we become war embodied. But Yumi's teachings corrupted this ideology. We have been reduced to backstabbers and treacherous worms. For humiliating their proud ancestors and bringing shame to our once good name… the current generation must be wiped out."

Amaterasu threw Shisui's body on the ground behind himself, and stood there, staring at Konoha. "That Inner Council you founded, my dear Shisui, will run this place onto the ground. A civil war shall erupt, and the Fourth Ninja War will begin. The delicate balance between the Hidden Villages shall crumble, and the world will be reborn into one of eternal warfare, one that will last forever. I will make sure of it."

"Only Hiashi and Shikaku…" Shisui rasped defiantly, laying helpless on the ground. "The rest… is loyal…"

"You would be surprised by the ephemeral nature of loyalty," Amaterasu said. "Trust my experience. All it takes for mass treason to happen is a few people to start it, and the rest will follow. Others will join your thralls, either out of friendship, greed, ambition, or just basic instincts. In all human minds, an engine of destruction sleeps, waiting to be unleashed. This is human nature. One man doesn't make a revolution, a dictatorship, or an Hidden Village. It is the thousands of people powering it all the time."

"The best part, Shisui, is that thanks to your own jutsu, you will be powerless to prevent Konoha's destruction from happening." Amaterasu turned around. "In the end, you were a proud son of the Uchiha clan. You served murderers all your life."

"I will kill… the ringleaders…" Shisui rasped.

"All the higher members of the Uchiha clan are in Fugaku's plot. Even if you could kill dozens of jounin and chuunin on your own, your slaughter would only increase the worries about the Uchiha clan's sanity. There is no escape, Shisui, no other way. There will be either a war or total destruction for the clan. In the battle for life, you live or you die. No middle ground."

As Amaterasu vanished, tears of humiliation began to drip from Shisui's eyes.

The scene changed again, and Naruko found herself in her apartment. It was dark, probably late in the night. Shisui was standing in front of a bed. Under a blanket, Kitsune was sleeping.

"Indeed, I was a good son of the Uchiha clan," Shisui whispered, eyeing the little boy. "I only ever brought misery to those around me. You of all people, will suffer the most from my mistakes and the clan's sins." The illusionist narrowed his head. "Fugaku called a meeting with the rest of the Inner Council… Hiashi and Shikaku weren't the only clan heads present. Inoichi, Shibi… alongside other important people. They decided to start a coup… and Fugaku will probably sell you to Madara all for nothing. They will make sure you can never be the powerful and respected ninja you _should _have been."

Shisui tightened his fists in rage. "Madara was right… this place is shit. Just shit. They're all cowards like me. But now… I'm tired of running." He shrugged. "Ironic, isn't it? The best genjutsu user of all Konoha is going to walk straight toward death. Itachi will kill me after all… 'cause I plan to make sure the Uchiha clan die. He'll be my instrument of justice. They won't escape the punishment they deserve, and I won't either. Itachi will kill us all… except Sasuke. I can't bring myself to have Itachi lose everything he adored… plus his brother might be the key to our clan's redemption. He's still untainted."

Raising his arm, Shisui opened one of Kitsune's eyelids, and stared into the eye. "You will never be lonely again, son of the Yondaime. I will always watch over you."

_Son of the- _Naruko gaped inwardly. _Does it mean… that I am the Yondaime and Kushina's daughter?_

A surge of pain made her snap out of her thoughts.

Shisui was screaming. Claws were ripping apart his stomach as three pairs of red eyes watched like malevolent moons observing the earth. Everything was nothing but a crimson haze, full of disturbing noises.

_"I hope you like your new home, Uchiha," _a huge, masked, white fox said softly, its sadism hidden behind a false veneer of politeness. Naruko recognized the Kyuubi, but this one had only three tails. _"Because, remember… you shall lie there forever."_

_**"You can't imagine the joy we feel at having one of your cursed kind at our mercy," **_a grey, masked and three-tailed Kyuubi stated, its claws shredding deeper through Shisui's flesh. _**"We have waited for this moment for years…"**_

_**"SCREAM!" **_One last masked Kyuubi roared. Its fur was black, and it had three tails too. _**"WE WANT TO HEAR YOU SCREAM!"**_

"Three… Kyuubi…" Shisui whispered, echoing Naruko's own thoughts.

_"No… we are one as four," _the white fox corrected calmly. _"I am the Pride, the grey one is the Selfishness, the black one is the Rage. As for our vessel… he is Pain."_

"How… is it…possible?"

_**"As much as Bijuu can influence their vessel, a vessel can influence its tenant." **_The Selfishness grinned ear to ear. _**"Our connection doesn't work in only one way."**_

_**"HIS THOUGHTS CHANGED US!" **_The Rage was barking like a rabid animal. _**"HE GAVE US INDIVIDUALITY!"**_

_"Human… do you think a kid of your kin could live alone and despised by all while staying sane?" _The Pride stared around itself. _"This red haze is the embodiment of his growing madness. Pain, isolation, impulses, rage… they feed us, make us stronger. The only reason he hasn't snapped yet is because he uses us as a sponge to repress this burning, mad power. Which is good, as he is strengthening us."_

_**"He's already unstable," **_the Selfishness added happily. _**"One day the pressure will be too much for him to handle and then oh BOY he shall snap hard!"**_

_"Cease to talk like a human kid," _the Pride ordered coldly, the Selfishness obeying with a little hint of fear. _"It is beneath us. Anyhow, this is fortunate one like you fell in this mental hell… we finally have what we needed to alleviate our boredom." _Its eyes narrowed at Shisui, while carefully avoiding to cross gaze with him.

_"A toy."_

And Shisui screamed.

In a blink, Naruko found herself sitting on a chair. She had returned to the Uchiha mansion's kitchen. But this time, she could control her own movements. She stared at hands, which were, well, her own.

Next to her, another chair appeared out of nowhere, Itachi sitting on it. "This…"

"This was my story," a voice finished. Shisui emerged from a corner's shadow, perfectly calm and still. "Through my eyes, you have seen it. Now you the scale of our crimes."

"The Uchiha clan never betrayed the Yondaime!" Itachi protested. "Madara tracked him and his wife by torturing ANBU with his genjutsu."

"In your world, maybe. In my own, the Uchiha clan sold our beloved ruler and Uzumaki Kushina for power." Shisui narrowed his eyes in hatred. "They had to be wiped out. They had to."

"You used your mind-control technique on me…" Itachi realized in horror. "You forced me to refuse the Sandaime's offer to lead Konoha… you forced me to accept Danzo's proposal…"

"And you killed me for it," the illusionist confirmed. "Not that I didn't deserve it. My mental orders to my victims existed past me, and the Inner Council continued to plague Naruto, the Sandaime, and Konoha for years. But Madara never came, and peace lived on. The price had been high indeed, but it had to be paid. It is only in this state of animated memories than I can tell you the whole truth. It is only there my own mental command can't make me silent."

"This is insane…" Itachi stated.

"Naruto is insane," Shisui confirmed. "His madness corrupted the Kyuubi instead of his own mind, just as Yagura's own insanity morphed the Sanbi into a ravenous monster. Fragmented, the Kyuubi began to feed on its vessel's pain, growing stronger and madder. My own psychic tortures empowered the three until they became powerful enough to propose a deal to Naruto, after he snapped… one that gave them a permanent foothold in his mind. But when they fought that copy of him, N, they survived in a weakened state. I broke free from their control, and managed to seal them with the Sharingan. Now… the son of the Yondaime can rest peacefully in this blissful illusion, where no one will ever threaten him again." He frowned. "Not even you, Itachi."

"What about your prisoners?" The Godaime was seething with anger. "Do you intend to keep Kitsune imprisoned forever? And what about my parents? They are not the one that betrayed your Konoha."

"These two thought about jeopardizing the delicate balance that maintains the real world safe," Shisui replied, his eyes burning with insanity. "They are corrupt. They're still Fugaku and Mikoto. They bear the taint of the Uchiha, as such they must be purified through endless pain. Naruto will stay there until his body runs out. I will watch over him, and make sure he's safe and happy, for I am his friend… his only friend."

Naruko couldn't restrain herself anymore. "This is wrong!"

The two Uchiha stared at her. Shisui's gaze was... sinister.

"This is completely wrong!" She shouted. "He is not alone!"

"He has always been," Shisui replied sadly. "You will never be able to understand his pain. You didn't even find a way to cure him!"

"I will find a way, because he's my brother!" Naruko snarled. "We have the same blood and parents! We are the children of the Yondaime Hokage and Uzumaki Kushina! We share the same curse! I understand him better than you could ever hope to!"

"Yet you failed!" Shisui rasped, enraged. "Naruto-"

"He's not Uzumaki Naruto!" She shot back. "He's Kitsune Arashi, my brother and sibling! And I shall never abandon him!"

"So release him and Itachi's parents _now_, so we can find a way to help him for _real_!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Void<strong>_

To humans, the Kyuubi's seal would appear like a prison, their minds interpreting what they were seeing in a way they could understand. To the August Star, it was a web of arrays and chakra powered by the Shinigami's divine essence and containing three comatose entities.

The August Star knew it was the Sharingan's deed. These eyes, descending from the legendary Rinnegan, had kept a shard of its power and link to the Bijuu. Normal Uchiha could restrain a Tailed Beast's power for a limited time. An Uchiha empowered by the Void's power could control one completely.

Shisui Uchiha was somewhat of a middle ground. With the Shinigami's seal keeping most of the Kyuubi's powers in check, he could repress the Bijuu until he died. Or rather, as long as the seal could stand.

Void was undetectable, invisible. When its vessel had tried to enter his brethren's mindscape, he had given the August Star the opportunity to send a little fragment of itself infiltrate the mad boy's brain. It was just a spy. It was not powerful enough to corrupt, it had no significant well of power, and could do almost nothing but watch events unfold. It could only hide from Shisui's eternal watch.

Yet, these newcomers had allowed it to make a move.

Shisui was too focused on its visitors to notice what the void was about to do, until it was too late.

He could not prevent the Kyuubi from escaping.

Amatsu-Mikaboshi had nothing personal against these people. If things had turned differently, it would have left them in peace. But their bonds with its vessel were weakening him, preventing him from accepting its planned purpose. As such they were considered obstacles that had to be removed.

The void touched the seal, its essence connecting with the Shinigami's. These two opposite elements fused and negated each other out of existence, leaving nothing but a gigantic hole in the Kyuubi's prison.

Somewhere, three pairs of eyes slowly began to open.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Omake: Zombie World<em>**

"They're everywhere..." Kazama said, with a sinister voice. He and Tsukiyomi were in a deserted street, having temporarily set aside their grudge to fight a common menace.

"They know no fear, and no shame," Madara added, preparing to defend his life with everything he had. "They're the worst menace you shall ever face, young one."

"They come..." Kazama whispered.

Suddenly, a legion of walking cadavers walked toward them. Kakashi, Jiraiya, Sakura... they were all dead, turned into shameless monsters by a deadly virus.

They stopped in front of the duo, and began to use their dreaded ultimate technique.

"UNDEAD MOONWALK!"

The undead began to glide backward.

"We must... resist..." Madara said.

"I can't!" Kazama said, as his feet began to move on their own.

"Hell..." Madara cursed, his body beginning to obey the power of moonwalk. He ended up joining the group of dancing undead. "What kind of sick guy designed a story like this?"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's notes:<em>**

**_Thank, MetagrossZ, for inspiring the Omake._**

**_I am sure this shall be one of my most controversial chapter, so here is a few explanations. _**

**_I didn't plan for Shisui to be revealed as the Inner Council's creator at first. To be honest, I got the idea when Itachi spoke with Naruto, after breaking Kabuto's control. If Shisui was loyal to Konoha... and had a mind-control jutsu... then Itachi might have not done all these things on free-will entirely. That doubt made me reinterpret the Inner Council's backstory._**

**_However, as I stated, even if only a few of its members were controlled, the rest wasn't. They followed the organization from their own free-will. One dictator doesn't make a dictatorship... it's the people making the system works all the time. Other people joined the organization later, out of personal interest or misguided good intents. Only a few had no choice._**

**_I honestly expect the reveal that the Uchiha clan betrayed the Yondaime to Tobi will be made canon. It would explain a lot about Itachi's actions, and why Fugaku and Mikoto were nowhere to be seen during the event. I doubt Kishimoto added this little scene with Itachi and his baby brother for nothing..._**

**_Also, if Shisui seems confused and illogical, remember: after all he went through, can you expect him to still be sane?_**

**_For the Amatsu-Mikaboshi moment, remember the time when Kitsune saw a dark Kazama in 'Wanderers'? That was the shard of this story's Bigger Bad. Amatsu-Mikaboshi will also play a role in the other arcs, though indirectly._**

**_Also, here are the results of the two polls I made._**

**_Out of 44 voters:_**

_**What do you like the most in my story, Echoes? Up to five choices.**_

_**1 The character development? **__**25 votes » 12%**_

_**2 The characters and their interactions? **__**24 votes » 11%**_

_**3 The characters actually having to train and fight intelligently? **__**22 votes » 10%**_

_**4 The plot? **__**17 votes » 8%**_

_**5 The premise? **__**14 votes » 6%**_

**_Out of 25 voters:_**

**_Who are or were your favorite characters that appeared in my story, Echoes? Up to seven choices. Bijuu, summons, cameos, one-shot characters, and otherworldly creatures are not included in this poll._**

**_1 Kazama Arashi, aka the dimension traveler who started the whole mess. A cynic in the making. _****_15 votes » 9%_**

**_2 Sasori, Chibaku's master and a socially maladjusted genius. Has issues. _****_12 votes » 7%_**

**_3 Amaterasu, aka the Madara Uchiha in love with war and weapons. _****_12 votes » 7%_**

**_4 Kakashi Hatake, a broken man slowly turning into a true badass ninja. _****_11 votes » 7%_**

**_5 Yugito Nii, the vessel of the Nibi. Also called kitten by her Bijuu. _****_10 votes » 6%_**

**_6 Tsukiyomi, aka the ever-polite Madara Uchiha. Affable, but deadly. _****_10 votes » 6%_**

**_7 Naruko Arashi, aka the female Naruto who's on a journey to become a badass. _****_8 votes » 5%_**

**_8 Zabuza Momochi, the big grumpy swordsman with a hidden soft side. _****_8 votes » 5%_**

**_9 Haku Yuki, a girl manipulating ice. Extremely kind and friendly. _****_8 votes » 5%_**

**_10 Gaara, an insane girl who believes the Shukaku is her mother. _****_8 votes» 5%_**

**_Don't hesitate to review and state your opinion about this chapter and this story, and write you soon!_**


	25. Chapter 24: Thoughtcrime

_**Alright, everybody, I have a big declaration to make. As you may have noticed, this chapter comes late. That is because I'm going to have a lot of very difficult exams at the end of the year, in order to enter the school I want. As such, I have a lot of work.**_

_**As it's becoming more and more difficult to balance both revisions and that story, I'm temporarily putting Echoes on hiatus.**_

_**Basically, don't expect any update until July at least. **_

_**Anyway, it has been a year since I started this story. I'm feeling kind of... nostalgic. I intend to finish it, don't worry.**_

**_I hope you will enjoy the chapter. It shall deals with Chibaku's group and the Shodaime!Madara world._**

**_And... by the way, someone attempted by 'chakraless!Naruto' challenge. It's Burnzs and is story is called Konoha's Beautiful Orange Beast. Check it out, it's good._**

**_Thanks to my betas ABitterPill, Third Fang, and Alpha142 for their excellent work._**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto._**

* * *

><p><em><strong>TravelerOriginal Naruto: Kazama Arashi.**_

_**Puppeteer Naruto: Chibaku Arashi.**_

_**Werefox/Hybrid Naruto: Kitsune Arashi.**_

_**Female Naruto: Naruko Arashi.**_

_**Deceiver/Original Madara: Tsukiyomi.**_

_**Destroyer/Rinnegan Madara: Susanoo.**_

_**Warrior/Collector Madara: Amaterasu (now dead).**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Currently, they are scattered in four worlds:<strong>_

**_Shodaime!Madara world: Chibaku, Sasori, Haku, Kuebiko._**

**_Godaime!Itachi world: Kitsune, Gaara, Naruko._**

**_Mystery world (for now): Kazama, Tsukiyomi, Susanoo._**

**_Alive!Yondaime world: Kakashi, Yugito._**

* * *

><p><em><strong><em><strong>Chapter Twenty-Four: Thoughtcrime<strong>_**_

"I apologize, miss Yuki," the masked women said, as two of her colleagues flanked the young lady. "But this is for your sake. It is a simple check-up."

"Why?" She asked, masked men observing Kuebiko and Sasori. One was looking into a red notebook, its pages covered with pictures. Standing still beside the mysterious female ANBU, Chibaku mentally prepared himself, just in case a fight broke out. He was aware Sasori was preparing himself to strike as well, and probably Kuebiko too.

The worst thing is that it had only taken them _one hour _after Madara's speech to be intercepted by a patrol.

"This is to preserve this city's security," the female replied. She looked at the person with the notebook. "So?"

"The faces correspond," the masked ANBU replied, with a stern male voice. He pointed a finger at Chibaku's master. "Sasori, a worker of the ministry of information, dormant bloodline wielder." The finger switched target for Kuebiko. "Renji Senju, member of the Senju clan, dormant bloodline wielder." He closed the notebook. "Nothing to report."

"The Senju…" One of the masked men cracked his fingers in an unreadable manner. "That clan had been relocated by Alpha within the last month. I thought Three had collected them all?"

"A regretful misdeed. They missed him," another nodded, before looking at Chibaku. "Thank you for finding him, new one."

"It was nothing," Chibaku replied, scratching the back of his mask. The cloth was beginning to stick to his skin too much for his comfort…

"The Yuki clan is next," the man with the notebook said. "Most of them have been evacuated already. This lady is late… very late…"

"I apologize, mister Senju and miss Yuki, but we'll have to put you under house arrest for a while," one of the masked women said. "Your clans have been relocated toward the south, to protect them from Taka's continued treacherous attacks, as per lord Madara's orders. You'll join them, when we evacuate another clan. Economy of resources, you understand."

"You, worker," the man with the notebook said, pointing his finger at Sasori. "You follow them. Nobody must know there are still a Yuki and a Senju here, or the rebels might try to target them. Consider it a reward for your… services."

"This is an honor," Sasori replied, faking obedience. With his experience, Chibaku could sense the displeasure and sarcasm beneath the facade.

"May I know where are we staying, and for how long?" Kuebiko politely asked, most probably so Chibaku could know where they were.

"Classified," the man with the notebook replied off-handily. "It won't last more than a few days, I think. You can take off your armor, by the way. We are the ANBU; no one will threaten you under our watch."

"And if one were to slip through it?" Haku replied.

A chuckle answered her. "We are always watching, for we have fifty thousand eyes," the man replied, waving his hand. "Take them away, and assign them to their residence. You, new one, you stay."

Chibaku almost prepared to protest, but Sasori caressed his sleeve. Recognizing the code, the puppet master's apprentice shut his mouth, understanding his master would do fine on his own. He silently saw them walk away, flanked by four ANBU.

"I'm still amazed they managed to slip through Three's web… no matter. We have them." The man with the red notebook eyed Chibaku. "Want to drink a bit, new one? I'm kind of tired right now, so why not chat it up around a bottle of sake?"

"Twenty!" An ANBU crossed its arms in anger. Chibaku recognized the voice of the woman he had met when he had entered the city. "Look at him! He's too young!"

"Then he will take milk. Like you, Ninety. Consider your guard over."

"But Alpha-"

"Alpha is lenient with rookies, and it's within my rights to alleviate you from your duties. Unless we cross path with Three or, Alpha forbids, _Five_, there shouldn't be a problem."

The woman looked ready to protest, but stayed silent. "Alright," she finally muttered. "But if things go bad…"

"I'll take full responsibility." The man, Twenty, looked at Chibaku. "Do you know the Shunshin?"

"Yes," he nodded.

"Then this shouldn't bother you," the man said, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder.

In a flash, they found themselves in the middle of a brown, large room. Big candelabras were lighting the place, which looked a lot like a bar. There were multiple tables, with people sitting on chairs, and a counter. The bartender stared at the two newcomers.

Chibaku almost had an heart attack.

"Hello," Kazama said… or someone looking like his twin. He seemed slightly older, but… "What will it be today?"

"One sake bottle, two milk cups," the man with the red notebook commanded, taking away his mask. Blonde hair, blue eyes, a pale adult face.

"Oh, come on…" The female ANBU said, appearing next to Chibaku. Removing her mask, she revealed long blonde hair, blue eyes, and a beautiful face.

_Naruko? _Chibaku's eyes widened. _No… she looks like ten years older._

"Guys, girls!" The man with the notebook shouted, absentmindedly taking away Chibaku's mask. "We have a new customer! Be nice and say hello!"

All the customers looked at the young puppeteer with their blue eyes, scaring him shitless.

"Welcome!" Around a dozen older copies of himself shouted at the same time.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Puppet Master, Sasori<strong>_

"We shall split up for the time," the ANBU leader stated, as they reached a crossroad. He touched Haku's shoulder. "I will escort her. We shall meet at Utopia."

As he used a Shunshin to vanish with the girl almost instantly, Sasori focused on the little spying device he had discreetly attached to the man's armor. His soul could understand the special frequency, allowing him to listen to what the man was saying.

He hated not being in control of the situation. It happened more and more frequently these days. The puppet master was a creature of order, and more a spider than scorpion. Sasori only felt good when controlling his web, made of deceits, traps and tricks, allowing him to be aware of every vibration and protect himself.

Too bad the web had been utterly destroyed the second those damn Uchiha had entered his life.

Sasori was… angry. Mostly at himself. Everything had gone to hell recently. He had barely survived the fights he had participated in. He at best managed to escape with his life in all his battles with Madara, loosing much of his priceless collection in the process and surviving humiliated. He had been outmatched by that demonic creature, and barely matched Cloud's forces. True, all his opponents had been extremely strong… yet it was infuriating none the less.

He had to find a way to improve, and _fast_.

_"Mister ANBU… _Where are we headed_?"_

_"To Heaven, miss Yuki."_

Noises of struggle were heard, putting Sasori on his guard. He had guessed something was wrong when they separated, as it would only weaken them…

_"Lord Five."_

The man had begun talking, and Sasori focused on him.

_"We have noticed infiltrators. My men are currently bringing them to Utopia…"_

Sasori observed his surroundings, preparing to strike. Four ANBU, and without anyone else to witness their death…

_"… Lord Five? Lord Five, do you feel fin-"_

_"Explain what you mean by infiltrators…" _It was the voice of the strange killer they had seen outside the center. Somehow, it sounded different… more aggressive, less calm.

_"Three people were escorted by one of us. One, this girl, is a certified Yuki according to her features and chakra, but the others… we concocted a false story on the spot and tricked them. One is a total unknown, and the other's chakra signature matches the Senju."_

_"Yet, I killed the last of them personally." _Sasori's eyes narrowed in suspicion. _"Slowly… painfully… after smashing his son's head against a wall… I see who you are talking about…" _The voice sounded professional again. The man was probably bipolar, maybe unstable._ "I was in a hurry to kill the snake's goons, so I didn't bother checking them out. The clone I saw was a rookie, and the Yuki is young. They might have been deceived... Or maybe this Yuki is a fake. I wondered how she could have slipped through Three's watch… she assured Alpha all the Yuki had been brought to Utopia and assimilated."_

_Clone? _Sasori thought, the pieces of the puzzle beginning to assemble themselves. _Assimilated?_

_"What do we do about them? Do we send them to the work camps? Looking at the shortages, I assume they lack slaves to make furniture for the populace…"_

_So that's how they maintain their economy, _Sasori thought. _Of course. They must keep slaves from raids, instead of killing all the inhabitants. Why waste resources?_

_"No need. The Final Protocol has already reached a sufficient stage. The work camps in the countryside are currently being dismantled one by one on Three's command, and their inhabitants assimilated. Shortages are no longer a problem, as are the populace and these infiltrators. I can't imagine how the snake successfully made one of his minions identical to a Senju, but the fact he doesn't know about our takeover is the proof the Final Protocol is safe. We don't need them."_

_"So we assimilate them?"_

_"Only the Yuki… if she's really one or not, Alpha won't care. Sacrifice the rest to the statue when they reach Utopia. Servants of the snakes deserve nothing less than such pitiful end."_

_"Understood."_

In a calm, nonchalant gesture, Sasori used his water-canon to behead two ANBU on the spot.

The two others barely had the time to blink before being attacked as well. Turning grey, Kuebiko vanished and, faster than the eyes could follow, logged multiple kunai in the ANBU's throat and vital organs. They fell dead on the ground.

"It was a trap," Sasori said, trying to find an escape route. "They are aware we're not citizens. They were leading us to a trap. A deadly one."

"Crap…" Kuebiko stated. "I should have guessed… one world where changes were so great couldn't possibly have _exact _copies of us. What else did you learn?"

"The Senju are all dead. The ANBU exterminated them. Considering Madara is supposedly in charge, it isn't very surprising." Sasori approached one of the non-beheaded corpse, observing the masks. Removing them would be difficult, as they were protected by seals, but…

Suddenly, the clothes turned red, blood tainting them. Sasori heard a sickening noise, and watched in morbid fascination as the masks shrank, destroying the face underneath. _Efficient… _he admitted. _But why would they need to do this… maybe to protect their own infiltrators?_

… _or..._

_"Hide your face… We are legion, but no one must know it… it will explode in contact with another's skin…"_

_"The clone I saw was a rookie…"_

_"For we are watching you with fifty thousand eyes."_

"… or maybe it's because they all have the same face," Sasori realized. "They are all clones."

"What are you talking about?" Kuebiko asked. "We need to get away."

_"… what is this? Impossible!"_

_"It seems your soldiers are dead," _Five's voice whispered with a creepy tone. _"All units, we have two intruders near Utopia. Go butcher them and bring me their heads."_

"We have been discovered," Sasori rasped, angered. "The ANBU are coming for us." _Sorry, Chibaku, miss Haku… your rescue will be for another time. _"We need to flee, and return later once your friends arrive as reinforcement."

"If the ANBU are after us, we need to escape this city."

An audacious idea suddenly came to the puppet master's mind. "Or… we could go to the suburbs…"

_"… you idiot…" _Five whispered. A loud noise of neck breaking made Sasori focus on the transmission.

_"I know you are listening to me, intruders. I found your device on this moron… he won't have the opportunity to be worthless anymore. Since you must have heard us talking, let me tell you this, just between you and me: this land is ours. Its citizens are ours. Their very minds are ours. We will hunt you and catch you. You shall be destroyed, mind and body, like this whole world has. I will personally beat the very spirit of hope out of your worthless, pitiful brain, just for the sake of it, until you're nothing more than dirt under my shoes. Hope, dreams… I will crush all these meaningless things, until nothing remains in you but despair and pain. I will destroy the very essence of your pointless life. So why don't you welcome death, and embrace your end by my hand?"_

* * *

><p><em><strong>The puppeteer, Chibaku<strong>_

"So you're a new breed?" Twenty said, drinking his sake. The trio was sitting around a table. The man raised an eyebrow. "You don't like milk?"

"I... just don't feel well." Chibaku hadn't even touched his cup. He had never experienced such a feeling of oppression… he had never been disturbed before by any of his counterparts, but having _dozens _of sentient clones around him was just too much.

Twenty and Ninety looked at him strangely. "Is it… a birth sickness?" The latter asked. "I thought new breeds didn't need pills."

"All sicknesses aren't caused by deficient genetic material," Twenty replied. "A trauma would have been more sudden."

"Birth sickness?" Chibaku asked.

"Haven't you heard about it?" Ninety wondered out loud, looking at him as if he were a baby. "Older clones are… broken. The creation process wasn't truly perfected at the time, so they have a few… problems."

Twenty searched in his pocket, and put a few blue pills on the table. "I need to take two pills each morning and evening, or else I start having headaches and my heart pulse goes awry. At the end, I risk the cardiac arrest. Bad stuff. Yet, that's tame compared to some of us…"

"What can be worse than a cardiac arrest?" Chibaku asked.

"Let see… Three's chakra goes out of control and burns her alive, the seven series suffers from schizophrenia and can't even make correct sentences at worst, and Five…" Twenty shivered. "I only saw him once off his meds. It was just… frightening. He's disturbing _at best _when he's sane, but without his pills, he's just unhinged and crazy."

Chibaku had personally seen the guy kill two people in a street and in react in the same manner as someone who had crushed a fly. So he didn't really want to know what he was capable off when insane. "I see…"

"No… believe me, pray Alpha you'll never see Five on a bad day," Twenty whispered ominously. "You might not even survive that day at all. Anyway, what's your number?"

Chibaku felt his blood freeze in his veins. "My… number?"

"Your identification number," Ninety clarified herself. "As you are a sentient clone, you have a series number and a personal number. My full name is Ninety-006."

"Mine is Twenty-0014," her companion added. "Yours?"

"I…" _I need to invent something… why not Hundred-007? Oh shit, if it's wrong I'm dead. Better pass for an idiot than a liar. _"I don't remember…"

The two stayed silent, then crossed gazes. Twenty nodded. "He's unfixed."

"Do some series have memory problems?" Ninety asked. Chibaku cringed at their conclusion.

"The sixty-seventh in particular," Twenty nodded. He rose up. "Kid, you're coming with us."

"For what?" Chibaku asked, slightly uneasy.

"For a little trip. First we're going to get your pills, then we'll refresh your memory." Twenty raised an eyebrow. "What do you remember?"

"I…" Chibaku faked confusion. "Just entering the city center…"

The two others stayed silent a moment. "Alright…" Ninety whispered. "I guess he needs to see her…"

"Kid… please forgive us."

Chibaku barely had the time to blink as Twenty's fingers connected with his neck, knocking him out.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Ice Lady, Haku<strong>_

The light was strong.

Haku was tied to to a chair, her every limb restrained. She could only move her eyes, and see the light. That powerful, purple light that could pierce her thoughts.

"I want you to tell me everything," a man with a white mask whispered with a monotone, emotionless voice, as his head appeared next to the light. Haku's weakened mind recognized the man she had crossed path with in the suburbs. It looked like a ghost, a vision from another world. "Who are you?"

"Haku Yuki," she replied, unable to resist the light's power.

"Unknown," the man whispered. "Are you a spy for the _snake_?"

"No. I know no snake."

"Then who are you?" The man asked with the same monotone voice. "And who were the people following you? What are their weapons and skills? What are their affiliations? Tell me everything. _Everything_."

Haku almost answered… but then remembered he was speaking about her friends.

So she garnered the strength not to answer, in spite of the light's power.

The man's head narrowed slightly in silent, unspoken displeasure. "You dare defy the will of Konoha? You dare defy the Will of Fire? You dare to defy _me_? This is foolish and useless. I will break you in time, little bird. I will shatter your wings until you're nothing but an empty shell."

"I don't know who you are…" Haku whispered, her willpower successfully fighting the light's influence. "But I have faced far worse ordeals than you. You cannot break me."

The man stayed silent a few seconds. "How unfortunate… and wrong."

The light vanished.

Regaining the control of her mind, Haku found herself in a completely white room. In front of her, the masked man, and behind him, a large wall of glass… the light's source. The man snapped his fingers. "How impolite of me to not exchange names with you… I am Five. The one and only Five, the beginning and the end. And I am the one tasked to assimilate you."

He moved his head closer to Haku's, until she could hear the breath under the mask. "You must understand assimilation is freedom from individuality. It is the total destruction of the self, existence, past and future. When there will be nothing left in you but the worship of the Will of Fire, when you shall see the truth, then you will betray your friends… only then shall assimilation be complete."

_Will of Fire? _"I don't understand, but you won't break me," the young woman promised defiantly. "You will _never _break me."

"Such a valiant mind… these beliefs…" the man whispered, taking a few steps back. "I will crush them. They will be forgotten, erased from existence… just as you will be in time. I will destroy you, Haku Yuki. No name, no more past, no more future… just obedience. And then, I shall track down your friends and destroy them too."

As Haku glared at him, he raised his arm. The glass lightened, and a word appeared in crimson. "Read it," Five ordered. "Speak and tell the truth, or you shall know pain."

Haku narrowed her eyes, not understanding what he wanted. "Wrong."

"Wrong answer," Five whispered with a hint of creepy delight, his hand shining with lightning. "It's _right_."

Suddenly, Haku screamed in pain, a surge of electricity racing through her body as Five's hand touched her skin. The discharge was strong, strong enough to make tears run down from her eyes.

"Do you feel pain? I think you do. How is it? They say electric shocks are the most painful experience a human can survive." Five broke the body contact. "So? What is the word?"

The hand was still shining.

"Right," the young lady hastily replied.

The man narrowed his head in disapproval, and touched Haku's cheek. "You didn't mean it."

Another surge of electricity made her scream.

"I will hurt you until you believe everything I'm telling you or until you die," Five whispered, his fingers charged with the power of thunder. "So… what is the word? Tell the honest truth."

"Right…" she lied.

And she screamed again. And again. And again. And again…

She didn't know for how long the process had repeated itself. Maybe hours. At one moment, Five ceased the torture. "Your cheek is all red… you have such a pale, fragile skin. You should take a better care of it. You just have to tell the truth… you just have to believe everything I'm telling you."

"This is a lie," Haku rasped, seething with pain. "It's wrong."

"It's right if Konoha wants it to be," Five replied calmly. "Being the hand of Konoha, I embody its will. As such, if Konoha wants me to tell you that wrong is right, or black is white, then wrong is right and black is white. There is no such a thing as a lie, my dear. Just what Konoha says."

"Konoha…" The lady was struggling to remain conscious. "It used to be a dream of unity and peace…"

"It is a utopia… maybe not the one its founders envisioned, but one nonetheless. It is always under construction. All assimilated individuals are the pillars that shall make Alpha's little heaven stand. When all of you originals shall be too occupied worshiping Konoha, then true peace can be achieved." Five began to walk around Haku, lost in his monologue. "Or at least… that is what Alpha herself wants to believe. But I know better. Our peace will be true, unending oppression. Persecution. Limitless power. Destruction."

He narrowed his head, to better observe Haku's face. "Alpha might have deluded herself into thinking all of this was for the greater good… yet her ideal is becoming more and more corrupted with each passing day. Have you looked at History? All those great attempts at unification, these cults based around love, these good old ideologies… in time, they all become tools for ambition and despotism. It is in human nature to turn dreams into nightmares for power. Alpha's dream is a nightmare to all but herself."

"Alpha?" Haku whispered.

"The first of us. The prototype of the ultimate soldier all those clan heads wanted so they could keep their power, after Madara kicked the bucket. They pretended, maybe even believed, it was just a temporary way of maintaining civil order… yet they just wanted weapons. Without their prized, enraged, unstoppable attack dog, these fools thought maybe they weren't so unbeatable anymore…"

"Madara… dead?" Haku briefly thought she had listened wrong… right… no, wrong. Wrong.

"No, he's alive… sort of. He has ascended. He has become Konoha's face, the embodiment of the Will of Fire, and a great boogeyman to keep the populace in line. He will live as long as we want." Five's fingers touched her cheek. "I talked too much. Right or wrong?"

He electrocuted her again.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Wanderer, Kuebiko<strong>_

"I'm speeding up, I promise," Fukuro said through the helmet. "This isn't easy you know."

"I do, yet we need you to hurry," the former Hokage said, observing a street from a roof, next to Sasori. Night had fallen, but the Nidaime's helmet allowed him to see in the darkness. "Two of them are at Madara's mercy. I don't need to give you an image."

His friend sighed. "If it can reassure you, Omoikane told me she would enter this world herself as soon as she could."

That gave the wanderer some relief. He was aware his female partner was an excellent kunoichi, and her support would be invaluable. "When will she arrive?"

"A few hours, but I can't be sure. I'll update her on the situation as soon as I receive her call."

"Thank you," the Nidaime replied, before looking at Sasori. "Are you sure someone will come?"

"I'm sure," the puppeteer rasped. "I left enough hints in the suburbs. At best, they will be intrigued and investigate, and at worst they will think it's a trap from the ANBU, and come anyway to kill them. Either way, they shall meet us. However, we would better be prepared in case things go sour…"

The Nidaime nodded, and made hand seals. "You don't need to tell me twice." He slammed his palm on the ground. "Summoning Technique."

Sasori didn't bother to hide his surprise, as five small, floating jellyfishes appeared in a puff of smoke. The creatures were blue, with shades of yellow, and were defying gravity itself. Kuebiko was aware of the basic theory behind that feat, but even he had a hard time understanding his summons' powers. But at least, he was aware of their battle skills.

"Hello, my friends," he told them warmly. "Could you dispatch yourselves and prepare to use the Shock Field? As usual, trigger it, when I command it."

Silently, the jellyfishes dispersed, repeating a formation they had used dozens of times already. Sasori was staring at the scene, amazed. "Incredible… these are the legendary jellyfishes, the ultimate trap summons. How can you summon them? My companions tried and failed."

"Normally, the summoning jutsu isn't powerful enough to break the barrier between worlds," Kuebiko answered. "However, I found a way around it… a pocket dimension."

Sasori was looking at him, hungry for information. The gaze was slightly unsettling. "A small pocket in space? Like the one the Yondaime used to teleport?"

"In theory, the principle is the same," the Nidaime began, happy to actually share his knowledge with someone who could actually understand it. "My seals created a small 'bubble' between dimensions. My summons are transported there, and then where I am. As the border between this artificial hole and different dimensions is far thinner, it allows them to cross worlds, using me as an anchor to direct themselves. I basically serve as the end of a bridge, with my pocket dimension being the bridge itself."

"Brilliant," Sasori commented. "This solves so many problems… but why can't we use this bridge ourselves for travel?"

"Because, as there is no blood contract between us, we lack the necessary seals to make sure you do not end up lost through time and space," the Nidaime explained. "Summoning contracts are bound by seal designs that only make sense to a Rinnegan user, and even us travelers haven't discovered all their secrets. It's the Sage himself who designed the seal arrays used for summoning contracts, and ours are just adaptations of a technique we do not completely comprehend the inner workings of. We are trying to bypass that problem with Eon."

"You talked about it before…" Sasori whispered. "What is it?"

"A traveling device that would allow multiple people to cross dimensional borders. Basically, a bigger, completed version of my first space-time jutsu that could teleport many people safely to another dimension… like you and your companions."

Sasori narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Why are you helping us? Be honest."

Kuebiko raised an eyebrow, surprised by the question. _Does he still distrust me? _"Do I need a reason to help people?"

"Everyone is motivated by something," Sasori replied cynically. "Be it loyalty, treachery, ambition, love… there is always a reason."

"Well… I like to help people," the Nidaime said simply. "It's in my nature. Happy?"

"No," Sasori stated, looking at the street again. "I don't trust you. I'm honest with it. But you might necessary to save my apprentice, so… I guess we'll have to cooperate."

"Your apprentice, Sasori-san?" Kuebiko asked, surprised. "What about Haku?"

Sasori answered with a question of his own. "Something bothers me… why did you say _exact _copies of us? The chances we are even _born_ in such world are nonexistent. Our ancestors might have been killed in one of Madara's atrocities, or never crossed paths."

Kuebiko shook his head, giving up on making the puppeteer express his thoughts. But he didn't like the fact he seemed willing to overlook one of his companions. _I guess he just cares about his apprentice…_ "Reality follows the path of least resistance."

"Could you elaborate?"

"Haven't you noticed that in spite of many, many changes, Naruto Uzumaki is almost always either the son of Kushina Uzumaki or Minato Namikaze? He's almost always named Naruto, and is almost always the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki. You, Sasori, are almost always a puppeteer. I am almost always the brother of Hashirama Senju, even in worlds where my ancestor married a Uchiha or the like."

Sasori stared at him emotionessly. "Do you imply there is… fate?"

"If there is any chance of Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze of having a kid together, it happens," Kuebiko explained. "We think that any world that diverges tries to stick as much as it can to World Prime instead of letting changes increase. Most worlds generally have the same people because it's easier to have them than completely different people. Universes that have almost nothing in common with our owns are extremely rare. As such, even in a world like this, you can be sure at least a few people you know exist there, even if the odds of them being born are one in ten billion."

The puppeteer stayed silent, before glancing at a street corner with his head.

Silently, the Nidaime approached the roof's end. A person, a man or woman, he couldn't be sure, was walking, covered by red cape and hood. "A shadow clone," the wanderer pointed out, analyzing the chakra signature. "The original is not within the vicinity." _Even divided, that shadow clone's reserves are monstrous, _the wanderer thought. _That person must be a S-rank ninja at least._

"It was to be expected from them to be cautious," Sasori sighed.

The hooded person stopped walking. "I know you are hiding on the roof," he said out loud with a raspy hiss.

Sasori frowned. "I recognize that voice…" he whispered.

_Me too, _the Nidaime thought. _How is it possible? It can't be him…_

"I wish you no harm," the clone said, using a shunshin to appear on the roof. Kuebiko prepared himself to activate his trap, just in case. "I was watching you since the moment you entered this city. I am aware you want to free your friends from Alpha… this is why you left me messages in the suburbs, I presume."

"So you are Taka's leader," Sasori stated.

"The faction that Alpha hasn't taken over, yes," the person, whose voice was obviously masculine, confirmed. "The ANBU are secretly funding and controlling most of Taka's cells, using them to commit periodic, small-scaled attacks that could serve their propaganda. As a bonus, it allows Alpha to prevent the rebellion from becoming too much of a menace. Damage control as its finest. My own group is the one she has no power over."

"That explains the snake and boss comment…" the puppeteer muttered. "Alpha is the ANBU's leader, isn't it?"

The hooded clone chuckled. "Yes. The man you met was Five, Alpha's most ruthless enforcer and rabid attack dog. You are very lucky he mistook you for allies… and not prey."

"I do not care about him, only about your help," Sasori replied, narrowing his head. "And your answers. May I count on your help… _Orochimaru-san_?"

The man took away his hood, revealing a white, snake-like face. "Of course… I, however, expect you to return the favor…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Puppeteer, Chibaku<strong>_

_**Hey… hey kid… kid, wake up, we're in serious trouble.**_

_What? _Chibaku thought drowsily.

The Kyuubi sighed in barely restrained relief… before groaning. _**Open your eyes, and look at the situation you placed us in this time!**_

Chibaku obeyed… and gaped.

He was facing an angel's face… or someone very close. It was a young woman, with a pale, pure skin, a beautiful visage, fine lips, shining blue eyes, and long, perfect golden hair.

She was what Naruko would be, if she was actually beautiful.

… _**you are a jerk.**_

_And proud of it! And, if I remember, you aren't a good guy either._

_**I never pretended to be. I'm a demon, remember?**_

"Welcome, young child," the woman said, with a gentle voice. Her warm hands caressed Chibaku's cheeks. "Did you sleep well?"

"H-hello milady," Chibaku said, quickly getting up, to better see her. She was wearing a formal, white kimono, that made her look like a priestess. She was so… graceful. "I'm Chibaku… nice to meet you."

"I am Alpha-1," the woman replied with a smile. "ANBU commander Alpha-1."

The answer made the boy's blood freeze in his veins. This woman was the _chief of all the clones?_

"And I know who you are… Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze."

… _and crap._

_**Indeed, **_the Kyuubi confirmed.

"No need to panic," the woman said softly upon viewing Chibaku's horrified expression. "I wish you no harm. Quite the contrary. I was looking forward to talking to you."

In spite of her affirmation, the first thing the boy did was to look around himself, seeking an escape route.

He only found flowers.

Tons and tons of flowers. And stone in place of the sky.

The two were in a forest, or rather, a very big garden, full of differently colored roses and strange trees… above them was a ceiling made of stone, and in the center, a large object was shining like the sun… "We are underground…" the boy realized.

"Under Konohagakure no Sato," Alpha explained. "This is my garden… I call it Utopia, because it is meant to be one." She narrowed her eyes and stared at the young puppeteer, smiling kindly. "You are safe here. Madara will never get you there, whether he comes from this world or another. I promise, your struggle for life ends now."

"Isn't Madara supposed to be your boss?" Chibaku replied, analyzing the woman. She didn't look, or act, as a ANBU commander at all. Maybe was it a façade? And how _the hell _could she know about who he was?

"I never met him," Alpha said calmly. Chibaku raised an eyebrow. How could have an ANBU commander never met their boss?

And then, she dropped a bomb.

"He was dead years before my birth."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Puppet Master, Sasori<strong>_

The hideout looked like a perfectly normal house at first… until you descended into the basement.

It was a true underground base, full of dark little rooms and corridors. Following Orochimaru, the duo crossed paths with multiple members of Taka, all of them wearing red clothes and saluting their leader. Ignoring them, the trio entered a small office, illuminated by a crystal embedded in the ceiling. Sitting behind a desk, the Sannin pointed to two chairs with a wave of his hand. "Please sit."

Obeying, Sasori and Kuebiko then stared at Taka's leader. "You trust us enough to show us one of your bases?" the redhead stated. At least, he was sure now they risked next to nothing. If the snake had intended to turn on them, he would have had multiple opportunities to have done it by now.

"I don't trust you," Orochimaru corrected softly. "And neither do you trust I. Yet, I know nothing I saw was staged, for I can discern right from wrong without a fault. As our interests converge, and to establish some stronger relationship between us, please take this as a gesture of good will, Sasori-san."

The fact his real name was no secret for the man didn't make the puppeteer blink. It was a negotiation, and he couldn't allow himself to appear in a bad position. "It seems you have knowledge we do not possess."

"Then ask me questions," he replied blankly. "I will be happy to share it with you."

"Since how long have you been leading Taka?" Kuebiko asked suspiciously.

"For about twenty years. I have been in the movement for almost forty years and took over after our former leader, Jiraiya, died fighting Three, Alpha's second-in-command. Taka itself existed ever since Konoha's clans started their genocidal campaign, but it was Jiraiya who united it into a cohesive force. Unfortunately, Alpha infiltrated it, causing many, many problems for us."

"Alpha… is she a clone too?" Sasori asked, both his interrogators eying him blankly. He liked to create surprise… as it showed he was in a position of force.

"So you are aware of that?" Orochimaru chuckled. "It took me years to piece the whole thing together, and you did in a few hours… then again, I never gained access to the city center for a long time."

"Clones?" Kuebiko asked, before gaping. "Wait… you're not telling me…"

"All the ANBU are clones," Sasori confirmed. "Not shadow clones. True clones of flesh and blood. It is why they have to protect their face and all look similar physically. Five mistook Chibaku for one of the ANBU agents because he is basically his original."

"Naruto Uzumaki…" Kuebiko whispered. "He exists here too…"

Sasori nodded. _Least resistance, eh? _He thought. _Even if the chances of him existing are almost nonexistent, they still happen._

"That is the codename of the original DNA code used as a base for Alpha," Orochimaru whispered. "A breeding program led to the birth of an embryo that was duplicated and slightly modified, in order to create a loyal and powerful army. Alpha was the first clone to be born as a female and to mature as an adult. She and the clones have been modified to grow around twice as fast as normal humans, allowing Konoha to replace Madara as a repressive instrument."

Sasori narrowed his eyes. _Naruto couldn't have possibly be born here, but reality made him exist in a different form. Interesting. _"Madara is dead, isn't he?"

"Yes." Orochimaru looked at the two. "You don't seem surprised."

"I thought about the possibility," Kuebiko said calmly. "He was one of the strongest ninja to ever live, and an army all on his own. It was unlikely he wouldn't show up or crush the rebellion himself, even if he had aged."

"The fact he didn't make a speech in person in his stronghold also irritated me," Sasori continued. "Using an impostor in public and risking him being revealed as such would have been a disaster for his public image, hence why the ANBU projected recorded images. I suppose it's Alpha who's really running the show from behind the scene?"

Orochimaru nodded. "Years ago, she usurped power from Konoha's leader, Hashirama Senju, with the help of her copies. She had the man's clan, the Uchiha and Uzumaki families wiped out in the process, hiding the small genocide under the pretense of having 'relocated' them to safety. They think that everybody is unaware of it and of their takeover, but I had my ways of informing myself."

The Nidaime raised his head. "Did you just say _Hashirama Senju_?"

"Madara's best friend, Konoha's ideologue and co-responsible party for the 'Purity First' program," Orochimaru confirmed, much to Sasori's surprise. "After Madara died, he took over the Village secretly and maintained the masquerade of his companion's perpetual existence. Madara was so feared that the simple thought of him being alive would stop unrest, or so the leadership believed. The clone army was built in case the truth was discovered and was used to carry on a guerrilla warfare against us as Konoha's limited manpower was beginning to dwindle faster than ours at the time."

"Co-responsible?" Kuebiko almost shuddered. Sasori could understand. If he had been informed his grandmother had been in league with Madara and harbored genocidal thoughts, he would have been shocked too. She was too pragmatic to participate in such mad scheme. "Wasn't he Madara's rival?"

"Rivalry doesn't prevent friendship," the Snake Sannin pointed out.

_Do the Sannin even exist in this reality? _Sasori wondered. _It feels like a twisted opposite of those we visited. Orochimaru is the defender of the common people, and a female copy of my apprentice is that hellhole's secret dictator. I almost think it is a dream…_

"The two were very close. Together, they elaborated the Will of Fire ideology, whose logical conclusion was the current state of the world."

"_Every true Konoha shinobi must love, believe, cherish and fight for the village's sake, as many previous generations had done before them_," Kuebiko recited. "_Dreams are transmitted from a generation to the next, causing the tree to grow in strength and extend its roots, which are the roots of peace. And, one day, true peace shall be realized._ I don't see how that would be the reason behind this… hell."

"The problem is that it makes the Village, the state, above the individual, who is reduced to nothing more than a brick, a part of the foundation," Orochimaru explained. "The Will of Fire promotes extreme nationalism and imperialism, as the citizens of Konoha are encouraged to share their 'prosperity' with the rest of the world, spreading their influence like roots. Even worse, they try to enforce _their _peace over everybody."

The Sannin closed his eyes. "Do you know how hard is it to rule over a whole world? Over millions of people? The Purity First program doesn't aim at protecting the Sage's blood, but at forcefully reducing the population to a number that can be controlled by the state without much issue. As individuals with bloodlines have natural powers that make them useful to society no matter what, Konoha's leadership planned the extermination of the rest of the 'useless subhuman kind', as they love to design us as such. Madara captured the Bijuu and used their power to accelerate the process, but when all the large settlements had been destroyed, the ANBU, under Hashirama, had to continue the campaign manually, exterminating us one by one."

"That is… frightening." The Nidaime seemed shaken to his very core. Sasori could almost feel pity for him. _Almost_.

Something, however, disturbed the puppeteer. "From what I have seen, you have progressed far in your goals, and have taken over most of this city," he began. "You obviously outnumber the ANBU and outmatch it, since it is retreating. What prevents you from taking over completely?"

"The Bijuu," Orochimaru said softly. "Madara sealed them into some sort of super weapon the ANBU calls the 'statue'. However, it was meant to be used by the Sage himself. Anyone else who utilizes it has their vitality drained, and overuse of the statue ultimately caused the Uchiha Lord's premature death. Alpha is reluctant to bomb the surroundings of her stronghold, but she won't hesitate to destroy the whole city if she has no other choice. Hence, the current state of cold war between I and her."

"Utopia…" Sasori whispered to himself. "That is where the statue is?"

"Utopia is Alpha's lair, built under Konoha itself." Orochimaru joined his hands in a thoughtful position. "Entire clans are sent there under the pretense of deportation toward the south. For what purpose, I can't tell, but if what happened to the Senju is of any indication, I doubt its good news for them. Your friends are probably detained there, possibly dead. We both need to get there, to discover the truth and defeat Alpha."

_Ah, the deal… _"You want us to help you storm that base so you can secure the statue and take over?"

"Yes," the snake man hissed. "Judging by your chakra reserves and arsenal, you must be around my level. With your support, Alpha's defeat is within grasp. I suggest we share our resources."

"… That's all?" Sasori frowned. There was something wrong with the whole matter. "You don't even know who we are, and we have been seen with a Naruto Uzumaki. You have every reason to distrust us."

Orochimaru… smirked.

And it was very, _very _creepy.

"You remember the time I told you I was observing you since you entered the city? I lied." A white snake crawled slowly on the desk. "I observed you since the moment you appeared in that forest, in a flash of red light, with a dying swordsman."

Strangely, Sasori wasn't all that shocked. After all these strange revelations, this one seemed almost boring. "The snake… you can see through their eyes, can't you? This is how you can spy on people so easily."

"They tell me everything they see, and they can read lips," Orochimaru chuckled. "They are undetectable when they want too. I admit I didn't understand all of it, but I think I pieced most of the puzzle with your conversations. You are not from this earth, isn't it? You were clueless when you arrived. You had no knowledge of how this place works, and its history save for the barest of facts. You came here by accident, and allies are going to show up and retrieve you. There are thousands of stars in this universe of ours, and millions of planets around them. I suppose you come from one similar to our own."

"Sort of," Sasori stated, genuinely impressed by the man's incomplete deductions. He didn't earn the name of genius for nothing. "How do you know we are not invaders?"

"Because true invaders would have sent a better recon team," the man replied with a chuckle. "And I don't understand why anyone would try to take over a world like our own if they were given a choice. Our natural resources have been almost exhausted to power the war effort, and our population will die within a few generations if Alpha is not deposed of." He stared at Sasori. "Tell me… are you familiar with Chikamatsu Monzaemon?"

"Of course I am!" The redhead was almost outraged. Everyone knew of him, the first ninja puppeteer to ever live, the very inventor of puppetry as an art of warfare. He was the missing-nin's idol.

"Then this should interest you." Taka's leader slowly placed a scroll on the desk.

Sasori's eyes shined with envy. "Is that…"

"Yes," Orochimaru said. "Think it as a little bonus. So? Do we have a deal?"

Sasori smiled, and Kuebiko stared at the two blankly. "I think we are going to get along well," the redhead whispered.

Honest.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The puppeteer, Chibaku<strong>_

Chibaku wandered around the garden aimlessly as he tried to gain more information about his situation and his location. It was large and looked like a hidden heaven.

At least, until you talked to its inhabitants.

"We are happy…" A woman, probably a Hyuuga if her white eyes were of any indication. She was smelling flowers, and smiling. "We are so happy…"

"Konoha is safe," a man wearing robes said, with a large smile, playing Shogi with someone else in the grass. Their faces were trapped in a blissful expression. "Utopia is perfect. Konoha is perfect."

They were all like that. All the people he met. Dozens, maybe hundreds, maybe thousands of people ranting about being happy. All welcoming him and treating him like one of them. Every damn one of them was smiling.

It was _scary _as hell.

"You seem disturbed," one woman with white hair said with a gentle smirk. "Why aren't you happy?"

Chibaku frowned. "Why are _you _happy?" he shot back.

"Because… because we're happy…" She seemed at loss of words, as if she was trying to invent the answer on the spot. "Because Konoha is safe. Because Utopia is perfect, and Alpha is there to protect us. Because Konoha _needs _us happy. So we are happy."

… _this is so creepy. _"You are happy because someone wants you to be? Where is the logic? You can't force yourself to be happy."

**_This is slavery,_ **the Kyuubi added with a disgusted tone. **_They have been robbed of the most precious thing of all: an identity._**

"Who said they were forced?"

_Alpha again… _She was followed by another adult Naruko. This one was wearing a black, sexy leather suit, and had her hair tied in a ponytail. She was very beautiful and athletic, but her expression was stern. She seemed like a hunter observing a prey…

"I told you, you are safe," Alpha said softly. "This is Three, my second-in-command. She wishes you no harm."

"As long as you do not threaten Utopia," the athletic woman corrected. "Should you unleash your weapons on the citizens of this place or its defenders, then you are dead. You are only alive and armed because Alpha wants you to be, make no mistake."

"Nice," Chibaku deadpanned, before glaring at Alpha. "How can you read my thoughts?"

"So you guessed?" Alpha gave him a kind smile. "This is my gift. I was born with it… the ability to feel others' own feelings. Fear, love, happiness, rage… I can share them, feel them, allowing me to understand thoughts and read memories of those I am close to. And I can tell you all these people are really, truly happy."

"But is it by choice?" Chibaku rasped angrily. "This is unnatural. It is as if they are forced to feel good. It's not genuine. It was as if you sewed a smile on them and made them believe it was real."

Alpha narrowed her eyes. Strangely, they were devoid of hostility. "Naruto-kun… do you know the legend of Sage's two sons? One believed the key to enforce eternal peace was power, the sibling thought it was love. Madara and Hashirama tried the first option and only spread suffering. I am attempting the second one." She stared at the blissful men and women. "I love them all. I understand them all. If there was another way to make them happy, I would have taken it. But there is none."

Chibaku glared at her. "What did you do to them? Brainwashed them?"

"No. I _educated _them. I taught them to get rid of pain and selfishness. My gift taught me the self was the voice of evil. As long as we humans stay individuals, then there shall be inequality. There shall be rulers and slaves. There shall be hate, envy, rage, infighting… and suffering. To create a true utopia, the self has to be vanquished and annihilated. Right and wrong must cease to be. We all must serve the will of the many and not the will of the few."

Chibaku frowned. "This is foolish. Insane. We humans are born lonely. We crave for companionship, but also dislike it. We are all loners deep down. There will always be people that shall resist that twisted utopia and preserve their identity."

"They all _resist _it, and this is why they must be broken," Three stated coldly. "The Final Protocol, the forced destruction of all individualities, is an evil, but a necessary one. Afterward, we can remake them as a single mind easily. We aim at killing free will itself. The repeat will repeat itself with the new generations, until the end of times."

"Hashirama never understood that the Will of Fire he indoctrinated us with was beyond what he had imagined," Alpha continued. "It is a seed. The seed of unity. The seed of progress. The seed of peace. He interpreted it the wrong way, and these clans used it for power. I had to remove them. I had to hide the truth from the population so we clones could lead them to salvation peacefully. This garden can give them food and water until this world ends. It is a paradise devoid of identity."

"… you are misguided," Chibaku replied. "Identity is what makes humans what we are. It gives us depth and separates us from animals or worse, puppets. These people aren't humans, they're thralls. Shiny dolls that simply obey your will. At least _I _have the decency to kill people before using their corpses. Depriving someone of all thoughts permanently and just for the sake of it is simply inhuman." He extended his arms. "The individual is what makes history! The masses never invented, never imagined! They only existed! We all have the right to express our creativity, our will! The world you are making is sterile! It's a silent, immobile world where nothing will change! No progress! No evolution! This isn't human development, it's social regression!"

_**Kid... **_the Kyuubi whispered.

Alpha stayed silent, before she shook her head. "Your wishes, your ideas, are just the product of your limited point of view. As expected, you cannot understand this vision in your current state. I wished you could have more empathy, but I was mistaken… forgive me."

The young puppeteer suddenly felt an oppressive, frightening presence in his back.

"Five, please assimilate him too," the ANBU leader asked, before staring at her victim. "Please… forgive me. I just want to help you."

"… no," Chibaku shot back. "It's just an excuse. You just want to be proved right."

"I agree completely," the man behind his back stated, before knocking the kid out with a blow to the head.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's notes<em>**

_**Special thanks to Yonis for inspiring the Naruto Clone Army. I hope to take on your challenge, after my life gets a bit easier.**_

_**This chapter is mostly a tribute to both Nineteen Eighty-Four and Brave New World, my favorite novels. As you can see, this world is basically an anti-utopia, a deconstruction of the utopia proposed by the Will of Fire. I have always thought the Will of Fire, while apparently good, could lead to some nasty extremes if pushed to its logical conclusions. I mean, if a state is above the individual, especially in a military dictatorship, then it can quickly turns into a totalitarianism regime, even more surely, as no one has ever known democracy in the Naruto Canon.**_

**_After all, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Alpha truly thinks a better world will come out of that nightmare, or deluded herself into thinking her dream can be achieved, like so many historical autocratic leaders. She's mostly modeled after France's most important and iconic well-meaning extremist, Robespierre. It's basically what happens when someone gets very, deadly, terrifyingly hardcore in the pursuit of a just society._**

**_By the way, expect Sasori to finally show why he's a S-Rank ninja. Now he finally has the chance to prepare and fight someone who can't summon meteors, he's going to be a badass. His out of focus moment ends now, and for the better._**

**_Also, Haku isn't broken, at least yet. And Five has very good reasons to be so crazy and monstrous._**

**_So, please review and give your point of view. I wish you a good time._**

**_See you in a few months._**

**_Kagaseo._**


	26. Anniversary Chapter 1: Celebration

_**Hello... a little thing:**_

_**Echoes' Hiatus ends now.**_

_**Exams are finished, and even my summer job don't take too much time, so I will update faster, maybe one chapter per one week and a half/two weeks until September. As it is Echoes' anniversary, I decided to give you a little gift and celebrate the event, which is why I took so long to update. This chapter is pure crack, whereas the following is what would have been Echoes when I had begun the story.**_

_**After that, back to the story proper with a real chapter.**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>IMPORTANT INFO:<strong>_

_**If you can't review this chapter and the next, it's normal. I had rearranged most of the chapters' order to make things cleaner and avoid a purge (who knows, with the recent draconian regulations). As such, those who put reviews already where chapter 23 and 24 used to be won't be able to do it again. If you want to review, do it as a guest or just skip straight to the normal chapter, Harsh Lessons. There, there shouldn't be any problem.**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Anniversary Chapter<strong>_

_**Or just Mad Chapter**_

_In this world of ours, there is a place where time, space, plot, narration and seriousness do not apply._

_This is the…_

_ECHOES CAFE!_

Kazama stayed silent a moment, staring at the bar's door. The whole building seemed to be completely falling apart from the outside. It looked as if it would collapse anytime. "Seriously? That's _the _place?"

"It would seem so…" Tsukiyomi stated, opening the door. The duo entered.

Surprisingly the inside was a lot bigger than the outside, and a lot better quality-wise. It looked like a mix between a bar and a café, with a lot of tables, computers and games. The two approached the counter. A man, who appeared to be the bartender, was smiling at them from behind it.

It was an average height 20 year old male with hazel eyes and short brown hair, similar to Yamato's. He was wearing the standard ninja jacket, with black shirt and pants. "Welcome, mister Kazama, mister Tsukiyomi. I'm Alpha142, one of the three owners of the Echoes Café. Mister Mikaboshi has already paid for your table."

"A good thing the dark side has advantages," Tsukiyomi mused. "When will you convert, Kazama? They even give cookies to the newbies."

Ignoring the old evil bastard, Kazama noticed a huge, undead dragon drinking at a table with a... scythe. A black scythe with a blood red blade. And it was drinking beer. Scratch that, it _was_ drinking beer, now it was collapsed on the side of the table apparently piss drunk. "What. The. _Hell_?"

"Oh, the dracolich is ABitterPill and the scythe is Third Fang, the other owners. They're nice, if a bit strange. They just kicked out a creepy Kakashi-stalker, a mister Kenta, after he got… disturbingly too close of certain areas I won't name. T-rating and all. Don't worry, as long as you don't destroy reality or just look too crazy for this place, you won't be kicked out." He smiled kindly, a lightsaber appearing in his right hand. "Otherwise, you will understand why there is 'bitter' in ABitterPill, why I'm a Force master, why Third Fang is insane enough to turn himself into a weapon for this chapter, and why the god who created that place is also the God of Sadism. Have a nice day!"

After Kazama and Tsukiyomi each took a cup of coffee, the Arashi and the Uchiha began their tourist-like visit of the multiverse's craziest meeting place. After avoiding being hit by a fleeing Feral Gale, pursued by an angry female Gaara for reasons man was not meant to know but suspected it had something to do with the camera the chased teen was protecting with his body, they arrived before what appeared to be a LAN party between Orochimaru, Amaterasu, Chibaku, Sakura the Jinchuuriki, Senju Naruto, Kabuto, and Zabuza. A moment later, Orochimaru flew into rage. "YOU GOD DAMNED CAMPER!"

"What happened?" Kazama asked.

"I just kicked his ass. At Modern Warfare 3." Chibaku stated with smugness. "For the _tenth _time."

"Can't you get out of your hole and just fight like a man?" Amaterasu cursed. In the background, the Feral Gale was now being chased after by a drunken Tsunade and an enraged Raikage. All three were screaming bloody murder at different octaves, with the Feral Gale notably having the highest pitch. "You're just hiding in your hidey-hole and shooting everybody. Where's the fun?"

"Shooting and humiliating you is all the fun I need," Chibaku replied. "And I don't fight as a man... I fight as a TROLL!" Chibaku emphasized his statement by shooting Zabuza in the game.

"You little piece of shit!" Zabuza punched the computer in rage, his fist going through the screen without any restraint. "I was on _your _team, you puppet bastard!"

"_Un_-friendly fire man, unfriendly fire. Now, let's find another victim..."

Deciding to leave before a monitor was thrown their direction (they were a bit too close to Chibaku...), the duo found a poker game between the Shinigami, Hinata, Susanoo, Mikaboshi and Naruko. "Royal Flush!" The blonde female smirked.

_**"NO! Not again!" **_The Shinigami looked ready to go on a rampage, drinking a whole bottle of sake.

"How is this possible?" Susanoo cursed. "I'm using both my Dojutsu! She doesn't even know how to bluff! I can destroy whole countries and I still can't overcome a little girl's poker hand!"

"I'm cheating with the Byakugan, and it's the sixth time she gets a Royal Flush!" Hinata shouted. "It's not luck, it's the chapter messing with us!"

_**"Actually, it is just her luck," **_Mikaboshi said with a hint of despair._**"She's the **__**Goddess of Luck. Or something so, so very close..."**_

"Yes, thanks you all for loosing!" Naruko smirked, taking all their money. "Now, time to kick asses at Yu-Gi-Oh... that game has no rules! Only dumb luck and the skills to cheat are needed to win!"

"Sometimes, I wonder if reality itself would break if she and Tsunade started a poker game," Tsukiyomi stated. "I mean, they're at opposite ends of the luck scale. There is no way the world _wouldn't _end in cataclysmic card battle beyond our poor human comprehension."

After avoiding the Feral Gale, this time chased by a blade wielding Gamabunta with Jiraiya on his back wielding a massive Rasengan (wait, _how can the summon enter this place in the first place? _Kazama asked himself. _He's too big!_), and witnessing ABitterPill sending Tsunade and A flying out of the place through a wall with a flick of his tail for brawling and 'interrupting my staring contest with the scythe, the duo stopped before a stage.

"And the new theme of this tournament is…" Haku began, a mic in her left hand.

"Lovecraft!" Yugito finished, reading a sheet of paper. "Cosmic horror poets, start the battle!"

"Ah! You have no chance bro!" Killer Bee smirked, his apprentice N next to him.

Both began at the same time.

"Man finds strange book

It's the Necronomicon

His sanity dies!

This is Cthulhu

There's no way you can stop him

We're all gonna die!"

"Is that all?" Sasori smiled, Kitsune next to him. "It cannot compare to our combined artistic might and our legendary Haiku!"

And so, the counterattack began.

"Once a man sees the

True face of reality

He cannot unsee it!

Science flings aside

The veil, baring cosmic truths.

Thanks a lot, science!"

"… you gotta be kidding me," Kazama whispered. "A Haiku tournament? Between Killer Bee, N, Sasori and _Kitsune_, of all people?"

"I told you before coming here that this was the craziest place in the whole story," Tsukiyomi stated, looking at a karaoke melee between Kuebiko, Itachi, Sasuke, Rin, Mabui and Shisui. "_It can't _get any crazier… did I just tempt the chapter?" The previously named awesomely bad singers started to moonwalk. "Oh, it actually listened."

"Actually, I think the author has gone insane," Kazama stated, observing the Feral Gale being chased by Alpha, Five, Three, and all the Naruto clones. Kisame and Sarutobi were laughing at the spectacle while sharing pop corn. "What is happening with him? I know he's annoying, but he only showed up for two chapters at best. Why are so many people trying to kill him already?"

"Oh, that?" Kisame asked, laughing out loud. "Well, the chapter had enough of his antics before you got here and decided to kill him, or at the very least torture him a good bit. Three ryo AbitterPill will try to roast him at least once." Suddenly, the undead dragon, annoyed, threw a fireball at the Feral Gale with a shout of "stop interrupting our staring contest!". "Done! Now, ten ryo a meteor is going to-"

"Shut up, we'll be killed in the crossfire!" Sarutobi cursed, as Ghost Oogakari showed up by loudly crashing on a table from the ceiling, grabbing the blonde and then left with him out the door screaming his lungs out. Something about keeping him away from the cliff. "I think the chapter thought they would do a better job at making him suffer."

"Sensei…" Kakashi whispered, facing his teacher, both sitting at a table and holding bowls of food. "You can't defeat me at this."

"I can, my student, I can," Minato replied, lifting a spoon. "I can eat a bowl Mapo Tofu like you."

"But can you do _this_?" Kakashi lifted his hand in a strange, awe-inspiring gesture. "I want _two _more bowls!"

"KAKASHI!" Maito Gai appeared, with all his team, the whole Land of Wave, and Yugao, all wearing rainbow-colored spandex, all in the same flamboyant pose much to their deepest discomfort and humiliation. Kazama was almost feeling sorry for them. Almost, because he could see all the girls' curves. "I WILL EAT MAPO TOFU AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT MY RIVAL!"

And so the chaos continued with escalating randomness and more laws of rationality broken. The best part in Kazama's personal opinion... was when they saw Jiraiya and his apprentice stealing all the girls' bras. In one minute. WHILE THEY WERE STILL ON THEIR OWNERS.

"... I can die happy," Jiraiya said.

"We both will," his student added, an army of angry girls preparing itself to kill them.

Kazama sighed, as the two got crushed by the infamous _Pervert Castration Martial Art_. "One year, huh?"

"One year," Tsukiyomi confirmed, finishing his cup of coffee. "And it's only a third done. So many other adventures are waiting for us… and for our readers."

"It wouldn't have happened without you all," Kazama smiled. "Thanks to you all, who followed and still follow Echoes. This celebration and the next chapter are a gift to you all."

"Also special thanks to all the betas for their work," Tsukiyomi nodded. "Hey, don't forget them!"

"I won't, you creepy old man," Kazama shot back. "Thanks, Third Fang, Alpha142, and ABitterPill, for your precious help and support. Next time, a little chapter about what could have been Echoes. A chapter based on the early drafts of the story. And after that one, back to seriousness with a real chapter."

_All of Echoes' characters thank you,_

_Including I, Kagaseo,_

_Really thanks._

"… I will wonder what will happen next year. A pajama party maybe?" Tsukiyomi smiled under his mask as the credits rolled.

"No…" Kazama smirked. "A prank war."


	27. Anniversary Chapter 2: Prototype

_**The second part of the anniversary chapters. Basically the vision that guided the story, the day before the final battle of Echoes' prototype. It won't happen like this in the current story, but I wanted to show you what pushed me to start it. It's a gift for you readers who follow me.**_

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><p><em><strong>IMPORTANT INFORMATION:<strong>_

_**Like before, a few of you won't be able to review due to some chapters reorganization. You can either do it as a guest or skip straight to the next, normal chapter, where there shouldn't be any problem.**_

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><p><em><strong>Echoes Prototype<strong>_

Earth was a very strange place.

It was covered with cities beyond imagination, with towers reaching the skies. The roads were long and black, and the humans of this world were using metallic horses called cars to travel. Looking at the iron town from his black bike, Kazama thought that indeed, it would make a good place for their final battle.

Having taken the metal horse called Suzuki as his own for the week, Kazama let the wind touch his face, as he advanced faster than ever before on Earth's roads. It was a wonderful experience, and maybe his last.

Tomorrow, at dawn, according to Chibaku, Madara would show up in the town's center. This time, there would be no fleeing. Kazama and his family would fight to the death. They had enough of being scared and on the run. They would end it all.

Chibaku and Uchimaru were already taking care of making sure no one would be caught in the inevitable crossfire. The whole city would be evacuated. It would probably be entirely destroyed. But the dreaded Uchiha would be nothing more than a memory afterward.

During the day before the final battle, the group had decided to spend this time doing what they liked. At night, a celebration would be organized in a now abandoned bar. Everyone was aware it would be either death or victory tomorrow. No middle ground.

Sensing his little sister on his back, Kazama couldn't help himself but smile. They would succeed. They would beat Madara once and for all. Even if he had the Rinnegan, even if he had made the members of Akatsuki his Paths. He would be stopped. They had worked, trained, prepared. He would be no match for them. Or at least, he hoped so.

After a long while, Kazama stopped atop a cliff, in front of the sea. Naruko realized they had stopped. "Sempai, is it the sea?"

"Yes," he said. "It's so beautiful. I knew how much you wanted to see it for maybe the last time."

She smiled, descending from the Suzuki. "Sempai, I told you we can kick his ass so hard it won't be funny. No… we _will _beat him."

Kazama laughed. "Such optimism, Kohai…" He put his hand on her head. "That's why I like you so much."

Naruko blushed a bit, touched. "You know, Sempai, you're becoming soft."

"I have always been soft with you all," he grumbled, staring at the waves. Were their parents staring at them from the Pure World? Would they be proud or ashamed of what their children had become? The answer, he had decided long ago, was unimportant. All that mattered was his family. "You know… if we win this battle…"

"_When _we will win this battle, Sempai."

"After we win it, what would you like to do?" Kazama observed the skies. "We won't have any limit. We will be free to go wherever we like, whenever we want. There are so many possibilities... what would you try? Climbing volcanoes? Defeating a Bijuu?"

She smiled. "Sempai… as long as I am with you and everybody, I'm happy. That's all I need."

He smiled too, a little tear on his cheek. They stayed immobile, watching the sea, in perfect silence and understanding.

* * *

><p>"I haven't told you this enough, but your eyes are awesome," Chibaku smirked, observing the population leaving the city from the top of a skyscraper. "Hypnotizing the rulers of this city, this mayor council, and tricking the whole town with illusions… was a feat. I sometimes wonder if your eyes aren't a god's gift to the world."<p>

Uchimaru smirked, his Sharingan still active. "Hey, what can I say? I like fire. Making it look like the whole town was above a hidden volcano? Easy. Just needed to think about smoke and lava."

"It's not as impressive as my Mokuton," a girly voice mused from behind them.

"Believe what you want, Senju," Uchimaru snorted at the girl. It was a blonde, beautiful teen wearing green robes, the daughter of Tsunade and one of Minato's cousins. "My Sharingan is cooler and _way_ more useful than the commanding of trees."

"Whatever," Flora stated. "I was wondering what you were doing, so I checked up on you. Tsuki, Root and Kitsune are visiting the city."

"What about Kazama and Naruko?" Chibaku asked, looking at his mechanical, puppet-like left arm. Sasori's last gift, after giving his life to take down Amaterasu, but too late to save his student's arm from the Uchiha's katana.

"Somewhere outside," Flora replied calmly. Everybody in the family knew she had a big crush on Kazama, the only other teen of the group. She would have been happy to spend time with him… "But I'm very happy now! He said as soon as he returns from his trip, he would take me on a date!"

Both the male Naruto stared at her in surprise. They knew there had always been some… tension between these two. Even if Flora's parents were so genetically and morally different from Kazama's that a relationship between the two would have been approved by everyone in the family, a fact they pointed out to their sempai time and time again, the world wanderer had always refused to start one, due to the fear of dying. The death of Heero, the only Naruto whose parents had survived Madara's attack, had traumatized him too much. It seemed he had finally decided to enjoy himself, for once.

"I'm happy for you, Flora," Uchimaru smiled. "You deserve happiness."

"Thanks, Uchimaru," she replied with a grin. "But don't think our rivalry is over because we're nice to each other for a day!"

"Oh, I never would have even dreamed," he laughed.

Sideways, Chibaku observed them, cracking a smile. _You won't take anyone from me anymore, Madara. I will end your life before you can harm any of them._

* * *

><p>"Super Smash Bros. Brawl?" Root stated, his face as emotionless as always. Danzo's former student looked at the instrument, the Wii, still wearing his ANBU armor. "A fighting game?"<p>

"It looks fun," Kitsune smirked insanely, choosing his character, a monster called Bowser. "I'm going to give you the beat-down of your life!"

"I don't think so," Tsuki stated, getting rid of his Akatsuki cloak in a casual manner. The young girl's Rinnegan were shining with anticipation. "Root is just better."

"Shut up or I will kill you," Kitsune growled, much to the girl's amusement. The psychotic boy had menaced her more than once, but she knew it was just for show. He would never do it, liking her too much. Months of time with the Arashi family had tamed the formerly crazy, violent serial killer… well, sort of. Susanoo's death had been incredibly bloody and brutal. Then again, he had tried to kill her with his bare hands in front of Kitsune. He was asking for it.

"I have made my choice," Root stated, starting the battle with a yellow mouse. "Pikachu."

"… you're even crazier than myself, Root!" Kitsune laughed. "You're no match for me!"

Tsuki sighed, wandering the empty house. It had been abandoned, like the whole town. It would make a good battlefield. After the battle, her old senseis, Pain and Konan, would be proud. Their killer would die, even with his stolen Rinnegan.

A scream of anger brought her back to the Wii and the thing this world's citizens called television.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Kitsune roared. "HE BEAT ME! IN TWENTY SECONDS! WITH LIGHTNING!"

At that moment… the normally always frowning Root…

Smiled.

* * *

><p>"To victory!"<p>

"TO VICTORY!" Everybody shouted, drinking. The whole bar was silent and empty, save for the Arashi clan, but it was quite nice. The ambiance was better, familial.

"Free beer for everybody!" Chibaku added. "Damn, it's not sake, but it's enough to help make a good last party!"

"Chibi!" Tsuki frowned. "It _isn't_ our last!"

"Too true," Chibaku smiled, observing the rest of the Arashi. Flora wasn't leaving Kazama's arm, much to his discomfort, while Naruko, Uchimaru, Root and Kitsune were playing poker… or rather loosing badly against Naruko's supernatural luck. "Still… if it was our last, I wouldn't mind. It's what I've always wanted. It's what we all always wanted: to spend a good time with a true family."

Tsuki chuckled. "So… who gets to kill Madara first?"

"I do. I leave you the killing blow, after he uses that Izanagi, aka the _give reality and death the middle finger while laughing my Uchiha ass off_ technique."

"Fine, fine… But I think others will do their best to get the first shot at killing him."

"Well, that's the game. Let's hope I will be faster."

* * *

><p>It was time. Kazama stared at the center of the plaza, as space distorted. "He's coming. Everybody is ready?"<p>

"Always," Naruko shot back, her Kusanagi in her hands. "We'll kick his ass."

"Puppet army is ready and waiting…" Chibaku stated, opening his scrolls and releasing one hundred dolls. "My public, for my last performance, you can expect a lot of fireworks!"

"I will just eat him," Kitsune stated, adopting his werefox form. "Horrible meat, but it's for the fun this time, not for sustenance."

"Mangekyo Sharingan… activated!" Uchimaru shouted, his pupils taking the shape of swords.

"All of this city's life is behind me," Flora smirked, plants sprouting from the ground.

"I will take on Nagato-sensei," Tsuki said. "He deserves it."

"I am prepared," Root stated, cracking a smile. "Here we go."

Kazama smiled to them, before turning around. Madara had appeared, his Sharingan and Rinnegan ready. Behind him, six Akatsuki members, Kakuzu, Itachi, Kisame, Deidara, Konan and Pain, each having the same mismatched eyes and emotionless faces.

"Now… let's defeat him once and for all!"

And everyone attacked, the final battle starting.


	28. Chapter 25: Harsh Lessons

**_Hey, hiatus ends! Rejoice!_**

**_By the way, I'm moving the petition... on my account. Everybody will see it now. _**

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><p><strong><em>As ever, thanks to my betas ABitterPill, Third Fang, and Alpha142 for their help.<em>**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto._**

* * *

><p><em><strong>TravelerOriginal Naruto: Kazama Arashi.**_

_**Puppeteer Naruto: Chibaku Arashi.**_

_**Werefox/Hybrid Naruto: Kitsune Arashi.**_

_**Female Naruto: Naruko Arashi.**_

_**Deceiver/Original Madara: Tsukiyomi.**_

_**Destroyer/Rinnegan Madara: Susanoo.**_

_**Warrior/Collector Madara: Amaterasu (now dead).**_

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><p><em><strong>Currently, they are scattered in four worlds:<strong>_

**_Shodaime!Madara world: Chibaku, Sasori, Haku, Kuebiko._**

**_Godaime!Itachi world: Kitsune, Gaara, Naruko._**

**_Mystery world (for now): Kazama, Tsukiyomi, Susanoo._**

**_Alive!Yondaime world: Kakashi, Yugito._**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 25<strong>_

_**Harsh Lessons**_

Groaning as he returned to consciousness, Kazama tried to move, only to find he couldn't. Even his head couldn't twitch at all. Looking down, the dimension traveler saw that his body was covered with black lines and spots._Damn seals…_he thought, trying to activate his chains without any result. He was sitting on a chair, in front of the gathered people that had promptly restrained him.

"Geez, you went too far Jiraiya-sensei," Yahiko stated with a frown. "It was pure overkill. I mean, he can't even talk!"

"Serves him right for trying to attack one of my students," the Sannin shrugged. He lowered his head, meeting eyes with Kazama, who was glaring helplessly at the toad sage. "He doesn't look to have calmed himself even though he's been out for a while."

"Makes sense, since you keep him in that pitiful state," Konan pointed out, apparently angry. "He has a mouth, but he can't even scream. This is torture, and no one deserves such a fate, Jiraiya-sensei."

The one called Nagato shook his head in disagreement. "Konan, there's something wrong about that guy. He feels… off. Like a spot on a picture. I can't put a name on that feeling, but he's disturbing my Rinnegan. I have rarely seen a stranger chakra than his. As for why we are keeping him like this, he _did _attack a friend."

Jiraiya smiled. "I see at least one person in this room agrees with me… and remember, he wields two copies of my teammate's weapon." His gaze moved to Minato Namikaze. "And you, Minato-kun?"

The man Kazama despised seemed trapped in his thoughts, observing his son in silence.

He had trashed Kazama in less than twenty seconds, much to the boy's surprise. In fact, the teen's fist hadn't even connected with the man's jaw. He had simply moved so fast that Kazama only _thought _he landed a hit. In one second, he had mopped the floor with his son's face, literally. His chains had only begun to manifest before a powerful kick in the head's back knocked him out.

That was the power of a SS-Rank ninja. He had believed Madara was out of his league… the Yondaime was _a league of his own_.

But right now, Kazama's ire was simply overwriting his survival instincts. He _would _attack if freed. Or at least have a rather physical argument with the guy.

Realizing his situation though he breathed deeply, and lowered his pulse. He had to calm himself. He would have to be patient and focused if he wanted to get out of this situation unharmed. Traveling through multiple chaotic worlds had taught him that much if nothing else.

After a short silence and everyone realizing that their prisoner had finally calmed down, Yahiko shrugged. He made a few hand-seals, before touching Kazama's cheek. The teen suddenly felt his head regaining some freedom of movement, and the black lines receded up to the neck. Kazama breathed loudly. "Thanks," he said to the man.

Yahiko smiled. "No problem. I would have freed you completely, but you know sensei…"

Jiraiya snorted in disagreement. "You're too naive, Yahiko. It's going to make you suffer one day."

Yahiko lifted his hands. "Hey, if you aren't nice to people, how can you be expected to be treated nicely? No one is beyond saving or irredeemable, sensei."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. He remembered people like Orochimaru or Kenta, total monsters driven by sadism and evil. "Unfortunately," the blonde whispered. "Some people are too horrible to be saved. Sometimes, they need to be put down for the good of everyone else before they harm even more people than they already had."

"And who are we to pass judgments?" Yahiko shot back. "Who declared someone couldn't realize his mistakes and try to atone? I think that, as there is always a little shade of evil in a good heart, there is always a shade of good in an evil heart. The important matter is to make it grow when you can."

Konan nodded in agreement. "As no there is no absolute good person, there can't be an absolutely evil person."

Kazama fell silent, unwilling to start an argument over this. He was still too tired. Instead he eyed Minato. The man was… staring at him. With his hawk-like eyes. The blue fire inside them was putting the traveler on edge. He felt as if his very soul was being pierced and analyzed by his father. "Is there something on my face?" Naruto Uzumaki asked.

Minato Namikaze lowered his stare. "The answer to my questions." He observed his son's features. "You are an Uzumaki, correct?"

"Yes," Kazama answered calmly and coldly, much to everyone's amazement. Nagato in particular appeared extremely disturbed. "One of the last of them. Happy?" The venom in his voice was free, and so very satisfying.

Nagato frowned. "Impossible… his chakra is way too twisted to belong to my clan. It is insanely potent, true, but also dark. It looks… tainted." He lowered his gaze. "And let's not talk about that…_star_… on his belly."

Kazama felt his heart cease to move for a split second. Nagato was a member of the Uzumaki clan too? And what did he meant by _tainted_? And worse of all, he knew about the Shinigami's power.

"What are you talking about, you two?" Jiraiya growled. "Minato, he can't be one of them, he doesn't have the hair color. And what is this taint and star gibberish, Nagato?"

"His chakra is… mixed with something else," Nagato replied. "I can't put a description on what I'm seeing. It feels like his chakra has different layers. One similar to my own and warm, another cold and sinister. And in the center of his system, I can see a a seal containing something incredibly powerful, like a miniature star… what is disturbing me the most, however, is that the seal is powered by a chakra nearly identical to the Kyuubi's."

Silence.

"WHAT?"

…_oh crap. _Kazama suddenly felt suddenly in extreme danger, as everyone bar Nagato was gazing at him in surprise. _How can I escape this place without being examined even more?_

"I was aware he had a strong connection to the Uzumaki clan," Minato whispered. "His face… it's Kushina's. And his chakra seemed familiar to me. As for the hair color, he probably inherited it from one of his relatives. And the Kyuubi's chakra might have been inherited by Mito, if he's one of her descendants. We lost the track of some of them during the Whirlpool's destruction, after all, so it isn't impossible that man is Mito's lost great grandson or the like."

Kazama decided to stay silent, observing his father like a hunter.

"Your face… it's the same as Kushina's. You're her… brother or cousin, are you?"

Kazama gritted his teeth, seething in disgust. "No. I'm something worse."

"… Yeah, he does have her face," Jiraiya frowned, before paling. "And the rest of his features… impossible…" He took a piece of paper in his pocket, made a few hand-seals and touched it. Signs appeared. He then placed the paper on Kazama's finger, drawing a little blood with a kunai. Finally, he gave it to Minato.

The blonde bit his finger, mixed his blood with his son's, and stared at the paper, frowning. "Get out. All of you."

"But-"

"Get out Yahiko-san, please," Minato said, eying his son strangely. "I need to speak to him. Alone."

The others looked about to disagree, but Jiraiya nodded. "I understand… boys and girls, let's talk about your adventures outside. It's a private matter. Plus, I would like to know more about the group you've made recently."

Konan's frown deepened, but Yahiko put his hand on her shoulder. The two crossed gazes, and after a short while, they left wordlessly, Nagato and Jiraiya behind. The Rinnegan user and the toad sage stared at Kazama one last time, and then went outside.

Minato wordlessly showed his son the paper. On it, the kanji "Father" was written on it.

"It's a seal designed to analyze the chakra signature of people and establish parentage between them… and well…" He lowered his eyes, the expression inside indecipherable. "Are you… my son?"

Kazama said nothing for a few minutes, thinking about his options. Lying would be useless. Saying the truth would give him the opportunity to finally talk to his father on even terms. In the end, after a short time of thinking, he decided to be honest.

He told him_everything_.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Destroyer, Susanoo<strong>_

He loved his old hideout.

Mostly because of the symbolism. Made of the bones of gigantic monsters which ruled the land in the distant past, it was a good way to remember that even the greatest can fall if not careful, leaving their thrones to stronger creatures. That was the law of nature, the fate of all beings, to be replaced and supplanted by stronger lifeforms, if unable to take the necessary measures.

The land was silent, but Susanoo's Rinnegan had noticed a familiar chakra signature. A tainted chakra so similar to his own… but also somewhat different. "Show yourself, I am a friend. I wish to make an alliance with you."

After a short silence, someone indeed stepped out of the shadows.

"The Rinnegan and the Sharingan? At the same time? I must admit I am astonished." The individual was obviously a woman, but… somewhat off. She was clad in a black kimono, had long black hair, and was wearing a white, featureless mask. She was thinner than most women, and the little skin that was exposed was deathly pale. From two holes, two Sharingan were eying Madara warily. "Strange, however. The seal I placed on_his_eyes is still in place. That isn't Nagato's Rinnegan."

Susanoo frowned. While the woman's chakra was sinister, it wasn't similar to the Uchiha lord's. It wasn't even blessed by Mikaboshi, just naturally tainted. "Madara?"

The woman chuckled. "I'm afraid not. My master died of old age a few years ago. I am his apprentice and legacy. You can call me… whatever you want."

"Have you no name?" Damn, if his counterpart was dead, then they would have to adjust their original plan… at least this woman seemed strong and loyal to the dead Uchiha lord.

"I don't want one. I want to be no one. All I care about is completing the Moon's Eye Plan." Her eyes met his own. "Who are you? Another of Master's apprentices?"

Susanoo chuckled, and took off his mask. The face was still scarred by the results of his fight with his Senju arch-rival, but the features were easily recognizable. The woman took a step back in surprise. "Master? How is it possible? I saw you die."

"I am not your master," Susanoo replied. "I am… another Madara Uchiha, also called Susanoo. It's complicated."

"It would seem so…" She whispered and bowed respectfully. "I am loyal to you and your legacy. What do you want from me?"

"As I said, I'm here to make an alliance with you, to treat you as an equal and not a servant," Susanoo stated. "We have the same plans. But I want to do it on a whole different scale, No One. I need to present you to my fellow, Tsukiyomi. It will become clear to you." He cracked his fingers. "By the way… do you have the_statue_?"

"Not yet," the woman said without losing her composure. "Nagato hasn't summoned it from wherever the Sage sealed it. But with Hanzo's growing obsession with him and the recent arrival of his new ally, it won't be long before he's forced to summon it. I might even have to help him if it isn't enough."

"I don't see how Hanzo or Danzo could rival the statue's power, even if it hasn't consumed any Tailed Beast yet," Susanoo spoke calmly, putting his mask on his face again. The woman… seemed to falter.

"If only it was Danzo… Hanzo decided to contact someone more… vicious here. I'm afraid Hanzo called upon the worst kind of enforcer… one that likes his job_."_

Susanoo frowned behind his mask.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Traveler, Kazama<strong>_

His father seemed lost in his own thoughts. "So, that's it… all of it?"

"Yes," Kazama replied with a neutral tone. The older man had listened to his explanations in a calm manner, asking a few questions, and seeming more and more disturbed as time passed. "You don't appear to believe me."

The man sat on the table. "That is an unbelievable story, Naruto-"

"Don't call me like that," the teen cut in. "I forbid you. I'm Arashi Kazama now. Uzumaki Naruto died long ago."

The Yondaime looked as if he had been punched in the face. "Alright, alright… it's an incredible story… I admit I have doubts. But the seal didn't lie, you truly are my son by blood. I'm more however inclined to think you're just some kind of weapon engineered with my DNA and given false memories, maybe the result of Yagura's abhorrent life-enhancing program, so you would target me or Konoha as a whole. That is far more probable than your tale of traveling through worlds and fighting Uchiha Madara and some mad scientist-like copy of Orochimaru-san. However, the incredible quantity of sensible information you know is disturbing. It's not very clear. What do you know about the prophecy?"

"Enough," he rasped. "How can you discard your own son, condemning him to a life of suffering, just because a senile old frog said so?"

"I would never do that!" Minato roared in seemingly genuine anger.

"Or maybe was it for the Village?" His son seethed, taking the man aback. "For all those fools and idiots?"

"Don't speak of them that way!" Minato replied. "Konoha is my home! That is the Hokage's duty to do everything in his power to save them! Even sacrificing his own blood."

"So you admit-"

"I admit that if I had the choice between sacrificing myself and my son and saving thousands of people, I would." He narrowed his eyes. "That is the mark of a true hero: the ability to cast what he holds dear to save the many."

Kazama's face twisted into pure rage. He remembered how much his life had been one full of loneliness. In his mind, dark whispers were bringing back old, sorrowful memories.

_**They hated you. They despised you. They didn't deserve to live. They should have suffered in your place. All of them.**_

"Even after everything they did, how can you-"

"I know what they did and will do!" Minato cut in. "I have seen too many people acting stupidly not to know they shall cause pain for no reason again. Humans aren't inherently good. But they try. They might fail, but they_try_. That alone is enough to save them. People can only come to understand each other in times of peace and happiness. That is why I, as the Hokage, must do the necessary sacrifices to maintain stability."

"Are you insane? Our world is one of bloodshed! I am the living embodiment of your failures to make people change! They must know pain and hardship in order to change and understand their mistakes, or else they stay selfish!"

_**Selfishness is mankind's true nature, and power its tool. Denying this is an illusion. Accepting it is the way to salvation. There can only be revival through destruction.**_

Minato narrowed his eyes. "How can you expect people to be kind in a world torn by endless war? That's your question? Then my answer is simple: because I intend to end the_endless war_part. How? By breaking the spiral of death the ninja world is built on."

Kazama frowned. "By leaving people who do criminal deeds go unpunished?"

"No, by forsaking revenge and enforcing fair justice," Minato replied, observing his son emotionlessly. "Do you know about the spiral of death? This is the concept that rules this world: one's actions hurt somebody; that somebody hurts the person in return; the friends of the wounded try to avenge him… and so on, until a war erupts. Such a thing can only cause the progressive destruction of mankind, as it can only end with one side exterminating the other, or by mutual destruction. I am trying a third option: trying to end the feud."

"What does it have to do with-"

"However, this can't be done without sacrificing," Minato cut in. "As I realized myself, only one able to sacrifice what he holds dear can end such a circle, as rarely are people able to make compromises. For the many to be truly happy, one person must sacrifice his entire existence to maintain their happiness. That is what a true Hokage is, a human sacrifice like the demon vessels. By my sacrifice, I can give people what they need to become better, peace. Even if I have to kill myself, my son, my wife… as long as there is a seed of hope born out of such sacrifice, I am ready to do it."

Kazama felt silent, unable to process those words. In the back of his mind, dark whispers fell silent.

"I have seen it all," Minato continued his monologue. "I have seen Kushina, my love, being berated by others for being the Kyuubi's incarnation. I have seen the pain left by war. I have seen men and women so traumatized by hardships they became demons themselves and lashed out at everything. But I have also seen good things. I have seen villagers rebuilding their homes, parents loving their kids, saints dedicating their life to others. That is… no matter what Konoha will do in the future, I won't hate its citizens. I know they have the potential to be both good and evil. They just need an example."

"An… example?"

"A paragon of goodness. A hero." Minato closed his eyes. "A person who everyone can look up at, a source of inspiration. That is what people need in this dark world. A light that can show them the way to salvation and peace."

He was the old Naruto.

He was like the old Kazama. Inspiring others with his strength and determination. Giving hope in the future.

"This ideal is what I would give my life for," Minato continued, his blue eyes gazing into his son's. "Can you now understand my position? Prophecy or no prophecy, I would do it. Because if my sacrifice can inspire others to become good, then it would be worth it in the end."

Both blondes stayed silent.

"It inspired no one." Kazama's tone was pitiful, almost remorseful. "It just ruined my childhood. Your sacrifice inspired their hate. It was all senseless. You should have let them die."

"Then… what would have happened I had done nothing?" Minato asked.

Kazama tried to find an answer… and struggled to find one. "Maybe the Kyuubi could have been sealed in another person… or the Kyuubi would have been killed."

"If another person had been chosen, the Kyuubi would have burned him or her from the inside. Only an Uzumaki can hold him safely. And what would have happened had Konoha lost the Kyuubi? War. War and destruction. How many lives would have been lost? And if the Kyuubi hadn't been stopped, thousands of people, among them countless innocents, would have been killed. Thousands of children would never have been born. I think it would be worth a sacrifice, even if an unrewarded one."

"People are corrupt," Kazama shot back. "They can only understand each other through pain."

Minato lowered his eyes. "I guess we are too different, yet also too similar, to understand each others' point of view. But you deserve freedom and a good life." He touched his son's chest.

In a flash, both found themselves in a canyon, under the rain.

"I free you, Uzumaki Naruto," Namikaze Minato said, taking a silver kunai laying on the soil. "I will be wary the day Kushina shall give birth, so my child will never have to face the ordeals you have experienced." He smiled. "I know you will find happiness and peace one day. Also… even if my child ends up turning out like you… I would still be proud of him."

"Wait!"

But the man had already vanished.

"You…" Kazama muttered. He could feel his limbs. He was free once again. "Why did you flee? Our conversation wasn't finished." As no one answered, he raised his head to watch the clouds.

No, he knew all that needed to be said had been.

But why did he felt so… unsatisfied?

"You do not seem happy."

Kazama's felt his blood freeze in his veins. He turned around.

A dark figure was observing him from above the cliff.

"So…" Tsukiyomi's voice was full of amusement. "What do you think of your father? He is quite the fool, isn't he? A brave and pure one, I will give him that, but a fool nonetheless. Sacrificing oneself and exceptional people without their consent for the ungrateful masses… isn't it pure insanity? He should have saved his family instead. Quality is more important than quantity. Sacrificing people without their consent just make them hate, starting the circle of revenge anew."

Kazama clenched his fists. "You were watching all along, weren't you?"

"Not all along," he leapt next to the blonde in a regal manner. "I had noticed people with Konan… familiar people. I sensed someone messing with space, and I immediately recognized the technique, having fought Minato Namikaze's dangerous jutsu. So I followed and observed."

"Why did you leave me to talk to him instead of attacking?" Kazama asked. "I thought you disliked him?"

"I don't dislike him, I loathe, I despise, I hate him," Madara replied in a tone that sounded completely pleasant. "But I thought it would be a good thing for you to talk to him. _After all, it is good for one to know its roots, or else it can't become a solid tree. _Hashirama was right on this point."

The teen felt silent. Tsukiyomi was watching him like a hawk. "He's… idealistic. He believes people can always become good."

"That is what makes him different from us," the Uchiha laughed scornfully. "Can you imagine someone like Orochimaru turning good, just because you try to be an example? Good and evil are just a perspective. Everyone has his own morality. Some may share elements, but two people can't exactly have the same vision of the world. The dream of Konoha was to make thousands share the same code of conduct. It's still my dream, in a different way. But the code I want impose is that everyone should find his own nindo."

Kazama lowered his gaze. "… What is your goal? Your real goal, beyond that 'conquer the multiverse' thing."

"I already told you: to create a world where gifted individuals wouldn't be shackled by the masses," Tsukiyomi continued. "My original way was the obliteration of all unworthy minds. An illusion that only the best would have been able to break, cast over the whole world. That was the best way I had found to reveal the hidden potential of mankind. But now… my goal is to create a… reunion."

"A reunion?"

"With your power, all the gifted, the best, the strongest, the smartest, of all worlds, could unite and create a utopia separate from the trash that consists of the rest of the worlds. There would be… sacrifices, of course. Chains shall have to be broken, the masses to be tamed, the failure of Konoha burned to the ground to give place for a one universal order."

There was no hint of doubt or madness in his voice or lone eye. He genuinely meant the words he was saying.

"So… wouldn't this vision be worth it?" Tsukiyomi offered his hand to Kazama. "Join me, and we will make it true. We will make our own dreams true. We will give meaning to the visions of the visionaries. Together, we can hold reality itself in the palm of our hand and reshape everything in our image."

"I refuse," Kazama replied without hesitation. "My decision won't change. I can't forgive you for what you did to me, my loved ones, and others."

"I never expected you to," Tsukiyomi chuckled. "Yet… what about my_other_offer? I can give you the power to never depend on someone else again. If you refuse to join me, I can at least awake your full potential. Is becoming my pupil of any interest to you?"

Not so long ago, Kazama's answer would have been obvious.

But that was before his meeting with his father.

The teen had been trashed by Minato Namikaze. The wanderer was strong, as he did defeat Orochimaru, even in a weakened state, but it wasn't enough. He needed more power to save his loved ones. He needed power to defeat Madara.

_**Power is neither evil or good, **_dark whispers twisted his thoughts. _**Who cares about its source? Power is what can help me save my loved ones…**__**if I had power, Haku wouldn't have died, Sasuke wouldn't have gone traitor, I would have been able to protect my family…**_

Plus… maybe learning about Madara would give the teen the edge in a future battle… he could observe his abilities and weaknesses.

"… What would be my training?" He finally asked, quite unhappily.

Tsukiyomi's lone Sharingan was almost shining with glee. "Interested, I see…" He whispered. "Well, I shall teach you…_everything_. But mostly, ninja techniques, field tactics, survival skills and most of all, how to develop your own natural talents."

Kazama was decided to exploit the situation. _Know your enemy if you want to defeat it…_"Alright," he whispered, half-heartedly. "Please teach me."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Dark Mentor, Tsukiyomi<strong>_

And so, the training began. The Uchiha Lord teleported the two of them somewhere else in the Land of Rain, on one of the many battlefields of the war. It was a desolate land, where ashes were mixing with the rain. Everybody had left, but a few skeletons were still present, unburied. A few craters were scattered around them.

"This will be the perfect place," Tsukiyomi stated, letting the rain touch his mask. The thrill of victory was possessing him. The teen had finally responded to his propositions by the affirmative. Of course, such sudden change of behavior could only be explained by a thirst for revenge against his father, or some ulterior motive. Madara knew that very well, and didn't care. He was aware of the attraction of power. He would give a bit to the blonde, until he would think only about maximizing it. It was the Uchiha way. It was the _only _way. "It is the land of the dead. A monument to pain and bloodshed, but also valor and determination."

He observed his student. Two Kusanagi, Orochimaru's fabled weapons. He might make a fine duelist one day, but for now, Madara preferred to focus on something more… showy. Swords were deadly, but not as impressive as Ninjutsu. Impressing the blonde, tempting him, would get better results.

"First, tell me… what do you know about the Azure Dragon? I saw you using a bastardized version last time we fought. And what do you know about the other schools?"

The teen frowned. "I know it's a fighting style focusing on redirecting an opponent's attacks and using precise blows. A friend taught the basic to me. I know about the other four styles."

"But are you aware of the history behind them?" Tsukiyomi asked, and the wanderer replied by the negative. "They were the main Fighting Schools of the Uzumaki. They're among the ancestors of modern Ninjutsu… or I should say modern Ninjutsu is just a bastardized version of these styles and others from all lands, formed from scattered knowledge. These five styles were lost when the Land of Whirlpool was lost. How fortunate of you to have found a still living user." He would have to investigate the subject later to entice the boy further.

"They each represent a different way of fighting. Or rather, different tactics. The Azure Dragon, in its purest form, mixes middle-range attacks and close combat. It is made to make the best of all opportunities, balancing defense and offense without exhausting oneself. No move must be done in vain, all attacks are precise and deadly. Orochimaru is a good example of how an Azure Dragon fights.

"The Vermillion Bird is all offense. A user tries to overwhelm the enemy with powerful attacks, most of the time staying at distance to use large area, long ranged jutsus, and to make up for the lack of defensive moves. Defense is just stopping an oncoming technique with a stronger one. I am the very embodiment of that style.

"The White Tiger is another all offensive style, but it is focused on close combat. A user is incredibly fast and prevents his opponent from finishing hand-seals sequences, avoiding blows instead of parrying them. As a result, they are generally weak at long range, unless they develop long range attacks to make up for it. They are very graceful and unpredictable, like dancers."

"It's like that bone freak…" Naruto said out loud, attracting Madara's attention. "I once fought a guy that could manipulate his bones. I never managed to land a hit on him."

"It must have been a Kaguya," Tsukiyomi nodded. "I thought Yagura had exterminated them all in our world… no matter. The Kaguya were a clan whose battling dances were effectively descendants of the White Tiger style. As their Kekkei Genkai made them almost invulnerable and gave an infinite supply of projectiles, without any hand-seals, they had covered all the style's weaknesses, making them almost unbeatable." It was fortunate that they were all insane and undisciplined. If they had managed to fight like a cohesive force and obeyed Kiri's strategy, a few wars might have ended differently…

"The Black Tortoise is the opposite: a defensive style. The user waits for the enemy to attack, then take advantages of the weak points and opportunities to respond with powerful assaults. Defending, waiting, then acting fast and going for the kill. Your friend Gaara is a perfect example, except he uses sand instead of water. He waits for the enemy to make a mistake trying to get around the defense, then, launches an attack, and finally returns back to defense. It's like punching a wall of iron: you only hurt your hand trying.

"Finally, the Golden Unicorn is the more or less the prototype of Iwa's fighting schools. The user trades speed for pure force and an excellent defense. The Golden Unicorn advances slowly, but it can't be stopped and the blows cannot be parried. Susanoo is a master of such method. He advances more slowly than myself or Amaterasu, even with the Rinnegan, but in the end, all you can do is delay him. He will shrug off all attacks and reply with brute strength."

Naruto Uzumaki narrowed his eyes. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you are using the wrong style," Tsukiyomi explained. "With your reserves and affinities, you are built for purely aggressive styles. I am sure the Azure Dragon would _eventually _be _perfect _for you, once you have polished your techniques. Currently, however, you would be better suited learning the Vermillion Bird, and _maybe _later the White Tiger. The first because your reserves allow for large areas attacks in quantity, and the second because it is extremely efficient when associated with swordsmanship, if you want to go on that path. I, however, suggest you to drop swordsmanship altogether, at least for the time being."

"Why? Swords have saved my life more than once!" The blonde seemed almost insulted.

"I never said you should get rid of them. I am sure you have earned these two Kusanagi of yours and can use them well. Commanding your two Kusanagi by will would make them incredible projectiles and excellent supports. But _wielding _them would prevent you from making the hand-seals necessary for area jutsu, or at least make it extremely difficult for you to react quickly. Trust my experience, swordsmanship is _deadly _at close range, but _crippling _at long range. You need far more speed than you currently have to get rid of that problem by closing gaps, like Amaterasu or Maito Gai. Precise hand strikes can be as efficient and leave you free to use Ninjutsu. It doesn't mean you have to abandon them… just focus on mastering Ninjutsu first."

The teen appeared disappointed, looked at his swords, and touched them. "Ninjutsu? Are you going to show me Wind techniques?"

"I know it's your affinity, but it needs an excellent chakra control to inflict lethal wounds by manipulating the shape to be razor sharp. I prefer to work on an element that, while less versatile, doesn't need nearly as much control to be effective. It is also, fortunately, the one I know the best."

Joining his fingers, Madara unleashed a burst of blue fire at the rainy clouds. It managed to reach them without dissipating.

"Fire is an excellent element for you to learn. It is powerful, versatile, and, with your reserves, usable at will."

"But Wind comes easier," the blonde pointed out.

"And here is the problem. You use the easier path. Learning an element you aren't born to use is more difficult, but it makes you develop more self-control, discipline, patience and willpower. You will struggle with your nature, and you will tame it." He joined his palms. "If one is to control the world, one must first rule himself. The true enemy is the self, or rather the limits imposed by it. Overcoming them makes everything possible."

"Then why aren't we taught that first?" Kazama asked.

"Because the current learning program is made to create ninjas as fast as possible to power the war effort, even if there isn't a war. My method creates better ninjas, but it takes more time. It was abandoned since it became obvious it was too slow. Only geniuses still go on that path, like Kakashi, Orochimaru, Itachi…"

"Why didn't Kakashi teach me that way?" Kazama cursed. "He only taught me Wind…"

"A wise decision," Madara commented, surprising the blonde. "Think about it: you were pursued by _me_. You lacked time. So giving you a decent level of power as fast as possible was the best course of action. It would have always been possible to teach you the better way after we Uchiha were out of the picture."

Focusing on his joined palms, Madara began hand-seals sequences. "Today, I will teach you the basic technique of the Uchiha, the Great Fireball. It is the perfect jutsu to start practicing Fire Release. Once you have mastered it, I will teach you more advanced attacks based on the Vermillion Bird style. We might begin that before noon, if you are enough of a fast learner. At the same time, we will begin to work on your… exceptional power."

Of course, he didn't mean the world jumping power… yet. Tsukiyomi was more interested in making his sort of student use the abilities offered by his link to Mikaboshi. It would both accelerate his ascension and increase his capacities.

Behind his mask, Madara smiled. This would be an interesting time indeed.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Wanderer, Kazama<strong>_

At first, mastering Sasuke's jutsu had been very difficult, even with the help of clones. Kazama felt like trying to become a dragon, breathing fire and not air. It just didn't come as easily as Wind did, not that his natural element came with ease at first either mind you. Madara showed him how to shape the chakra into the element, gathering it in the stomach and then unleashing it, but the best the blonde managed to do was to make hot air.

Then, Tsukiyomi gave him a tip.

"Fire is linked to emotions. The strongest one's emotions are, the stronger Fire becomes. Love will make it a warm, controlled flame. Hate will give it the shape and power of a destructive inferno. When you try to use the technique… picture yourself burning Konoha and all your former false friends with it. Do it each time you use flames."

He did. Surprisingly, he managed to use the technique. Fire suddenly became easy after that.

Using clones, Kazama managed to use the Great Fireball easily in around two hours, although he didn't really master it, as it lacked the grace and power of Sasuke's, and its form was... not really uniform. The Fireball was sending sparks all over the ground, and was obviously inferior to Sasuke's. Tsukiyomi wasted no time and decided to speed up the training by expanding his student's repertory. He showed him different, advanced techniques, like the Great Fire Annihilation. The difference with the Fireball jutsu was making it form a wall of flames, serving as both a defense and attack.

Memorizing the techniques shown to him, Kazama realized his amoral teacher had no weakness. Or rather, no weak point to be exploited. His ability to become intangible had made defense unimportant, allowing him to focus on overwhelming the opponent with powerful attacks from distance, and his teleportation technique make reaching him extremely difficult.

The only way Kazama could see himself killing the Uchiha was to fill the gap between them, and then hit him with his chains before he could get away. That alone would be a feat, and Madara had already shown himself to be able to survive lethal wounds.

In short, the blonde was hopelessly outmatched, at least for the moment… unless he could take the man off-guard. Or overwhelm him with pure power.

Both were unlikely.

At the end of the day, the Uchiha forced him to sit and adopt a meditating pose. "We will try to unlock your supreme ability," he explained. "Empty your mind. Focus on oblivion. Try to shed your human existence and ascend."

Kazama reluctantly obeyed. He didn't want to show the man he himself didn't know how to use his power effectively and safely. But on the other hand, mastering it was maybe the only way to get rid of the different Madara once and for all…

Meditating was similar to his attempt at mastering fire. But this time, it felt… strange. Kazama couldn't put a word on it. It was similar to what he felt, back when he escaped from Orochimaru's cell. Some sort of alien sensation, beyond words and emotions…

Then… the world became black and empty. Pure nothingness. And in the center of it all… a purple star.

Kazama suddenly opened in his eyes in dread. But he was not near Madara.

The landscape was a green plain. The skies were blue, a huge cloud flying above. People were running…

No, fleeing in fear and hopeless despair.

The skies lightened, becoming red. A pillar of light descended from the cloud, scorching the land. The people were burned alive, reduced to ashes. In a blink, the plain became ash grey.

Observing the skies in terror, the blonde realized it wasn't a cloud. It was some kind of structure, a huge, flying monster of iron. It was red, but it wasn't really like the Vault. It had wings of metal, and had the shape of a bird. But it was obviously a man-made structure.

And atop of it… a man in red.

Panting, Kazama found himself back to the training ground, observed by Madara. "You look mortified…" The Uchiha stated. "What did you see?"

"Death…" The wanderer massaged his temples. _And myself._

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Dark Mentor, Tsukiyomi<strong>_

After the meditation accident, Madara dropped that part of the training altogether. He didn't know what Mikaboshi had in mind, but it wasn't pretty. The boy was obviously disturbed by whatever he saw, and the Uchiha wanted him focused.

Sometimes, Madara hoped he could talk to Mikaboshi at will. But he knew they both had their own plans, and, if not incompatible, were still different. Both didn't want the other to screw up their own plot for the future. The star god had already done him a favor by separating the boy from his friends. He couldn't ask for much more than that.

The following days followed a simple schedule: during the morning, Madara would bring food and water, then train the blonde with Fire Release. He also showed him the basis of the Vermillion Bird moves. The boy was naturally fast, but he wasn't genetically designed for quick movements like the Uchiha were. He lacked grace and would never match Itachi's speed and agility. It was just the way of things. The boy would be good, but not a prodigy, in this field.

Madara knew most clans had a breeding program of sort, arranging marriages to make their younglings adapted to their respective jutsu, sometimes to the point of practicing inbreeding. The Hyuuga and Uchiha were perfect examples, attempting to make natural speed demons through genetic selection. The secrets of the clan stayed within the clan, as an added bonus. Zetsu had even once informed him that Hiashi's wife was his cousin, with the goal of increasing the Main House's already impressive chakra control.

But on the other hand, the blonde was a Ninjutsu prodigy. Even Itachi or Kakashi never mastered advanced techniques as fast as the boy, at least when they weren't using the Sharingan. He had thought it would take a few months for him to use Fire, but it appeared to come naturally for him. True, it only came after he told him to use emotions to power flames up, but Naruto Uzumaki had a natural understanding of the working of Ninjutsu techniques. Maybe was it a combination of Minato's own unnatural talent and the Uzumaki's bloodline?

Tsukiyomi knew the Uzumaki's chakra was so potent it allowed its bearer to master all affinities, or at least three of them without issue, but he never expected it to be so efficient. In two days, Naruto had effectively managed to use the Great Fire Annihilation, the most powerful defensive move a Katon master could hope for... but the shape was quite bad, not uniform, and he wasted an incredible amount of chakra using it. It would take multiple weeks for him to learn how to use his repertory properly, as his skills lacked refinement, but still... in a decade, he might become a true Katon master. If he managed to live to Madara's age, he might even surpass Pain's Ninjutsu and become second only to the great Sage.

But when Madara attempted to teach him Genjutsu, he realized that, in stark contrast with his incredible predisposition with Ninjutsu, the blonde was the worst illusionist, _ever_. Only slightly better than Maito Gai and his student.

Tsukiyomi had never seen that. The teen couldn't manage even the simplest illusions. The Henge was a Ninjutsu technique using chakra to change one's appearance, whereas Genjutsu was changing the way the opponent perceived the world around himself. As it turned out, the Uzumaki was utterly unable to even change how Madara perceived the color of a rock.

He doubted it was a problem of chakra control. The boy had an average control, sufficient to perform illusions that were not too complex, even with his inhumanly large natural reserves.

It was, in the Uchiha's opinion, a reflection of both his inner conflict, that troubled his concentration and focus, a lack of understanding of the nature of illusions, and his own mental barriers. Both Amaterasu and Tsukiyomi had managed to trap him into an illusion, and as the result the mind had begun to develop a natural resistance to it. It was a natural process: once someone is exposed to many illusions, the mind would pick the hints he's influenced faster and try to fight back.

Most of the time, master illusionist are themselves almost immune to such tactics, and Genjutsu battles are truly impressive displays of intelligence, willpower and trickery. On the other hand, ninjas that had been exposed to powerful tricks multiple time could still fall under Genjutsu, but they could also break from them faster or force the illusionist to strengthen the hold on the victim to keep him under control.

After being exposed to the pinnacle of the Uchiha skill _twice_, it was to be expected from the boy's brain to protect itself better. But, in the same way someone focused on shielding himself is unwilling to attack, the mind is rather adverse at using Genjutsu on others.

After one day of unsuccessful experiments, Madara dropped the subject altogether in favor of focusing on Taijutsu and Ninjutsu.

He also attempted to teach him Shogi, but the teen didn't show any interest in the game. He was only interested in fighting skills. Well, Tsukiyomi would have to wait until the young could open himself to his words.

As the night fell, Madara left his student alone to sleep, teleporting away. It had been four days since he came here, and Susanoo hadn't contacted him yet.

Finding his ally's signature, he teleported next to it. Tsukiyomi found himself in a rather dark place, some kind of crypt illuminated by torches. The walls were made of green stone. On the ground, there were multiple sarcophaguses made of gold and silver. Susanoo was opening one, stopping when he noticed his counterpart. "What were you doing? It has been four days since I sensed you leave Konan's house."

"I was about to ask you a similar question. Let's say I was occupied at showing the boy what real power was." He observed the corpse inside the Sarcophagus, covered with strips. "So that's what you were doing? Grave robbing?"

"The recruit already did most of the work," the other replied, taking the strips and revealing the body's identity. The Nidaime Tsuchikage. "After I met our new ally and you vanished, I decided to recreate my paths. Why not use the opportunity while I had nothing better to do? At war, most forces aren't focused on protecting the graves of their leaders, so I thought about making powerful ninjas my thralls. Unfortunately, I couldn't get my claws on any Kage, until this one..."

"A brilliant idea," Tsukiyomi said. He was, however, slightly preoccupied. With the power of the greatest leaders of the Five Nations at his fingertip, Susanoo might be able to get rid of his ally quite easily. He had to be wary. Maybe he should sabotage his development, just in case? "You intend to make this body a Path?"

"Yes and no," Susanoo answered, taking some flesh from the dead man's face with a chakra scalpel. "I had thought about doing this at first, but Izanami proposed a far better use for the corpses."

"Izanami? Our counterpart is a girl?"

"No, our counterpart was a male, but he unfortunately passed away years ago. I found his apprentice, a nameless Uchiha woman calling herself 'No One'. So I gave her a name, and she accepted it without giving it importance."

Tsukiyomi didn't bother to hide his contempt. A human without a name wasn't a person, but a tool, a nonentity. If she hadn't even a name and refused to have one, then she was nothing. How could his counterpart even take such a_thing_as an apprentice? "Is she powerful?"

"Depends on your perception of 'powerful'. On one hand, she isn't blessed by Mikaboshi, she doesn't have our experience, and her strength can't compare to our own. But on the other hand, she has the Sharingan, appears to be very good at Genjutsu, can teleport and become intangible like us…"

"Without Mikaboshi's help?" The mastermind was both impressed and genuinely astonished.

"Yes. I had the same reaction, but she can use these powers on her own. It is still a mystery for me, and she refused to answer my questions about it."

"A nameless person who still wants to keep secrets…" Tsukiyomi mused. "Quite ironic."

"Indeed, and I have no idea of who she is. But she has a… very interesting skill." Susanoo raised his head. "Speaking of the devil…"

"Tsukiyomi-sama," a woman in black said, entering the crypt. She felt… off. Her voice was soft, but similar to a deathly whisper. Her left hand was holding the neck of an Iwa-nin, looking barely alive, his arms and legs broken. "I am honored to meet you."

"Izanami-san…" Madara whispered affably. "The pleasure is all mine."

"Izanami, I have the material," Susanoo stated, giving her the flesh. "Please, show my counterpart your special technique."

"With pleasure." She threw the captured nin on the floor, took a scroll from under her robe, put it on the ground, took the flesh from Susanoo's hand and slammed it on it. A huge seal extended from the paper and enveloped the man. Ashes and earth swirled around him, covering him and changing his appearance. He didn't scream, just looking impassively at the woman.

At the end of the ritual, the man had vanished, leaving the Nidaime Tsuchikage in his place. The man was covered with bandages and still had his headband in this undead state, but his eyes were completely black save for his pupils. He stared at the three Sharingan users. "This technique… only Tobirama knew it. Fools, do you realize what you have done?"

"I think you, of all people, should comprehend the use of such power," Susanoo laughed. "Aren't you the most ruthless of all Tsuchikage?"

"This isn't about ruthlessness," the Nidaime shot back. "It is about your soul. May the Shinigami spit on your grav-"

Izanami stabbed him in the back of the head with a kunai, making him silent. His gaze became empty of any emotion.

"You understand why I called her Izanami, now?" Susanoo mused. "The goddess of the dead?"

"I see…" Tsukiyomi said, both impressed and disturbed. He observed Izanami. "You know the price to pay for using such a technique will be… very high."

She shrugged. "I don't care. I have nothing of value to lose. All I care about is realizing the Moon's Eye plan and bringing salvation to this miserable, meaningless world."

The Uchiha stayed silent a few moments. "I guess my other self didn't teach you optimism. Had he at least taught you about the statue and its use?" _Strange... why hasn't she brought my counterpart back from the dead with her power, if she's so loyal? I have a bad feeling about this..._

"Speaking of it…" Susanoo muttered. "The summoning is going to happen tomorrow at dawn. After the meeting with Hanzo and Yagura happens, Nagato will be ripe for the killing and-"

"Yagura?" Tsukiyomi cut in. "What is the meaning of this?"

"The situation isn't the same as in your own universe," Izanami explained softly. "My Hanzo is different from your own. He might have lost himself in his path to power, but he is still somewhat loyal to his land. Konoha almost invaded it, so he asked for a different ally to protect it. The Mizukage was all too happy to answer the call."

"Yagura is invading the eastern part of the continent, and he wants to make a junction with Ame's forces in order to take down Konohagakure," Susanoo added. "Getting rid of Yahiko is part of their agreement."

This was _not _a good thing. "Yagura will kill Nagato the second he sees his eyes," Tsukiyomi stated. "His Bijuu knows about the power of the Sage. This will be a bloodbath."

"Unless we make sure things don't go south," Susanoo pointed out.

Tsukiyomi grudgingly nodded. "I guess my unwilling student will have to wait a bit."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Wanderer, Kazama<strong>_

It all began with a dream.

At night, he had fallen asleep, next to a warm campfire. Tsukiyomi had vanished for who knows how long, leaving him alone. It was nice, of course, letting Kazama think tranquilly.

A few days. He had to wait a few days to escape from the Uchiha's claws and gain his freedom. This would let him find his family.

Thinking about it, maybe his power could help him locate them?

So when he slept, he found himself in front of the web of mirrors. Touching it, the blonde closed his eyes and focused. _Please, help me find them,_he silently prayed. _Let me see where they are. Let me see them alive._

When he opened his eyes, the mindscape was changing.

The first dream he saw was a battle. Naruko, Kitsune, Gaara, Itachi and three Uchiha were fighting a red, terrifying fog, six lights shining in its center.

The second dream was also a battle. A duel. Haku was fighting a terrifying shadow with iron claws, in a room full of icy mirrors on which she could see twisted reflections of a blonde man in a suit. Not far away, Kuebiko was holding an unconscious Chibaku in his hands and fleeing a wall of fire, having adopted the shape of a masked beast.

The third dream wasn't a battle. Sasori and a hooded man were confronting a priestess, talking. Suddenly, black mud rained from the skies, covering the miko. Both Sasori and the hooded man made hand-signs, readying themselves to face a monster made of mud. The helpless priestess was screaming, working as the thing's unwilling heart.

The fourth dream was again a battle. Yugito was avoiding the attacks of two men. One was made of gold, with a human heart. The other was a puppet, whose strings were manipulated by a large, omnipotent darkness.

The fifth dream was taking place in a great throne room. A little girl was chained to a throne of iron, two demons circling her, growling in unsatisfied hunger. Kakashi was also there, talking to a man, whose body fell apart to reveal the raging, insane monster underneath.

All his friends and family members were in obvious danger. And he was powerless to help them. So he prayed, prayed he could rush at their help. _They need me, _he thought in horror. _I must come to their aid…__I must use the seal, even with the risks._

But then came the sixth dream, more vivid than any other.

It was somewhere in the Land of Rain, near hills, at dawn. Yahiko, Konan and Nagato were alone, surrounded by dead people. Atop a hill, a man was standing, wearing blue samurai armor and wielding a kusarai-gama. He had a sort of helmet-like respirator on his mouth, the Amegakure's headband, brown eyes, and long blonde hair.

Unlike the previous dreams, Naruto could hear what was happening here clearly.

"So you have finally come," he whispered with a deep voice. "I was waiting for you. You are late."

"Hanzo…" Yahiko seethed in dread. "What's the meaning of this?"

"Isn't it obvious? It's a trap," Nagato stated with an angry face. "He murdered them all, and we are next on his kill-list."

"Why did you do this, Hanzo?" Konan shouted. "You used to be Ame's hero!"

"It is true that I doesn't deserve the title of hero anymore," Hanzo replied with a sorrowful voice. "But I am still my homeland's defender. I know who you are. I know you are Jiraiya's students. You are spawns from Konoha, and you would have sold this country to them had I left you alive."

"That's a lie!" Yahiko screamed.

"No? Then how can you explain your meeting with the Fourth Hokage?" Hanzo shot back in anger. "So many people are dying on the frontlines to keep them at bay, and you DARE to betray these brave men and women for our enemies?"

"We were trying to negotiate peace!" Yahiko replied. "The Hokage agreed to leave Ame alone! He said he understood our situation!"

"And you believed him? Fool, Konoha can't be trusted! These tree-huggers preach about peace, but they conveniently ignore their own doctrine! There can't be peace with them, only war and annihilation!"

"That's wrong!" Konan shouted. "Peace can be achieved if people talk to each others! Mutual understanding can cease all conflicts! Wars bring nothing but pain, death and meaningless violence!"

Hanzo stayed silent…

But someone else laughed.

It was a mocking, genuine laugh, echoing through the whole field. A child slowly walked from behind the hill, with a sadistic, cruel smile on his face. "And how would that be bad? Violence is never meaningless… just _always _fun."

Well… he looked like a teenager. He was very small, had short grey green hair, was wearing a green poncho, his eyes were purple, and he had a large scar running from his left eye to the cheek. The Kiri's headband was placed on a black belt, above black pants and boots. He was wielding a staff-like hook weapon with a green flower on the large end.

"You pacifists are all ridiculous. Such silly idealism disgusts me. Don't you understand the value of war and conflict? That is all there is to know about life! The strong has the right and duty to kill the weak to purify our species' gene pool!"

"T-the Mizukage, Yagura?" Nagato's fear was almost palpable.

"How could you bring this madman here?" Konan said to Hanzo. "He's a monster! He is destroying his own people!"

"A monster? You can't find a better insult?" Yagura laughed. "I am simply purifying my species. My Blood Police is making a better Kirigakure, culling the weak and butchering failures, be them civilians, shinobi, clansmen and bloodline wielders! Even the Academy is participating in the rebirth of this formerly pathetic country! How can you deny it is human progress?"

"The reason I invited him here?" Hanzo spoke. "We share a common goal. Konoha is a menace to both of our countries. Allying with him was the surest way to assure Ame's safety from the attacks of our neighborhoods. I might have compromised my ideal, but if this land can be safe, then I will gladly commit such a sin."

"So you asked him to help you kill us," Nagato stated, his Rinnegan full of wrath.

"Well, no," Yagura replied. "I simply heard he had problems with you, and I offered my assistance. I thought it would be a good hunt. And if your fabled eyes are of any indication, you are going to make a fine prey."

"Killing us will solve nothing, Yagura-sama!" Yahiko shot back. "Please, maybe we can talk-"

"Haven't you understood, fool?" Yagura chuckled, becoming clad in green chakra. "I am not killing you to help Hanzo-kun, but because I hate you! I hate you all humans, and I will feed on your flesh and pain!" His skin was torn, unleashing blood that stained his chakra black._**"I would have attacked you even if your death weren't needed, as it would put a smile on my face! I will devour you all, because I am the ultimate predator! Time to show you who is at the top of the food chain!"**_

The three ninja were now facing a monstrous beast, made of blood and chakra.

_**"Let the wild hunt begin! Satisfy my hunger!"**_

Kazama awakened at that instant. The dawn was coming.

"Shit, shit, shit!" He repeated, holding his head as he rose up on his legs. "They're going to die…"

Then… he remembered what happened back in the Vault.

Focusing, Kazama tried to use the divine power in him. _Please please please please! Please bring me where they are, please let me help them!_

The image of a purple light pictured itself in his mind.

A second later, he was in the middle of a field under a rain.

A monster was laughing. A samurai was silent. A man with fabled eyes was crying. A woman was screaming, holding a corpse.

Yahiko was dead, because Kazama had been too late.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Omake: Nasuya<strong>_

_**Omake: Nasuya**_

"What is this?" Kazama asked to Minato, who was reading a book. A familiar one… "Icha Icha?"

"Who said that word?" Konan hissed, as she suddenly appeared in a puff of smoke. "My angry woman sense is tingling."

"It's not Icha Icha… but there's still a lot of porn inside," Minato explained. "It's Jiraiya's new novel, Fate Stay/night."

"What's the story?" Kazama asked.

"Well, I think it's yours: it's the story of a guy able to create copies of weapons – like you do with yourself – and has multiple love interests including a Sakura-like Tsundere and a Hinata-like shy girl with an abusive family… whose name happens to be Sakura. And one of the villains steals bodies, but is made of worms and not snakes. Oh, and the main villain also caused a catastrophe that destroyed part of a city and indirectly killed your adoptive father… who didn't really teach you all that much… And he wants to bring about the coming of a cosmic horror by killing seven Biju – I mean… _heroes_."

"How dare he make a story about me without giving me rights over it?" Kazama growled, "That perverted _bastard_!"

"Well, he apparently did something similar with a body-stealing villain, in a novel called Tsukihime… I think the blonde girl the hero lusts after is Tsunade, and the hero, being badass and able to woo multiple girls, the incarnation of all of sensei's fantasies."

"…wait," Nagato stated. "This reminds me of something…"

"Nasu!" Kazama snapped, hitting his fist into his palm, "I remember meeting the guy on one of our jumps! He was writing some story about a chick in a red jacket. We were attacked by some cat… things. It was _horrible._"

"Does that mean Jiraiya and Nasu are one and the same?" Nagato asked. He blinked, "Is that even possible?"

"Horribly, yes," Kazama stated. "How do you even know about Nasu, anyway?"

"Deus ex machin- Rinnegan."

"Oh." Kazama nodded, "Makes sense," and he looked at Minato. "Do I at least get to woo the girl at the end?"

"Well… yes. I think you can even get a threesome."

Kazama smiled. "Awesome."

_In another multiverse:_

A short immortal man with dyed green hair and enormous power reserves looked up at the air and frowned. "I sense blasphemy being discussed. It must be corrected."

A white haired Tenten with her hair let down pouted with several weapons floating above her. "Sensei! Stop being crazy again and train me!"

She spent the rest of the day avoiding being hit by lightning.

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: thanks Slayer End, for inspiring the omake, and Third Fang, for expanding it.<em>**

**_A few things. Izanami is a female Tobi. Not a female Madara. So, you can expect a lot of secrets and acting from her. Don't think what you saw is her real self._**

**_This isn't the last time Minato and Kazama will talk. They will have another argument later, with a rather different conclusion._**

**_The dreams are, of course, just symbolical._**

**_Kazama hasn't mastered any technique. He knows how to use it, but he lacks the skill, power, and way of using them to their fullest potential. That's like the difference between someone with a gun and an expert marksman: same weapon, vast difference in skill._**

**_Next time, a far more light-hearted chapter with Kakashi and Yugito... at least, until a certain horrible OC comes along..._**


	29. Chapter 26: Zombie Duo

_**For the sake of convenience, the original Kakashi you all love shall be named Kamui, and this world's Kakashi shall be called the ANBU. Also, started a little humorous story, Blame the Cookies, with Slayer End as co-author.**_

_**A little warning, the Pure Evil part contains some... horrible moments.**_

**_As ever, thanks to my betas ABitterPill, Third Fang, and Alpha142 for their help._**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto._**

* * *

><p><em><strong>TravelerOriginal Naruto: Kazama Arashi.**_

_**Puppeteer Naruto: Chibaku Arashi.**_

_**Werefox/Hybrid Naruto: Kitsune Arashi.**_

_**Female Naruto: Naruko Arashi.**_

_**Traveler Kakashi: Kamui.**_

_**Deceiver/Original Madara: Tsukiyomi.**_

_**Destroyer/Rinnegan Madara: Susanoo.**_

_**Warrior/Collector Madara: Amaterasu (now dead).**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Currently, they are scattered in four worlds:<strong>_

**_Shodaime!Madara world: Chibaku, Sasori, Haku, Kuebiko._**

**_Godaime!Itachi world: Kitsune, Gaara, Naruko._**

**_Mystery world (for now): Kazama, Tsukiyomi, Susanoo._**

**_Alive!Yondaime world: Kakashi, Yugito._**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Public Announcement: Author in needs of Fanart!<strong>_

_**I have recently seen we can now put images as cover for our stories using the image manager, and I thought: why not giving Echoes a cover? Due to myself being a total and complete disaster as an artist, any fanart is welcome. If I receive enough, the best will be used as the story's cover, and the others will be put on my profile. All propositions are welcome.**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 26: Zombie Duo<strong>_

"May Jashin-sama, God of Destruction, Murder and Chaos, give you his blessings. May the one true god show you the way and free you from th-"

Kakuzu snorted in impatience. "Just finish your stupid ritual already!" A tall, tanned man, the bounty hunter was wearing a purple shirt and pants, a white belt, a black mask and a hood, leaving only his green eyes uncovered.

"I must pray for the soul of this man," Hidan replied, muttering sacred words to the dead monk Chiriku. The priest of Jashin was a young silver-haired man with black eyes, wearing black robes, with his god's symbol painted in white all over them. "May lord Jashin free your soul from the cycle of rebirth. May you find peace in the end of all things and the destruction of all spirits. May you find solace in the endless night…"

Kakuzu massaged his temples in frustration. Why did his partner always have to do these time-consuming rituals each time they killed a target? They just had to storm Chiriku's temple, kill him and get the bounty. That was all.

But after they had butchered him and more or less everybody in the temple, he had insisted to make a prayer for _each and __every _kill. Kakuzu had almost killed him on the spot before realizing, once again, that his partner couldn't be killed. Damn that immortality of his.

What did he do to deserve this indignity? He had asked for a reliable partner that would last more than a few months, and Pain, may the Shinigami spit on his dead and insane soul, assigned him this… idiot. What was worse was that the priest had for some insane reason decided to follow him, even after Akatsuki was long gone, just so he could 'save' Kakuzu's soul by converting him to Jashinism.

After ten more seconds of useless waiting, Kakuzu flipped out at his partner. "Enough! Why do you even pray for that guy, anyway? He doesn't even worship the same god as you!"

"There is only _one _god you ass, and it's Jashin-sama!" Hidan snapped back, before calming himself. "But even if this man was duped by false idols, he was still a man of faith. His pious soul deserves to be shepherded by Jashin-sama."

Kakuzu rolled his eyes. "There is one god in this world of ours, and it's called Money. It has more followers than any other god, has temples (also known as banks), priests (commonly known as bankers), and even a hell, poverty. I think you should convert. Money is a nice god that doesn't care about rituals and always rewards its followers."

Hidan's face reddened in rage, obviously struggling not to attack the bounty hunter. "Must… ignore… partner's blasphemies…"

"You're completely hopeless," Kakuzu stated flatly, before reading his what-to-do list. "So… Get money, I'm always doing that. Get more money, same as before. Permanently kill Hidan… to be determined. Put the money in a bank and check my growing accounts… later. Collect Chiriku's bounty… it will be done very soon… Kenta's request? Didn't do it. Will do it after getting Chiriku's bounty." He looked at his partner. "Get up and go to hell with your prayers, we have another job to do after this. Back to the bounty station, and then we go in the south."

"Does our new work involve defiling a sacred and ageless ritual with your blasphemies _again_?"

"I would love to, but no. It's a kidnapping job. No murder, no ritual. Just reap a girl and a boy. If we kill somebody, it would be for free… and I hate free killing."

Hidan stared at his partner in a mix of contempt and curiosity. "… why do you always think about money? I'm sure you cuddle a bag of money when you sleep!"

"Of course I do!" Kakuzu lied, trying to mess with Hidan's mind. "My poor money bag was all alone while I was off at work! I had to comfort it!"

"… you are crazy."

"Say the guy worshiping the God of Evil."

"Jashin-sama isn't the God of Evil, but of Destruction!" Hidan sighed. "Who do we kidnap?"

"Some kunoichi from Konoha, a medic called Rin Inuzuka, and her son, a genin called Obito. Our employer's messenger gave me their location, description, and what to do with them. And it doesn't involve ritualistic murders. Oh, those words are so enjoyable… I need to say them again. And it doesn't involve ritualistic murders… what a wonderful sentence."

"Sigh… I guess Jashin-sama won't welcome any more souls for a while."

"Money, on the other hand, always gets new followers," Kakuzu deadpanned.

"Silence nonbeliever!"

"What? I am a man of faith! Why do you complain? I am a pious man."

Hidan's expression was nothing short of priceless. "... You are a selfish, crappy bastard."

Kakuzu chuckled. "Took you all this time to get it?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Cat, Yugito<strong>_

Having never visited an intact, or non assaulted Konoha in her life, the Raikage having razed it to the ground in her world, Yugito's first action was to visit the city. Of course, she had an ulterior motive: getting away from the trio of hellions Itachi had called his Genin team.

The first thing that crossed her mind when she wandered around the main districts was… peaceful.

Konoha, or _this _Konoha, didn't have the militarized, oppressive atmosphere of other Hidden Villages she had visited in her lifetime. It was downright surreal. Nobody armed in the streets, no soldier in sight except the two ANBU keeping an eye on her from the roofs, and no civilian cowering in dread when crossing path with an obvious Shinobi.

The architecture itself reflected the peaceful atmosphere of Konohagakure. The fortifications weren't intimidating, beside the walls, and the Hokage Heads engraved on the mountain looked like kind fathers, and not wrathful protectors. The gossip wasn't about what town would be destroyed next, but about who was richer than who or the Yondaime's new planned meeting with the Mizukage.

Truly, this Konoha was a strange place.

It might have something to do with the apparently global, mutual demilitarization of the Hidden Nations Itachi and Rin had briefly told her about. From what she had gathered from the villagers, Minato had convinced the other countries to accept a treaty of mutual disarmament years ago. Of course, ninjas were still ninjas. There were still armies, and Shinobi were still killing people for a living. But the risks of war had been reduced to minimal and nations had engaged in warmer relations, both diplomatically and economically.

The continent had entered an era of peace and prosperity, and was aware of it. Unlike her homeworld.

It was actually quite nice to see so many people happy, and not be forced to fight on battlefields all the time, coming back scarred and guilt-wracked. She knew that in this world, her despaired and suicidal dead friend N would have had the chance to live a good life, never being ordered to burn villages by ruthless generals.

It was incredible how the sacrifice of the Third Hokage had changed things for the better. The power of the Fourth was enough to keep other nations in check, or so it seemed. She knew peace couldn't last long in the Shinobi world, no matter how broken the power balance was. At the very best it would probably start to fall apart as soon as the next generation came into power.

_**"Oh come on, Kitten!" **_The Nibi shouted unhappily. _**"Enough with the bad mood! Enjoy this place, for once! And find us some milk."**_

_I still don't feel at ease, _Yugito replied mentally, walking through a merchant district. _This place looks… off._

_**"Is it because it is too peaceful, or because all the girls you happen to see have a boyfriend?"**_

Yugito blushed slightly. _Not again… I told you I am not ready for any relationship. Especially in my current situation._

_**"Hey, Kitten, I have just had a brilliant idea! Why not try dating that Kakashi guy? I mean, he's handsome, looks strong, and have you stared at the face behind the mask? It is gorgeous! I would gladly give you tips on how to toy with him..."**_

_He killed my lord personally, appears to have severe psychological problems, and looks too dysfunctional to be reliable. Plus the way I saw him look at Rin… it's obvious something bad happened to her in his own world, and he's still thinking about her._

_**"Not fun… hey, what about Kazama? He is definitely going to be a lady-killer when he finishes with puberty, like that Yondaime… plus he seems like a nice leader. Why not try getting your claws into him? Trust me, his hormones are going to run wild in his blood if you play your cards right... it would be a nice hunt."**_

_First thing, he's a double of N, my adopted brother. That alone is disturbing. And I have absolutely no idea if he is even alive, or where he is now._

_**"Well… why not chasing somebody older…"**_

_If you ask me to court the Yondaime, and I _know _this is what you have in mind, I won't speak to you ever again. AND if you suggest Itachi, and I'm sure this is what you intend to do next, I will adopt a dog and call it by your name._

_**"… you are depressing, and extremely sadistic Kitten. How can you expect me to play the matchmaker when you won't make any effort? And the dog threat was low."**_

Yugito sighed inwardly. _I _don't _want you to play matchmaker. Firstly, you are incredibly bad at it. Secondly, I don't feel like dating anybody right now. Thirdly, I might leave this world in the near future, making any stable relationship impossible. Fourthly, I don't think you understand love like we humans do._

_**"Kitten, teasing you is my most precious source of joy! Please, don't take that from me!" **_The Nibi smirked. _**"And what if I paired you with Sasori…"**_

_NIBI!_

_**"Relax, just joking… yes, most certainly only a joke… I certainly did not tell you that seriously... I guess I don't understand your human mating rituals. I mean, it's like physical pleasure isn't everything... you are strange."**_

Suddenly, Yugito turned around, catching a kunai midair with both her hands. She was still in the merchant district, in a crowded area. _Who would be stupid enough to-_

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!" Three kids shouted, landing in front of her, much to her horror and the apathy of everybody else. Of course, they would do something like this, ignoring all common sense and natural shame.

"Not you again!" Yugito cursed, glaring at the infernal trio.

"Team Naruto, at your service!" The blonde kid smirked, his orange clothes still as ugly and clownish as ever. "We found you, Cat-chan!"

"I told you not to nickname m-"

"Who cares?" Obito chuckled. "Plus, you really look like a cat! I'm sure you are keeping a tail hidden somewhere!"

"At least you aren't as hard to get as Tora…" Sasuke noticed, smiling sheepishly. "But now, we can train again!"

"I told you I wanted a break!" Yugito snarled unhappily. When she had accepted to help Itachi with his Genin team, she hadn't expected them to be so insufferable… true, Itachi's whispering the word sorry multiple times in a row should have hinted about what was coming. Her bad. "You are driving me crazy."

"No excuses!" Naruto shouted, taking one kunai in both his hands, soon imitated by both Obito and Sasuke. "Time to die, you villain… what?" He laughed at his teammates' disturbed expressions. "I always wanted to say that once in my life!"

Briefly, Yugito wondered if these three weren't three sadistic, insane demons in disguise. Surprisingly, the crowd didn't appear bothered by the show. In fact, they almost seemed… _used_, to such display. "You realize that if you kill me, you won't get any training?"

"Yes, but... defeating you will make me the new sensei!" Obito smirked happily.

"Hey! _I _am going to be the sensei here, Obito-kun!" Naruto shouted wrathfully, making the peace sign with his fingers.

Unfortunately for him, Obito didn't seem to agree.

"In your dreams, buddy!"

"I will make them reality, kohai!"

"Both of you are stupid," Sasuke said, appearing to be the voice of reason among the group… for about ten seconds, as he quickly crossed the line between seriousness and goofiness. "I am obviously the most mature, the most cool, the most fit to be the sensei here."

"NEVER!" Both of his teammates shouted. Soon enough, the trio ignored Yugito altogether to focus on a glorious war of bickering and idiotic remarks.

In a tornado of leaves, Itachi, wearing an ANBU uniform, appeared right next to Yugito, lightly blushing in shame. "You understand now," he spoke calmly, "why I asked for help?"

Yugito blinked, as the trio decided to settle their argument through a staring contest. "Are they _always _like this?"

Itachi adopted a sorrowful, jaded look. "All the time. Every single day since the moment they met. And they show no sign of stopping."

_**"Kitten, there is actually a perfectly, understandable reason for their terrible behavior: they were driven insane by the color of that horrible jumpsuit this copy of N is wearing. Such overexposure to all that orange must be causing them seizures and aneurysms."**_

Itachi sighed. "I will take over from now on and attract their attention before it evolves into a Sexy no Jutsu contest." He frowned. "Please, do not look at me like that Yugito-san, it is indeed as horrible for the eyes as the name implies. You have my deepest thanks for the brief respite and moment of peace you gave me."

"No problem… but I don't think I will do it again," she said with a sheepish, yet determined look.

"I understand. In fact, you lasted the longest. The only other person that beat you at handling my team amongst Konoha's teachers is Jiraiya-sama, and that is because he is even worse than the three of them combined and taught them other terrible things."

Remembering the old pervert, Yugito snorted. "Let me guess: he taught them how to steal bras and had them train at doing it?"

"Much, much worse than that… he convinced them to co-write one of his novels," Itachi replied, freezing Yugito's blood in sheer horror. "And it became one of the year's top sellers."

_**"Each time I think they can't be more irrecoverable, they prove me wrong. I am older than civilization, but I have never seen that. It is a real achievement, Kitten."**_

Sighing, Yugito smiled. "Tell me… are there any perverts in town? It has been a while before I could relax, and I would like to try your hot springs safely."

"Jiraiya-sama is fortunately working as our ambassador in Kumogakure. He insisted on taking the job after discovering the Kumo was, in his words, 'full of hot chicks with swords. What do you expect? I am attracted to violent women'." Itachi sighed. "I will make sure my students won't interrupt you, but I promise nothing."

After thanking him, Yugito left for the public baths. A few minutes later, she was swimming naked in the female part of the springs. It felt good, finally having the chance to enjoy her stay in this place… how long had it been since she could relax like this? Maybe weeks… she had planned to go to the springs with Mabui, before the whole world traveling thing. She wondered how she was doing, with the destruction of the Vault and all...

_**"Fine, I am sure. Kitten, cease to think about important matters, and enjoy yourself."**_

_True, true… _Yugito suddenly realized she wasn't alone in the springs. Another woman was also there, relaxing against a rock. It was a slender, busty woman looking barely older than twenty. She had long auburn hair, and when she sensed Yugito's presence, she stared at her with green eyes.

"Welcome," she said with a kind smile. "I was feeling lonely, and now I have finally some company. My name is Mei Terumi, and you?"

Yugito paled in awe. She was in front of one of her idols, a S-Rank kunoichi. "M-Mei Terumi? The legendary kunoichi of Kirigakure? It is an honor to meet you!"

"You know me?" She chuckled. "You are too kind… and you seem to be quite the strong lass yourself. I can sense your enormous reserves. Quite impressive, indeed."

"I am…" Yugito thought about an alias. After all, she might have seen her counterpart. "Yugi." The absence of a last name wasn't all that strange, in the ninja world. She could always say she was an orphan if questioned.

"Happy to meet you, Yugi," Mei replied. "Are you a ninja of Konohagakure?"

"I am a traveler," Yugito stated, which technically wasn't a lie. "I was accompanying someone whose family was living here. And you, Terumi-sama? Are you working as Kiri's ambassador?"

"Correct guess," she replied, adopting a serious face. "By the way, just call me Mei. Terumi-sama makes me feel old. I am just twenty-one." Which was much younger than in her own world, Yugito noticed. "Our Mizukage, Zabuza-sama, asked me to help our current representative, Ao-san." She snorted. "This is incredibly boring. I have nothing to do except paperwork… and coming here. Sometimes, I wonder if becoming a traveler like you or Tsunade-hime wouldn't be better. Besides…" She grinned. "I might find a cutie along the way!"

_**"You see Kitten? Even one of your idol wants a boyfriend, so find one already!"**_

_Just shut up. _"You haven't found what you seek here, Teru- I mean, Mei?"

"You are getting better," Mei chuckled. "No, nobody, unfortunately. I like men a bit younger than myself, but there were no interesting males here for me unfortunately. There was that pretty Itachi boy, but he is so damn cold it's not even funny. His team apparently convinced him he had to take everything with stoicism and cool detachment."

"… is the whole world aware of these three hellions' insufferableness?"

"Actually... yes. They participated in the latest Chunnin Exams in Iwa… and ended it pretty quickly by painting the whole village in orange before it could officially begin. Including the Tsuchikage, the Sage knows how… In one single night. And then they engraved 'Naruto-Obito-Sasuke-Itachi: Best Friends Forever!' on the main plaza keystone in the center of the village. The countries annulled the event after it, and Iwa classified the team as a SS-Rank dangerous annoyance in their Bingo Book. The team is considered by the whole Land of Earth as one of its archenemies." Mei sighed. "You know, all the efforts the Yondaime Hokage had done to make peace with Iwa, even sending his son there, with an escort of course, crumbled in less than a day. The relations between the two nations are very cold now."

Yugito face palmed. "Why am I not surprised?"

Mei simply laughed lightheartedly, before eying the hot springs' entry. Yugito imitated her, and noticed two other women entering the place, covered with towels.

"Tsunade-sama, I told you twice the hole has been closed…" A dark-haired girl stated.

"Shizune, I insist you check it anyways," a blonde, busty woman replied; she had a well-known seal on her forehead. "Jiraiya managed to peek at me once that way, and I don't want anyone else to do it. The toad barely survived my wrath, and I don't want to be charged with murder during my visit."

"T-Tsunade-hime?" Yugito almost drowned in shock and awe.

"Lady Tsunade, I am honored to meet you," Mei greeted her respectfully.

The Sannin noticed both women, and smiled. "Enchanted to meet you too, Mei Terumi. You honor the kunoichi everywhere." She stared at Yugito, and frowned. "Wait… you are the girl Minato-kun showed me a photo of… Kamui's companion?" Mei raised an eyebrow briefly, but said nothing.

"I am Yugi," Yugito nodded, both trying to keep her identity safe and happy to meet another idol. After the hellions' nightmare, she had finally begun having a good time. "Meeting you is like a dream come true."

Tsunade blushed. "You're too kind…"

"I am sure you have many adventures you can indulge us with while we relax," Mei smiled. "Please, could you tell them?"

"If you like," Tsunade stated. "But first… the peeking hole."

"Closed, as always," Shizune replied tiredly.

"Good. Too good to be true, but…" She sighed. "Well, I guess I have luck for once." She smiled, getting rid of the towel. "Incoming!"

And she jumped into the water.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Healed Man, KakashiKamui**_

"Hey, Kakashi," Kamui told his ANBU counterpart, as the two were eating at the Ichiraku without their masks. "Is Gai, in spite of all the changes between this world and my own, still your rival?"

"… did you have the mention that?" the other Jonin asked, as Ayame gave them both a bowl of ramen with a smile. The 'twins' both thanked her in perfect synchronization. "Yes, he is still my self-proclaimed archrival. And his student considers himself as Obito's archrival. I am sure Lee's student will be my grandson's archenemy in time. It's like a family curse that will be transmitted from one generation to the next."

Kamui nodded, smiling slightly. "And… did you make him your best man, as I intended to?"

"Yes," the ANBU confirmed, eating bits of ramen. "Minato was presiding over the ceremony. It was a wonderful wedding." Observing his counterpart sorrowful expression, the ANBU lowered his gaze in shame. "Sorry."

"What's done is done," Kamui said with a distant tone. "I am just grateful you have led a happy life." _And that at least once, I didn't screw things up, _he thought.

"You can still have one here," the ANBU Kakashi smiled, putting a hand on his twin's shoulder. "Why don't you install yourself here? Obito likes you, everybody else does. You can become a Jonin, find another family with our help, and see your children grow peacefully."

Kamui closed his eyes. True, this world was almost all he ever wanted. His father-figure was alive, his counterpart was the brother he never had, Rin was still alive, and he could see the son he could have had, Obito, become a fine ninja. Minato had apparently dealt with both the Madara and Orochimaru threats, maintaining a fragile time of peace.

But…

"I can't," he said. "I have another family that needs me more than you do. I have a student with issues that desperately needs a mentor, and who is pursued by dangerous enemies. I don't know what happened to the rest of my ragtag clan… but I must find a way to see them again."

The ANBU Kakashi nodded, surprised, but accepting his choice. "I think Minato might be able to help you," he said, retiring his hand. "He is the best space-time jutsu user in the world. If someone can find a way to discover what happened and help you, it's him. However, with his work it and bad relationships, it might take time."

"… bad relationships?" Kamui frowned. "Naruto?"

"Yes, among others," the ANBU Kakashi said. "You see, sensei doesn't have much free time due to his work. As such, he rarely spends time with his son. My personal theory is that Naruto's antics, crazy schemes and horrible clothes are his way of telling him 'notice me'. He sees his father more when he's in detention for bad behavior than at home."

Kamui narrowed his eyes. It reminded him of his former student, Sakura, and her way of hiding her insecurities behind a mask of shamelessness. "And he doesn't do anything about this?"

"Sensei might be an incredible ninja, but he is quite bad at human relationships," he replied. "His lover, Mikoto-sama, is doing her best to be a good mother figure to the boy, but he still craves his father's attention."

"… Wait, just wait," Kamui's eyes were wide open. "Sensei and Mikoto? _This _Mikoto?"

"Ever since Fugaku was killed in action, he had been visiting her, mostly to help her deal with her sorrow and look after his friend's sons, as he promised he would to the former Uchiha boss. One thing led to another, and two years ago, they began an affair. Not many are in on the secret, but… it's when Naruto and the Uchiha brothers had met and become friends, Obito joining a short time later." The ANBU sighed. "Mikoto is a nice and kind woman, but Naruto still lacks a father."

"Maybe he should delegate responsibilities to others?" Kamui pointed out. "Like you. Or use Kage Bunshin."

"We already tried that. He is still a bit too stubborn for his own good. He's convinced he needs to do everything alone… most of the Kage Bunshin are helping him manage the Village." the ANBU Kakashi sighed. "Rin could help him even more than she currently does, but…"

"Speaking of Rin…" Kamui spoke. "Where is she?"

"Occupied," the ANBU replied. "A genin called Kabuto Yakushi told us he had a beautiful house to sell outside the city. After seeing the photos of it, we were thinking about making it a nice place for our vacations. Rin was to visit it with Kabuto and Obito, but my son got grounded this morning for using a Kinjutsu called the Sexy no Jutsu in public, so she went on alone. I don't feel worried… she's a jonin after all. And nobody is after her."

Kamui nodded. He remembered that house. He had bought it with Rin soon after the beginning of their relationship, hoping to retire there and raise a family peacefully…

_The house was empty and silent. Rin and Obito had vanished. Traces of a fight were all over the place. He searched for them, but found nothing but despair and fear._

_A week later, he received a dead body as gift and a letter as a challenge to meet his fate… and when he had finally found her... it was only to be greeted by death and a sadistic, sinister laugh._

… and this is the house where Kenta had her kidnapped in Kamui's world.

His body moving on his own due to one terrible intuition, Kamui shot out of the restaurant and raced toward the town's exit, leaving a very surprised ANBU behind.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Cat, Yugito<strong>_

This really was a dream come true.

After the hot springs, Tsunade and Shizune had offered to invite Yugito and Mei to a local restaurant. They had of course accepted, honored to be invited by a Sannin.

The restaurant was quite classy with a terrace and everything. Tsunade had asked for a table outside in order to get some sun. She had opted to wear a cyan and purple outfit, showing her perfect curves to everybody. Shizune was wearing a similar one, yet black. Mei was wearing a blue, long-sleeved dress, a white belt, and mesh shirt an leggings.

Having sat, the women had began to chat about themselves, exchanging stories of their own.

"Why did you come here, Tsunade-hime?" Mei asked. "I thought you had left this place years ago."

"I did," the Sannin replied. "And I am not part of Konoha's armed forces. But… I come from time to time to see the few people here I do like. Jiraiya also asked me to watch over his student's son when I had the time." She sighed. "However, this time, the reason I have come is to report that another member of Akatsuki has been killed within Kumo's borders, leaving only two alive."

While Yugito didn't know what they were talking about, but focused, as they were talking about her homeland, Mei nodded in understanding. "So my information was correct… the Toad Sannin is not only an ambassador, but also working to chase the few of them that took shelter inside Kumo's territory."

"With Kumo playing both sides, it was almost mandatory," Tsunade nodded. "Kumo has always been looking to undermine all the other nations. After all, they were the only major country to refuse participating in the anti-Akatsuki operation that removed Pain and Madara from power in Amegakure, and the fact they were Otogakure's source of funds was an open secret. Jiraiya proved that, unlike all the Raikage's claims, he had indeed offered shelter to one of Akatsuki's survivors, Deidara. Fortunately, Jiraiya dealt with him quietly and Kumo officially praised him, since they couldn't say they were letting a S-Rank missing-nin roam free at their home."

Somehow, Yugito felt A had again caused unnecessary troubles. It didn't truly surprise her. "Akatsuki?"

"I am surprised you didn't hear of it," Mei said blankly. "It was a mercenary organization composed of S-Rank ninjas that attempted to start another Shinobi War, years ago by secretly taking over countries and pushing them to attack each other so they could take over the world and destroy the ninja order while their targets were distracted. Their leaders were Uchiha Madara, one of the oldest missing-nin of the entire world, and Pain, a man with a mutant Dojutsu and incredible power. They had taken over Ame and founded their own separate Hidden Village, Otogakure, with Orochimaru's help."

"In the end, Kiri, Konoha, Iwa and Suna agreed for a temporary alliance to eradicate them before they could do anymore damage," Shizune continued. "The alliance simultaneously attacked most of Akatsuki's bases in a single massive bloody battle. I was present during the destruction of Otogakure… you and Jiraiya-sama were wonderful, Tsunade-sama, facing Orochimaru…"

"That thing wasn't Orochimaru," the Sannin stated. "More like a snake demon disguised as a human. The Orochimaru I knew was gone long before I slew what was left of him that day."

"I myself participated to the assault on Amegakure," Mei stated. "I was a member of the squad that brought down Sasori of the Red Sand. He was quite the pretty boy, if completely insane and ranting about how he would make us part of his doll collection…" She sighed. "He was the strongest opponent I ever faced, but in the end we managed to overwhelm and end him, at the cost of many lives."

"Meanwhile, the four Kage present had defeated Pain and Madara," Tsunade added. "I wasn't present, but the witnesses talk about the greatest battle ever seen since the fight with the Kyuubi."

_If they had managed to defeat him, maybe they can help against our own Madara? _Yugito wondered, before discarding the idea. _Why would they help us?_

"Akatsuki was dissolved after that," Mei continued. "Its surviving members scattered and hid while Otogakure's ninjas fled, most of the time joining stronger missing-nin groups." She crossed her fingers. "And the Raikage unfortunately decided having a few S-Rank missing-nin in his land could serve to launch discreet terrorist attacks on the neighborhoods and shake up the governments."

_Raikage-sama… _Yugito closed her eyes. _Has our nation fallen so low?_

_**"Kitten, most people in Kumogakure did not agree with the Raikage's policies. And if you have fallen low… then it also means you have the opportunity to get up once again."**_

"Anyway," Mei stated. "With Deidara slain, it only leaves Kakuzu and Hidan, right? I heard they had returned to bounty hunting. In Konoha's territory, to make the whole matter worse."

Yugito already knew about these two. They were in her homeworld's Bingo Book, after all, and categorized as S-Rank ninjas for a reason. Kakuzu was maybe the oldest active ninja alive, had all affinities, was an expert at using a powerful Kinjutsu, and an experienced strategist. He had killed more bounty targets than anyone else in _history _for a reason.

The other… Hidan was apparently a priest of Jashin, a god of destruction worshiped by a few sects. He was supposedly immortal, could use strange curses, and was completely mad. A nasty piece of work that had destroyed more than one civilian town to please his god.

If this world's Kakuzu and Hidan were anything like the ones of her earth, they were truly a threat that had to be removed.

"Unfortunately, they are extremely good at evading, or just butchering any pursuer." Shizune paled a bit but continued. "Plus, we suspect they have many contacts in the ninja underworld, allowing them to continue their work under the radar. Yondaime-sama will have to take care of them decisively one of these days."

"He has more pressing matters at hand, especially with Kumo," Tsunade shot back. "Akatsuki's remnants are a marginal and small-scaled threat that can be ignored. And they have made no attempt at reforming the organization, or causing troubles outside their bounty hunts."

Mei stared at the skies. "You know, in spite of the few diplomatic issues and minor problems, this decade looks about to be very, very calm… not that I complain, I have seen enough conflicts and civil wars to enjoy peace. But I find it surprising. Maybe it is a sign the ninja world is about to change for the better. Or it is just the calm before the storm?"

Yugito nodded. "My experience taught me to never lower my guard. A few events can change history a lot in a short time, and none of them are ever pleasant." After all, the day the Arashi came, completely unexpected, changed the fate of all her reality… one thing led to a bigger change and escalated into a chain of events that ended with the Raikage dead and the Warden's fall.

Suddenly noticing a shade of orange in the street, Yugito stared at it in dread. And much to her horror, she saw team Hellion coming in their direction.

Well… not so much. The infernal trio was accompanied by Itachi, and a black-haired woman in her forties that was obviously related to the Uchiha. Maybe his mother or aunt. Itachi noticed Yugito's group, and talked to the woman following him. She nodded silently, and took the infernal trio away, without them showing any resistance.

Advancing toward them, Itachi politely greeted Yugito's companions. "Tsunade-hime, Shizune-san, Mei-san, I am enchanted to see you."

"The pleasure is all mine, Itachi-kun," Tsunade said, before grinning noticeably. "I see your mother is sparing us a lot of troubles. Still carry a grudge against me for having taught them that advanced Henge?"

"Normally, I should," Itachi spoke almost emotionlessly. "But as their variant, the Sexy no Jutsu, managed to beat Jiraiya-sama and was labeled as Kinjutsu, I think you have participated to their growth as ninjas… in a terrible way, but you helped."

"I keep hearing about this technique…" Mei began. "Is it really that powerful? I would like to witness it."

Itachi's emotionless expression turned into one of pure dread. "I am afraid it might not be suited for someone of your age."

The atmosphere's temperature dropped noticeably.

"Boy…" Mei frowned, speaking with a frightening voice. "Did you just call me an old woman?" The killing intent she was releasing was almost on par with Madara's.

Realizing the danger, Itachi shook his head in denial. "I just mean it's something unworthy of being shown to responsible adults… or anyone, for the matter. Only kids have a chance to survive it and not cower in shame, as they don't understand the horror they have unleashed in front of us." He sighed. "If they use it in the next Chuunin Exams, and I _know _they will…"

"Why don't you forbid them from using it then?" Tsunade asked, frowning.

"I taught them to use every trick possible to win and that fighting dirty was fine," Itachi said with a hint of regret. "I don't want to be a hypocrite."

Yugito smiled… and Itachi shunshined a few meters away, avoiding a silver meteor that raced through the street and made no sign of stopping. The Jinchuuriki observed it, and recognized Kakashi's features. Not soon after, the ANBU version of him leapt next to the dumbfounded group. "Damn, he's so fast…" he muttered, panting.

"Kakashi, what is happening?" Tsunade asked, observing the racing Jonin. "Is that the... twin… I was told about?"

"A twin?" Mei Terumi raised her eyebrows. "The copy-nin has a brother?"

"I will explain later," the ANBU said, taking his breath. "I need to catch up with him."

"What happened?" Yugito asked, genuinely worried. She had briefly seen the man's face as he had almost hit Itachi, and it was an expression of pure terror.

"I talked about a house Rin was supposed to visit, he looked horrified, and then ran as if the devil was after him," the ANBU said. At that moment, the silver meteor arrived at the town's wall, began to_run on it_, arrived at the top, and then vanished from their sight. All without even stopping or changing direction.

Yugito rose up on her feet. "Kakashi-san… where is the house, exactly? I have the feeling something bad is about to happen."

_**"Me too, Kitten. I feel my whiskers moving in anticipation."**_

"I intended to go there. You can follow me if you wish," the ANBU stated.

"I'll come too," Tsunade said, looking worried. "I would bet a disaster is coming. Shizune, you come."

"I shall come too," Itachi stated plainly.

"Mind if I join?" Mei asked. "It looks important, and I have nothing better to do. If I can help, I would like to."

The ANBU nodded. "I can't afford being picky. Thank you all."

"It's nothing," Yugito stated, staring at the point where Kakashi had vanished.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Healing Man, KakashiKamui**_

When he arrived, at last...

He found the whole house burning.

The whole forest around it seemed to have been torn apart by a tornado. The little house had crumbled, half its walls having collapsed. The land itself was charred, covered with ashes. Whoever had attacked didn't care about subtlety.

In dread, Kamui searched around the place for any sign of survivors. He found nothing, not even a bone. It was obvious Rin had been kidnapped with Kabuto… if he wasn't the kidnapper's accomplice. Which he probably was, as he was supposed to bring Obito there too. It was a scheme that had been planned for a while. There was only one possible reason behind this.

Somehow, somewhere, Ayatsuri Kenta was still at large.

Why else would events have happened so similarly to the ordeals he had himself faced once? Who else would be mad enough to kidnap a Jonin, the wife of one of the Yondaime's students, without even caring about secrecy? The psychopath just wanted Kakashi to suffer, not to secretly use Rin to make him spy on his teacher or anything. And he had survived, only to reappear _now, _of all times.

Cursing himself for having foolishly thought this world was completely perfect, and for not having expected such turn of events, Kamui pondered about the possibilities in front of him. Having not captured Obito, Kenta would probably torture and kill Rin the moment he would get his claws on her before sending her corpse to Kamui's counterpart. She had to be saved as soon as possible.

But how? The kidnapers had probably erased any left trace behind them. It would take too much time for Konoha to locate her. She would be dead long before they could reach her, and his counterpart would be destroyed mentally, just as he once had been.

Unless…

It was a very slim chance. If events were happening similarly to those in his homeworld, then _maybe_, and it was a big maybe, Kenta had kept the same hideout. Kakashi knew its exact location by heart, the memories of what happened there still carved in his mind with the flames of pain, but the chances it was the case were incredibly low.

Yet, it was his only chance.

Turning around and informing Konoha would be a waste of precious time, and dividing his chakra with a Kage Bunshin extremely hazardous, especially in case of an ambush. They would track him down soon enough, as he left in an obvious hurry, and they would piece up what happened there. But to make sure Rin would be safe, he had to act now. Alone.

Alone against Kenta and all his cronies.

This was suicide, and he knew it. He would _not _survive this. At best, he could kill Kenta and assure Rin's escape before being outnumbered and overwhelmed. And it would take everything he has.

But… this was his chance of correcting his mistakes.

It was his chance of saving Rin, of protecting his other self from the horrors of loss.

For the sake of this goal… sacrificing himself was nothing short of expected.

As he prepared himself to go on with his planned last stand, he felt six chakra signatures coming in his direction. He at first thought it was an attack… before recognizing a few of them. Six people shunshined next to him. His counterpart, Yugito, Itachi, Tsunade, Shizune and a lady that looked like a younger version of a well-known S-Rank kunoichi, Mei Terumi.

"Kamui…" The ANBU Kakashi whispered in dread, observing the burning house. "What happened?"

"Kenta's doing." At the same moment, his counterpart, Tsunade and Shizune paled. Itachi's frown deepened. "I know it's him. He kidnapped her, like he did back in my homeworld. It was a trap for her and Obito, and I think Kabuto is somehow involved. We need to hurry before they can kill her."

"Homeworld?" Mei Terumi stated, obviously in the dark.

"Kenta?" Yugito asked, ignoring the Kiri-nin. "Who is it?"

"Ayatsuri Kenta, also known as the Leaf's Devil and the Child Killer. An A-Rank missing-nin of Konohagakure," Itachi explained. "An expert in medical jutsu, a pioneer in mental manipulation programs, and a former spymaster in Konoha's employ. Was found guilty by Minato Namikaze and Kakashi Hatake of hidden criminal activities and betrayal during the Iwa-Konoha conflict, but fled before he could be arrested. Charged for state betrayal, repeated homicides, the selling of vital information to enemies, attempted murder, torture, medical experiments on minors, blackmail, forced prostitution of minors and crimes against mankind. Bounty, 20 million ryo. Affinity with Lightning and Earth, jonin level-threat. Presumed dead due to lack of activity."

"A psychopath of the highest caliber," Tsunade commented, observing the ruins. "Apparently, he didn't forget his grudge against you, Kakashi."

"No," the ANBU replied, looking both despaired and furious. "And Rin is in his hands." He cursed. "This is a nightmare."

"I think I know where he is," Kamui said. "If he has the same hideout as the Kenta I knew, then it might be possible to save Rin. But we must hurry."

Tsunade frowned, looking at Shizune. "Return to Konoha and explain the situation to Minato, and send Inuzuka trackers after us. We'll depart and try to stop Kenta in the meantime."

As the woman nodded and left, Yugito stared at Kamui. "I will come."

"I would like to help too, if I can be of any use," Mei Terumi said. "I think you will need more firepower. However, I would like you to explain what is the matter with all this 'homeworld' and 'the Kenta I knew' talks."

"I will explain on the way," Yugito told her.

"Then... I will happily lend you my strength," Mei decided. "We shall save this Rin woman."

"I will also fight at your sides, Kakashi-san," Itachi spoke calmly. "Rin-san will be saved, I promise it."

Both Kamui and his counterpart nodded, with the former having only thought in mind.

_We will settle things today, Kenta. Wait until I come._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Pure Evil, Ayatsuri Kenta<strong>_

It was time to end it all.

All the pieces were on the chessboard. All his pawns were prepared. His body was in pain, almost ready for his last battle. The alien bones inside him were tearing his nerves apart. But he didn't care. He would win.

That was all that mattered.

In a dark cellar, he was silent. A Hyuuga was laid out on an operation table. He was clearly aware of his surroundings. Kenta had put most of his body under anesthesia, but he wanted the man to see what his captor would do. The missing-nin needed to see his pain and dread.

"Hyuuga… do you know how long I waited for you to answer one of my lifelong question?" Ayatsuri Kenta asked to the silent Shinobi. "You, Branch members, have a seal on your forehead sealing your Dojutsu when you die, correct? To protect your bloodline from theft?"

Of course, the man couldn't answer. Instead, the scientist showed him a razor-edged spoon.

"I have always wondered… the seal only does that when you're dead, so… is it possible to take your Byakugan without activating the seal when you are, well, still alive, and thus stealing your bloodline without consequences?"

If the man's terrified gaze was of any indication, he had guessed what use had the spoon. He could only watch helplessly as Kenta approached the utensil from his white eyes.

A few minutes later, Kenta exited the cellar, two Byakugan placed in a canister of green liquid, leaving a blind but still alive Hyuuga behind to wither and rot. "I guess that I have my answer…" He muttered. In his personal quarters, he found Karin waiting for him. "I want you to replace my eyes with these two Dojutsu. I must be able to use them within a few hours."

"Yes, master," she bowed. "The bounty hunters have also arrived with Kabuto."

"Excellent. Do they have the merchandises I requested?"

"They only captured Rin Inuzuka," Karin stated, much to Kenta's displeasure. "Obito Hatake wasn't present during the visit, contrary to Kabuto's promise."

Kenta wasn't angry. He couldn't be angry. But he was displeased. "Thankfully, I had planned to sacrifice that failure anyway to power my seals… I guess Rin could be enough to cure Kakashi of his mental illness called humanity."

He exited his quarters, and arrived in the main hall of his lair. He found Kakuzu and his priest partner waiting for him, Rin Inuzuka kept restrained with black threads. Kabuto was observing his master in silence. "Good morning good sirs. I see you have my toy… did she cause you trouble?" Kenta asked with fake affability. Politeness, he had learnt, was always useful to charm and manipulate others. Kenta had worn the false expression for such a long time it was almost a reflex now.

"It was as easy as stealing a kid's candy," Kakuzu stated, almost bored. "Now, could we get the money for a job well done?"

"You didn't bring me Obito." The missing-nin looked accusingly at Kabuto, who squirmed in fear. Making him an even bigger failure in Kenta's eyes.

"Ah yes…" Kakuzu trailed off. "Well, that is bad for _you_, but if you had read the little fine print on the contract, you would have read we aren't responsible in case of a failure involving a lack of information from the employer's, aka you. There was no kid back then, so no kid now and we keep the money."

"I know about your conditions," Kenta said. He knew Kakuzu's ways of making a fool out of his clients. Not that he would get the money anyway, the down payment he had given them being the only money he still had. "And I don't care. You will have your money. However, I have another job for you. Bodyguard duty for a month."

"It's unfortunate, but we are quite occupied nowadays…"

"I will pay you thirty million this time," he lied effortlessly. Being truly shameless and almost emotionless, Kenta could lie and con almost everybody. He had even managed to fool those Uchiha interrogators, showing no visual sign on his face. Even his heartbeat wasn't affected.

"… But since I feel bad about leaving so much money in another's hand, I think we'll make an exception."

Hidan was fuming. "I swear Jashin-sama will one day punish you for your greed!"

"I don't care. I will bribe my way to heaven. I'm sure I can buy even a god's favor by the time I've died."

Hidan knelt on the ground, praying. "Please, Jashin-sama, have mercy for that fool's foul soul!"

Ignoring the two foolish bounty hunters, Kenta stared at Kabuto, then at Rin. She had awakened, and was eying him in surprise. "I recognize that voice…" And then, she paled and glared at him with all her hate. "You… monster… how can you be still alive?"

"I had left a job unfinished," he replied, not truly understanding why she was mad. Maybe was it because he had organized her Uchiha teammate's death? She should have thanked him instead for having relived the world the burden of that dropout. "I am not ready to leave this world yet, so I stayed alive, all to protect my legacy. But I'm running out of time. My body is failing. I have only a few months to live, due to old age and... medical complications. I have to finish my masterpiece before I vanish."

"Kakashi is not your tool!" She seethed in rage. "Leave him alone!"

"No, he is not a tool… because of you. You, Namikaze, and that Uchiha trash ruined my work," he said with a hint of wrath. How dare had they take Kakashi away from his rightful owner?

"Obito has more worth than thousands of you!" She spat at his face.

He didn't even react.

"Trying to anger me? It won't work. It won't make your death easier either. You will die for almost destroying my masterpiece. But don't worry… when Kakashi will see you die…" He touched Rin's cheek with his fingers, making her pale. "All his issues will be fixed. He will become the ultimate weapon I longed to craft all my life. A pity you won't be alive to see it…"

He would win. It was just the way things were meant to be.

A scream interrupted his thoughts. Turning around, Kenta was staring, surprised, at Hidan, who was convulsing on the ground. The mad priest was laughing madly, kneeling on the ground.

"What are you doing, wedding the ground?" Kakuzu deadpanned. "When do you get to the kissing part?"

"JASHIN-SAMA IS WITH US!" He declared as loudly as he could, though few believed it was to answer his partner's question.

Kenta's face was as cold as ever. "What is happening? A mental breakdown?"

"I have absolutely no idea," Kakuzu stated, apparently honestly. "This is bizarre, even for him."

Suddenly, Hidan's skin turned black. White tattoos covered his body, making him look like a demonic Shinigami. He rose up on his feet, his body twitching. It was a doll moving on its own, obeying a greater will…

It was… strange. And then, Hidan's eyes, now shining with a purple haze, stared at Kenta himself.

_**"Six people are coming to rescue your prisoner, Ayatsuri Kenta," **_Hidan spoke, with a deep, inhuman voice. _**"Listen to the words of a deity, human. One of them is the man you seek to destroy, Kakashi Hatake. You will fail at your goal. It is inevitable. The victory you seek to achieve shall never be. This is your fate. Obito and his father are too far beyond your reach now. Accept your defeat. However, you can still kill your former student with the device hidden in your throne." **_Kenta's eyes narrowed noticeably. How could he know about this? _**"You must activate it as soon as you get the chance and kill the one called Copy-nin. Do it, and you will help save all of reality. Your death, if you do so, shall not be a meaningless one."**_

The mad priest stared at Kakuzu. _**"Kakuzu the bounty hunter, know that one of the people coming is Yugito Nii, container of the Two Tailed Cat, Matatabi. I wish you to help my priest slay her. Do so, and you shall be rewarded as you wish with all of this world's gold. I do not care about the rest of them. I trust you shall all make the right choices."**_

And then, Hidan regained a normal appearance, looking in trance. "Jashin-sama…"

"That was… quite intriguing," Kakuzu grumbled. "All the world's gold? Interesting proposal… but we won't kill her."

"What?" Hidan asked wrathfully. "Jashin-sama has made its will clear! This is a holy mission, you son of a-"

"I mean, not _yet_. First we extract the Nibi to sell it, and _then _we shall kill her. If that… thing… was honest, it shouldn't mind a little delay."

Hidan looked ready to disagree, before bursting into tears. "I knew it… you finally decided to follow Jashin-sama's will… I am so happy, you old bastard."

"Hey, I didn't-"

Ignoring the two bickering bounty hunters, Kenta stared at Kabuto. "Bring Rin to the throne and attach her to it. I want Kakashi to see her die in front of him."

"Master…" Kabuto paled. "What about… what just happened?"

"I don't know what happened, and I couldn't care less about this Jashin's, or whatever's, wishes," he stated flatly, before continuing with renewed confidence. "Kakashi won't die. I will just fix him and make him the weapon I shaped him into, a long time ago."

"But ignoring suc-"

He never finished his sentence. In a flash, Kenta had seized his throat with his two bare hands, lifting him above the ground. "I have waited years for this," he said calmly, choking the man. "I have prepared, and I won't lose, not so close to my lifelong goal. Nobody is going to take away my masterpiece. Nobody. No matter what this thing had said, I will _fix _him, you ignorant, useless fool."

After a few seconds, Kabuto's body ceased to move, the man's spine crushed. Dropping the dead body, Kenta looked at his S-Rank bodyguards. "Go outside and intercept them. Only Kakashi is allowed to pass. Kill the rest."

"Did you heard that, Hidan? We have work, and it's the kind you like for once." Kakuzu knocked Rin out with a hit to the head, dropped her, grabbed his crying partner by the shirt and finally dragged him outside.

"Karin," he commanded, the teen shunshining next to him, kneeling in absolute obedience. "Implant the Byakugan immediately. And then chain this woman to my throne. And let my dogs out of their cages."

"In that order, master?"

"Yes," he ordered. "This is your most important mission."

After all, it would be her last. She would be useless once she had finished, and he would kill her to steal her regenerative flesh.

Truly, this would an excellent last day.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The ANBU<em>**

"Kamui..." the ANBU whispered, as the group was advancing toward Kenta's supposed lair. "Where are we going exactly?"

"It's an abandoned castle, hidden near the country's border," his twin explained. "It was one of the Senju's former lairs of which we lost the location, after the near-extinction of the clan. I don't know how he found it, but Kenta installed himself soon before the Kyuubi's attack, in order to keep an eye on us. It is quite hard to find it without precise information."

The ANBU nodded, observing the rest of the group. Yugito was explaining the whole situation to Terumi, who seemed both incredulous and focused. Itachi was silent, stoically following, while Tsunade was observing the two Kakashi. "What do we have to expect there?" the ANBU asked to his counterpart.

"Kenta himself, and his men," Kamui replied. "When we fought, he had a small squadron at his disposal. I don't know what kind of soldiers he has now, but... his goal isn't to kill us, but to break us." He lowered his head sorrowfully. "I am sorry. It's all my fault... I should have been more careful."

"You can't predict the future, even with the Sharingan," the ANBU shot back. "It's Kenta's fault, not yours. Let's hope we can kill him before he hurts Rin."

"Listen," Kamui said. "The second you can, grab Rin and flee as fast as you can. I will take on Kenta myself. You have a family, so your life is more valuable."

The ANBU lowered his eyebrows. "You told me yourself you had a family you cared about. Cease with the self-sacrifice crap. We're going to fight him together, we will save Rin, and in the end, we shall kill him. Nobody is going to die, and we will see both our families again. I won't tolerate any remark about this."

Kamui chuckled. "You truly haven't changed... from what I used to be."

"I haven't suffered as much as you have, but..." the ANBU chuckled. "Today, you are going to let it all go. You will correct your mistakes."

"Yes..." the other nodded, raising his head. "You know... this world is maybe the first, truly peaceful reality where Naruto, myself, and all of Konoha are happy. This is a change from the usual tragedy and darkness... I would hate to see it darken by failing."

"We are far from a peaceful world," Itachi shot back, finally speaking. "Kumo is openly trying to destabilize the other Hidden Nations, Iwa is still cold toward us, and the first Chuunin Exam where both our countries had at least _begun_ to let go of their grudges ended in a diplomatic disaster because of my own team. Our peace is very fragile, and I don't think we are really so different from your own reality. Our problems are just better hidden."

"You're wrong," Kamui replied. "Your problems aren't less noticeable. They are just slowly being corrected. I don't know if it is the Yondaime's survival that changed so many things, or the fact Madara was killed early, or the averted demise of your clan that has led to this reality... maybe it's even all those elements combined, but... you have a good world in the making." He stared at them all. "Just try to keep it that way."

"Kamui-san..." Tsunade whispered. "On my Senju name... I promise I won't let things turn for the worse."

"Let's think positive," the ANBU chuckled, trying to hide his worries about his wife's fate. "Who wants to punch Kenta in the face first?"

"I think I will leave you the honor," Kamui stated with a determined look. "I will give him the final blow, however. It's payback time for what he did to me."

The ANBU nodded in agreement.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Omake: why Kakuzu should never start a cult.<strong>_

_**Or why Kagaseo shouldn't listen to ABitterPill's ideas.**_

"Hey Kakuz- what the fuck?" Hidan asked, as his partner knelt before a small, Aztec-like altar.

"I am praying," he said. "I made it myself."

"So... you have finally decided to convert to Jashin-sama?"

"No," Kakuzu replied, putting a sheet of paper on the altar. "This is an altar to the ultimate god, Money-sama." He stared at his wrathful partner. "What?"

"You were actually _serious_?"

"Of course I was!" Kakuzu replied, beginning to pray. "Please, Money-sama, accept this humble IOU as my gift to you." He began to cry. "I must confess, Money-sama, sinful thoughts. I have almost given a cent to a beggar yesterday! Almost! I managed to resist the temptation of that devil Generosity, but still... please forgive me!"

Hidan face palmed, vowing to sent Kakuzu to an asylum the second he could.

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: alright, I hope you hate my OC as I want you to be. In case you wonder, he's based on real life crosses between sadists and psychopaths: lack of emotion beside rage and joy, fearlessness due to overconfidence, impulsive behavior, manipulative abilities, shameless and compulsive lying, need to dominate others, callous attitude about others... quite the nasty character._**

**_This chapter was mostly showing "splice of life." This world isn't perfect, but it's one of the few that can truly be called peaceful, even if peace doesn't last long in the ninja world. The situation isn't ONLY due to the Yondaime's world: the discovery of Madara survival and Akatsuki's activities helped a lot. There are still international problems, but localized ones have been reduced in gravity._**

**_Next time is Naruko's world. If you are interested in the fanart announcement, send me a private message._**

**_Write you soon._**


	30. Chapter 27: Facing the Demon

**_Sorry for the delay, vacations and all... plus, I wanted to make this chapter as awesome as it should be._**

**_As ever, thanks to my betas ABitterPill, Third Fang, and Alpha142 for their help._**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto._**

* * *

><p><em><strong>TravelerOriginal Naruto: Kazama Arashi.**_

_**Puppeteer Naruto: Chibaku Arashi.**_

_**Werefox/Hybrid Naruto: Kitsune Arashi.**_

_**Female Naruto: Naruko Arashi.**_

_**Deceiver/Original Madara: Tsukiyomi.**_

_**Destroyer/Rinnegan Madara: Susanoo.**_

_**Warrior/Collector Madara: Amaterasu (now dead).**_

_**Female Tobi: Izanami.**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Currently, they are scattered in four worlds:<strong>_

**_Shodaime!Madara world: Chibaku, Sasori, Haku, Kuebiko._**

**_Godaime!Itachi world: Kitsune, Gaara, Naruko. (the world we're in)._**

**_Dead!Madara world/Alternate Amegakure: Kazama, Tsukiyomi, Susanoo._**

**_Alive!Yondaime world: Kakashi, Yugito._**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 27: Facing the Demon<strong>_

This illusion had no escape.

This Konoha was a lie. A fake city made of the thoughts of a fool. Gaara was aware of that, and so she tried to leave it.

But when she got past the main entrance to the fake village, the guards ignoring her as she walked… she found nothing but a fog. She advanced forward, trying to find her way out… only to arrive at Konoha's gates.

The world past the walls didn't exist. It never did.

"Naruko!" She shouted desperately, hoping to get an answer. The whole world stayed silent, this city's citizens completely ignoring her. It was as if she didn't exist.

Like back in Suna…

"Mother… mother…" she whispered. But her mother didn't answer. Gaara remembered she couldn't. Her voice couldn't cross the barrier between these places.

She was truly alone, in a crowd of illusions.

Walking aimlessly, Gaara stared at the world around her. It was all fake, all transparent, all illusions. But even that fake world refused to acknowledge her. She wasn't worthy of notice or even existing. The people there couldn't care less if she died or lived. They were just images unaware of their nature.

Suddenly, the pictures of Sunagakure's citizens began to interpose with the fake people. She saw the kids that refused to play with her, her father ignoring her, the people trying to pretend she was nothing, her siblings avoiding her like plague…

Then… somebody suddenly acknowledge her.

"Hey, you!"

The sand ninja immediately turned around. There, standing in the middle of a side street… a blonde kid in orange was smiling at her. "Nice to meet you," he said, reaching her. "Are you new here? I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and who are you?"

"G-Gaara," she muttered, surprised. This boy appeared… real. She couldn't see through him, unlike the strange, white-eyed girl and the Uchiha boy she had met at the dinner behind him. He was like her, trapped there.

"Wow, so you really are new here?" Naruto asked with a carefree grin. "Welcome to Konoha. Hey, do you want to hang out with us? These are my friends, Sasuke and Hinata."

"H-Hello," the girl said, while the Uchiha just snorted.

"Hey, want to go eat at Ichiraku?" Naruto proposed. "The owners are very nice, and I'm sure you will like the food."

"A-Alright," Gaara nodded. So this was the one they were looking for, Kitsune?

He looked so happy there… didn't he know this was all fake? _No, _she decided, _or he would have noticed I'm real. He can't see between fake and genuine. This illusion's power holds a stronger grip on his mind._

Or…

Perhaps he had convinced himself it was reality?

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Hero, Naruko<strong>_

For a few seconds, Shisui seemed lost in his thoughts, ignoring both Naruko and Itachi. "You do not understand," he finally stated with utmost resolution. "This is the heaven Kitsune always wanted. A world where he is finally accepted. I can't let him go back. Why should he leave his own paradise?"

"Shisui-san…" Naruko growled. "This place… it's not real. His happiness here is just a lie. It's just a golden cage."

"Isn't it better than reality?" Shisui shot back. "The truth… is so hard to face in his case. What more can you offer than everyone loving him?"

"But-"

"The fact this world is built on a lie," Shisui cut in, "doesn't make Naruto's happiness any less real." His eyes were full of heartfelt belief. "As for the real world… it is a world of pain. The people outside are almost always selfish, greedy and vain. The citizens of my world… want nothing but good. They are truly selfless and virtuous."

"People aren't always like that, Shisui," Itachi shot back. "We ourselves want to help the boy. Your logic is warped. Only a few monsters like Madara or the Fugaku you knew are to blame for what happened in your world."

Shisui narrowed his eyes. "No… haven't you understood Itachi? Haven't you listened? There is no one monster to blame for everything that happened. Everybody is guilty."

Naruko frowned. "What do you mean? It's Amaterasu and your Fugaku who caused all of this crap."

The illusionist massaged his temples in frustration. "I have had the time to think since my realization on the situation. What would have happened had I refused to obey Fugaku? Or acted differently upon listening to Madara's words? In retrospect, and upon seeing you and what Naruto could have been… I realized his situation would still be bad."

He lowered his gaze. "Try to remove myself, Madara, and Fugaku from the events I showed you two. Naruto would still have lived alone. People would still have antagonized him." He sighed. "There no one single person to blame for everything bad that happens. Everyone is responsible, because they had a choice."

"The conspiracy was built on the absence of choice," Itachi pointed out.

"For two people, maybe… but what about the rest of them?" Shisui asked. "The two clan leaders I manipulated never harmed Naruto directly. Others made his life hell and opposed the Hokage either out of greed, or because of loyalty to selfish people. They chose to obey. All the conspiracy members. All the people that shunned Naruto did it on their own free will, without anybody pulling the strings. They could have been good, but in the end, they choose to harm him."

Shisui's expression twisted into anger. "Don't you see? We are all responsible. It's just that many, many people refused to face their responsibilities, claiming they were 'just following orders', or that 'hey, others want him to be in pain, so maybe I should join'. I just gave them a convenient excuse to act. Madara was right on one point: one man is not enough to install a tyranny. Others are also needed to make the system work. If I never did anything, they would have still shunned him. My actions just made the hate and bullying organized."

He stared into Naruko's eyes. "That is the truth of the real world. Civilization and morality are just a thin façade hiding the mediocrity, the wickedness, the cowardice of most of mankind. It is fortunate there are people like you two, courageous and truly kind… but unfortunately, you are a rarity." Shisui closed his eyes. "Naruto can't return to that sinful hell. I won't allow it. I can't allow it."

Naruko observed the Uchiha. He seemed… almost sorrowful. It was obvious he was bitter at the real world, and truly regretted what he had done. His actions were just a desperate attempt to repair the damage he had caused. "Shisui-san… if you hate people that don't take their responsibilities… then why don't you let Kitsune face his?"

Shisui paled, before adopting an angry expression. "He has not-"

"You are just letting him run away from what he did," Naruko said. "Sure he wasn't in control of his actions, but… how can he forgive himself if you always keep him in a fog of illusions?"

"Make him… forgive himself?" Shisui repeated. "He isn't responsible for what he did, so why should he forgive himself."

"Kitsune has always faced problems, and we can help him overcome them," Naruko said. "He thinks he was too weak to stop his demon's rampages. That is why he is so tortured. He can get real happiness with us, Shisui-san. We will show him he wasn't weak."

The Uchiha glared at her. "And if he doesn't gain happiness? What will you do? What will _he _do?"

Naruko stared defiantly at the man. "Let's just ask him. If he wants to stay there, we will respect his decision and leave. If he wants to leave, it will be your turn."

The two maintained their staring battle for a time…

… Before the illusionist turned his gaze away in defeat. "Alright," he relented. "But if he does choose to stay… you promise you won't hate and shun him?"

"We would never do that!" Naruko smiled happily.

"It's just… you're obviously good people, and you were nice to him," he whispered, regaining some degree of sanity. "So… I don't want you to hate him too."

Itachi glared at his cousin. "As for my parents, free them immediately." It wasn't a demand, but an order.

Shisui nodded silently, apparently troubled. "I… I didn't hurt them, Itachi. It's just… I was angry." He touched his forehead. "I'm nothing. Just a memory of someone long dead. I am… a dysfunctional parody of life. Sometimes, I know what I do, sometimes not. Please, forgive me."

"I do," Itachi said, as Fugaku and Mikoto suddenly appeared next to the three in a puff of smoke. "I never condemned you in the first place, Shisui. You have had it rough enough as it is."

The illusionist looked as if he had been slapped, but both of Itachi's parents were pale, and preparing themselves to attack Shisui. "Mother, father, please stop," the Hokage interrupted. "It's all right. He has accepted to leave us do our work."

"I have next to no trust in him," Fugaku pointed out. "Maybe he intends to backst-"

A powerful earthquake threw him and his wife on the ground, and the whole world around them started shaking, much to everybody's shock. "What's happening?" Naruko asked.

"It's…" Shisui paled deathly. "They have escaped. The seal has been destroyed."

He rose up from his seat, and the scenery changed. The five found themselves in a dark cave, in front of a wreaked cage. The whole structure was falling apart, and the walls were covered with a red, disgusting substance. "They're out," Shisui whispered, horrified, grabbing his own head. "Impossible, impossible, impossible!"

"The three Kyuubi?" Itachi asked, looking genuinely afraid. "How could they have? They couldn't have surpassed the Shinigami's power. This is insane."

"No time to waste," Shisui stated. "They need Naruto's chakra to fully escape. They will track him down and devour him!"

"We need to find Kitsune and save him!" Naruko shouted.

Mikoto nodded. "We need to, but… we have no hope to match the Kyuubi with brute strength, and we don't have any way to seal it. We need to have a plan."

"There is…" Shisui whispered. "There is a way to defeat them, but… only Naruto can pull it off, and without our help, it will be impossible." He stared at everyone. "This shall be a battle that none of you may survive. Are you still willing to continue?"

"I can't let the Kyuubi escape and ravage Konoha again," Fugaku stated decisively. "And if the life of a child is on the balance… I would gladly offer my life to save his."

"I already lost Kushina to that monster," Mikoto said with a determined look. "I won't let it take another life."

"I have said I would help him, and I will," Itachi simply declared.

"He's my friend!" Naruko said. "For his sake, I would gladly fight a thousand Kyuubi all at once!"

Shisui genuinely smiled. "I… thank you. All of you."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Ichibi<strong>_

_**"Shukaku, something is wrong," **_Kurama said, the two still trapped in their shared mindscape.

_**"I know," **_the Tanuki replied, sensing the waves of corrupted chakra coming from the blonde's mindscape. _**"It's abnormal. Your chakra is invading the boy's system**_." She frowned in dread. _**"The seal is broken. Your counterpart has broken out of its cage."**_

Kurama cursed. _**"They have escaped… this is bad."**_

_**"They?" **_Shukaku's eyes widened. _**"What do you mean by they?"**_

_**"The boy's Kurama is insane, and split itself into three," **_the fox explained. _**"It is getting out. And I doubt it will spare our containers if it comes across them."**_

Shukaku growled. _**"Gaara is in danger," **_she said. _**"That's all I have to know." **_She began to transfuse her chakra to the boy's mindscape, through the connection the Yamanaka had made. _**"I will save her."**_

_**"You have no chance alone against them, especially in another mindscape," **_Kurama pointed out. _**"At best, you will be at half power."**_

_**"I don't care, I have to save her," **_Shukaku replied, turning into a cloud of chakra. _**"She's my daughter. You care about your vessel too, no? You will understand."**_

Kurama frowned, but seemed to understand. _**"Why are you doing this? She isn't your daughter, and you know it."**_

Shukaku glared at the other Bijuu. _**"It doesn't matter if we are not related. I chose to be her mother, and I will play the role until the very end." **_She lowered her gaze. _**"At first, it was just a plot to escape. I had thought that I could convince her to find a way to break the seal, but… I grew happy. I liked being called mother, to have someone rely on me, love me."**_

_**"…"**_

_**"Look at me, Kurama," **_Shukaku stated. _**"My host has affected me. I have changed. I am not an it anymore, but a she. I have gained a gender, because I perceive myself as a mother. You are yourself showing signs of a similar evolution. You are slender, more feminine. It's probably the result of being sealed inside multiple female containers for so long."**_

_**"Do you mean I could gain a gender?" **_Kurama asked, sounding astonished.

_**"If you wish to, if you perceive yourself as a female and not a genderless being, then yes," **_the Sand Bijuu stared at her sibling. _**"It is a perfectly normal evolution, in my mind. In the same way we can affect our containers, they can affect us too. Gaara has become more Bijuu, and I more human. In a few decades, who know, I might be able to adopt a human shape."**_

_**"That is…" **_the fox struggled to find its words. _**"Intriguing."**_

_**"Truly," **_Shukaku nodded, losing all shape. _**"I need to rescue Gaara. Will you come help your protégée too?"**_

_**"Find my container," **_Kurama said. _**"Only she can break my seal and let me help you all. I am powerless right now."**_

_**"I will give her the message," **_Shukaku stated, vanishing. "_**Wish me good luck. And, if we do not see each other again… know you are the wisest Bijuu I ever talked too."**_

_**"I do, Shukaku, and… thank you."**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Sand Witch, Gaara<strong>_

"Thank you, Ayame-chan," Kitsune said, as the waitress handed the group four bowls. The Uchiha was silent, the girl was staring at the blonde all the time, and Gaara was observing the food. It was fake, all of it.

Imitating the rest of the group, Gaara attempted to eat the illusion. The taste seemed real, but also… abnormal. The one making this false reality had probably never eaten this kind of food, and didn't know which taste it had. It was just a poorly made imitation.

"You aren't hungry, Gaara-chan?" Naruko's copy asked, with a hint of worry. "Are you ill?"

"Not, it's just…" Gaara trailed off. "It isn't real."

"Of course it is," the fake Sasuke snorted, stiffening slightly.

"This food looks real to me," the false Hinata added. "Are you dreaming, Gaara-san?"

"Maybe you lack sleep?" Kitsune wondered.

Gaara didn't answer. How could you she explain the truth to him? "Kitsune-kun…" she begun, but stopped, as the blonde's head jerked in her direction.

"How… what did you call me?" He was pale, slightly disturbed.

"Kitsune-kun," Gaara repeated. "This place… it's a Genjutsu. It's fake. All of the people except us aren't real."

"You're hopeless," Sasuke smirked, but he appeared slightly afraid. Hinata was silent. Kitsune on the other hand seemed lost in his thoughts.

"Kitsune-san…" The Ichibi's vessel continued. "Naruko is here as well to free you from this place. This Konoha is a lie. It's all a lie. You are in a forced dream, trapped. You need to awak-"

"Who told you I wanted to wake up?" Kitsune cut in. Everyone stared at him in surprise.

Gaara gasped, astonished. "You knew?"

"I… I didn't want to accept it, at first," the blonde explained, almost sorrowfully. "But it quickly became obvious. I can't feel pain when I hurt myself. I never miss when I throw kunai or shuriken. I always win sparing matches, even against people that should wipe the floor with my face. This place… is made to make me win, no matter what. Everyone is nice to me. It's simply too perfect to be real, too good to be true." He raised his head. "And then… I dream of another life, sometimes during the night."

Konoha suddenly fell silent, as if time had stopped. All the fake citizens were observing the scene in supreme, unnatural stillness

"I dream of darkness," Kitsune continued. "I dream of being alone, surrounded by dark stares. Sometimes, I dream of a family, of people named Naruko, Kazama, Zabuza… but quickly, I come to dream of blood." He eyed Hinata. "I dream about losing her in a terrifying way… and turning into a beast. I dream about killing people, about causing pain to others, while three demons mock me and push to commit worsening crimes… I dream of being weak."

"Kitsune-kun…" Gaara whispered, her looks darkening.

"I know the truth. These dreams are the real world, and this place… is the real dream." He smiled sorrowfully, his face conveying his pure, undiluted despair. "But… it's a good dream."

"You don't want to wake up, do you?" Gaara asked, frowning in sadness.

"No," he replied. "There is nothing that awaits me outside besides anguish. I prefer this sweet illusion over reality, even if I know it's not real." He lowered his head in shame. "I don't want to see the face of a murderer in the mirror each morning, to listen to the voices as they taunt me and goad me into destroying those I care about, always reminding me I am nothing more than their toy."

"But, we came for you," Gaara pointed out, taking his hand. "We want to help you."

"And that is why you must leave me here," he explained. "I mean, think about it, what will happen if I wake up? The voices will torment me again, change me into a monster, and force me to attack you. I will kill others. I will only bring you pain. It would be better for everybody if I stayed here, in this cage. It's the only place where I can't harm anyone… it's a place where I'm truly alone and harmless."

He tried to free his hand…

But Gaara strengthened her hold over it.

"Kitsune-kun…" The sand witch began. "Nobody can completely understand what you went through, but… that sentiment of loneliness, I know it well. And so… I also know there is another escape." She lowered her head, remembering her past. "Once upon a time, I thought being a monster was the only way I had to exist, so I deepened myself into madness to avoid facing reality. But… reality isn't that bad, when you know where to look."

She smiled. "Naruko cared about me. Some people are willing to forgive and help me. They can help you too."

"I will harm them," Kitsune said. "Aren't you always struggling like me, trying to prevent the monster inside you from getting out? It's horrible to fight against yourself, because you know you will lose to your own darkness in time."

"The monster… is a part of ourselves," Gaara replied. "It isn't in control, it's just we run away from it instead of confronting what we are. Fleeing from reality won't resolve your problems, Kitsune-kun. It will just prevent you from facing them."

"It's…" Kitsune stared at his hand. "It's… why? Why do you want to help me? I never helped you or anything. I never helped anyone. I always failed to."

"Because you are like me," she explained. "We may be lonely… but together, we aren't. Finding friends is the only way to make our pain go away… and it's only in the real world we can atone for what we did and learn to move on with our own life."

"I…" Kitsune stared at the fake Sasuke and Hinata. "I…"

_**"This is sickening."**_

The world trembled. Red chakra erupted from the ground, like a volcano, throwing Gaara and Kitsune on the ground. A crimson sea destroyed the ramen stand, swallowing the fake people, consuming both Hinata and Sasuke. A red fog began to cover the faux city.

_**"You have always been alone… miserable… empty," **_a sinister voice declared as the red sea of chakra adopted a bestial form. Kitsune cowered in fear, and Gaara could only watch the monstrosity in silence._**"In the end, you shall never accomplish anything, as you are truly worthless. Running away is the only thing you can do… but you cannot escape from us. You shall only know defeat and despair."**_

The creature was a red giant fox with nine tails, like Naruko's demon, but its face… the monster had three mouths, placed around the muzzles in a circular pattern, and at the top of the head, six crimson eyes. The fur looked as if covered with blood, and the monster was advancing like a disarticulated doll, and not like an animal.

It wasn't a Bijuu anymore, but a true, malevolent demon. Not only did it have the appearance of one, but the heart and the gaze of one as well.

_**"Happy to see us again, aspect? Long time no see… did you think we would leave you alone? Open your eyes… you are ours, now and forever. You are part of us."**_

"You…" Kitsune whispered in horror. "What happened to the others?"

_**"We merged, becoming one again," **_the monster, no, the _Kyuubi, _laughed. _**"We are now united again… but we are three within one body. We are one, and yet, we are legion. And soon, soon enough… you shall join us, and out of the ashes of the one called Kurama, a true demon shall be born, one made of pain and hate instead of chakra! Now… become part of us!"**_

Its front claw sprung forward, catching the terrified Kitsune. Gaara screamed in anger and fear, but could only watch helplessly as the beast swallowed the blonde alive.

_**"Ah, wonderful taste," **_the monster laughed. _**"It was worth waiting for all those years… now, the fusion has begun! We are sensing our souls fusing… soon, we shall call ourselves **_**I **_**once again!"**_

"Free Kitsune-kun!" Gaara ordered, getting up. The whole world was now nothing but a red fog. But her sand was still moving at her command. "He isn't yours!"

_**"Wrong, he always was!" **_The Kyuubi chuckled darkly, glaring at the redhead. _**"What do we sense… loneliness, wrath and… a need for love?" **_The monster snorted. _**"Our powers have increased far beyond compare… now, we… no, **_**I **_**can almost read your thoughts. **_**I **_**know everything about you, daughter of Karura! **_**I **_**am absolute!"**_

Gaara glared at the thing. _How could it know that? _She wondered, more afraid than at any time in her life. _How can it knows about mot-_

_**"How can I know about your mother's name?" **_The monster laughed. _**"Don't you know? All Bijuu have a special ability that makes them unique. Many thought I had none, because it has next to no fighting use, but I have the strongest ability of all! The power to sense what you humans call emotions."**_

"How… an emotion isn't a thought!"

_**"That is what you think. A thought is simply a combination of various emotions and chemical reactions from your brain. It is something that I can sense within your chakra. Like a language only you humans understand," **_the monster explained. _**"I always wondered, in this seal… how could I escape? How could I be free? My container's madness gave me the answer. All his emotions, all his wrath, his selfishness and misplaced pride… I absorbed it. I came to understand your thought language."**_

"That is why you wanted Kitsune…" Gaara realized in horror.

_**"You are wrong." **_It roared in joy. _**"I just want to spit on his parents' grave for sealing me. I will prevent their son from ever moving into the afterlife, condemning to an eternity of pain and despair inside me. Haven't you wondered why I pushed him to kill people? Each time he killed someone under my order, he became more and more insane. His sense of self was slipping, allowing me to possess him, to control him, like a parasite. If these worms of copycats hadn't interfered, I would have absorbed his mind naturally, as he would not have been able to distinguish himself from my will. He would have become an extension of my will, unable to move on into the Pure World and join his family."**_

"You… monster…" Gaara growled. "This is unforgivable!"

_**"Forgiveness is for humans. My will is the rule of the world, and therefore beyond good and evil," **_the monster smirked. _**"Now, I am truly invincible. Want to hypnotize me? I will probe your brain to find a way to counter it. Want to seal me? I will know it and kill you before you can use that technique. Any trap you try to make, I will be aware of it. All your battle tactics will be no secret to me. The greatest weapon of mankind, the brain, will be useless against me. When I shall be reborn, your kind will be annihilated in less than a week. I shall begin a crusade against your kind… starting with you."**_

"Mother will protect me!" Gaara shouted, making hand seals and summoning her demon's chakra.

_**"You mean Shukaku? Protecting you from me? You are far more foolish than I imagined!" **_The beast raised its head, standing on two legs. It was almost a human posture. _**"That beast is nothing but a mere ant compared to my tremendous power! As for calling it mother… you know yourself, deep down inside you, that Shukaku is not Karura! Your own uncle admitted she died hating yourself and the world!"**_

Gaara growled in anger. "Shut up! You don't know anything about me!"

_**"I know everything contained inside your skull!" **_The Kyuubi extended its arm in a theatrical manner. _**"Think about it! Has Shukaku ever talked about her past before your birth? Why is it called Shukaku? It's because it's one of us Bijuu, a demon! It lied to you, invented everything! It didn't talk about its past, because it has none! It simply mocked you!"**_

"This is a lie!" Gaara frowned, but the seed of doubt was already deep inside her mind.

_**"I am sure it just wanted a good laugh… you were just a toy to it! And now, it doesn't help you anymore because you outlived your ability to amuse it!"**_

"SHUT UP!" Gaara screamed, unleashing spikes of sand at the liar. Its tails just swung, unleashing a powerful shockwave that easily countered the attack.

_**"You were always alone, and you knew the voice inside you wasn't your mother," **_the monster taunted her sadistically. _**"You so desperately wanted company you managed to fool even yourself. You are nothing but a pathetic child! Shukaku is just sand and chakra, nothing more, and you know it! The proof is there, it wouldn't even come to save you, even if it could."**_

In a blink, the monster's hand seized the helpless Gaara and lifted her above the ground, bringing her close to it's maws. Its breath was horrible, and its fangs so cruel…

_**"Time to join your container… _**a belly is a horrible place to live, believe me. I speak from experience**_," **_it commented, its maws now wide open._**"I will take my time digesting you, and savor your pain."**_

"No, no, no…" Gaara cursed, tears forming in her eyes. She didn't want to die. She wanted to live. She wanted to feel the wind on her face… "Please… Mother…"

_**"I am here."**_

A golden tail hit the Kyuubi's head, making it stagger and drop Gaara. The girl fell onto the paw of a yellow creature, half the size of the Kyuubi. _**"Gaara, are you alright?" **_Her mother asked her.

"Mother…" she cried. "You came…"

_**"I promised I would always protect you," **_the Bijuu said aloofly, deposing her on its head. _**"And I will."**_

Meanwhile, the demon fox had regained its balance. The crimson fog was slowly lifting, revealing a white, endless wasteland, under a blue sky… what the fake Konoha was hiding all along. _**"How dare you attack a perfect being, Shukaku? I am the ruler of all Bijuu!"**_

_**"Ah, you are indeed as arrogant as ever, Kurama," **_Shukaku shot back, looking menacing. _**"You are no perfect being, just a rabid beast. Nothing less, and certainly nothing more. I will protect my daughter from you, no matter what."**_

_**"You are the one to talk, insect," **_the Kyuubi snorted. _**"It seems you have believed your own lies. This is so pathetic! You aren't the human's mother, you idiot! You never gave birth to her, you aren't even related to her by blood!"**_

Gaara snapped. "Being a mother isn't caused by blood!" She shouted. "It's a matter of love! Mother was always there for me and she loved me with all her heart, and I returned this feeling! That is what it is to be a parent and a child!"

_**"Don't you understand, Kurama?" **_Shukaku growled. _**"No, you don't. A monster like you cannot hope to understand. We love each other like family, and this bond is stronger than every word you can throw at us."**_

"This is why we shall save Kitsune-kun from you!" Gaara shouted, making hand seals. "He is our friend, and we will never let him down."

_**"You fools!" **_The fox cursed, its face twisted into pure wrath. _**"You aren't even at full power here, Shukaku! I have more power in my little finger than you possess in your entire body! You are no match for me! Don't you understand your struggle is hopeless? You are alone against an entity you cannot hope to defeat."**_

"_You're _the one who misunderstood!"

_Naruko? _Gaara thought, turning her head in the voice's direction. Naruko was standing amongst the rubble, backed by Itachi, Mikoto, Fugaku, and the illusionist.

"Kitsune has _us_, but you…" Naruko glared at the Kyuubi. "You have nothing! You hurt Kitsune and others because you want to drag them to your level! You have no friends, no family! You're the only one alone and you know it!"

_**"SHUT UP!" **_Kurama snapped, losing its composure. _**"SHUT THE HELL UP!"**_

"It ate Kitsune-kun!" Gaara shouted.

"I still sense his soul inside it," the illusionist said. "The fusion isn't complete yet. If we weaken it enough, I might be able to separate them by-"

_**"Borrowing the Yamanaka's power?" **_the Kyuubi asked, its face twisted into raging insanity. _**"He is possessing your ally and directly responsible for everything… and you still forgive Shisui, you idiots?"**_

"I will atone for what I have done," Shisui shot back. "If I must die to save Naruto, then so be it!"

"That is the power of teamwork," Naruko smirked.

_**"It won't be enough," **_Shukaku stated, wavering its paw. A hole formed in the ground. _**"Young girl… even together, the best we can do is stall for time. We cannot hope to defeat a fully powered Bijuu like him. Fortunately, we have our own. Enter the hole, go see your Kurama, and come with reinforcements. We will try to give you as much time as we ca-"**_

Kurama suddenly unleashed a fireball at the hole, recognizing the danger. It, however, exploded midair, stopped by an arm of orange chakra.

"Susanoo," Itachi whispered, his body surrounded by a huge, ethereal warrior. "Go on, Naruko-san."

"I won't fail," Naruko promised, jumping into the hole.

_**"If you have decided to fight together, then you shall die together!" **_The Kyuubi roared.

"Let's go," Mikoto whispered, Fugaku and Shisui agreeing. All had their Sharingan ready.

_**"Gaara, it might be the last time we may speak, so…" **_Shukaku started. _**"Thank you. For everything."**_

"I am proud to be your daughter… mother," Gaara smiled.

And so, the battle for Kitsune's soul began.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Condemned, Kitsune<strong>_

Crimson fog.

The world was just a red fog. Kitsune couldn't see through it, but he knew he had been swallowed by his demon. Was this place its stomach? It didn't look like it.

Slowly, the fog lifted… and Kitsune paled.

It was a monument to death. A red plain, covered with mangled corpses. Sasuke, Sakura… Hinata… dozens of bodies, innocent and guilty alike. The sky was yellow, the world silent.

It was a mass grave, only the corpses were never buried.

"No," Kitsune took a step back, but he had nowhere to run. "No…"

_**"Love our work?" **_A voice mocked him. It was coming from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. _**"This is our world… a field of victims."**_

"Who are you?" Kitsune raged, trying not to look at the corpses. "SHOW YOURSELF!"

_**"Of course…" **_Out of nowhere, a beast appeared. It was a humanoid fox, with cruel fangs and claws… the carbon copy of Kitsune's own werefox form. _**"As for who… I am the real you, the true Naruto Uzumaki."**_

"You aren't me…" Kitsune glared at him. "What do you want?"

_**"I am you. I am everything you try to hide from the outside world. The beast inside you. As for what I want… I want you to fuse with me. It will be painless, and afterward, you shall be free from existence itself. You shall be reborn."**_

"You are the Kyuubi…" The boy clenched his fists.

_**"We are inside its soul… and I am its messenger. You can call me… Yami Naruto. Or Yami Kitsune. I am the nameless darkness. Now, let's fuse with Kurama, and destroy mankind. I think you should cease to waste my time, like you did with your own, trying to befriend others…"**_

"No…" Kitsune whispered helplessly. "It wasn't a waste of time. It wasn't…"

_**"You were desperate to prove you existed. That is why you loved Hinata Hyuuga and Sarutobi Hiruzen… not because they were your friends, but because they gave you attention. It's why you befriended your so-called family…**__**your bonds were and are still worthless… and so are you," **_the werefox taunted him. _**"Just look into your heart, and you will find nothing there. You are merely an empty shell. You presented fake feelings so you could be accepted, but you were dead inside from the get-go."**_

"It's a lie… it's a lie…"

_**"It is the truth," **_Yami Kitsune chuckled lightheartedly. _**"That is the truth that gave me a life of my own. You wasted all your time on meaningless bonds of 'friendship' so you could escape your fate as a worthless being. You were angry at others, you wanted to think about yourself only… but deep down, you just wanted, desperately, that someone would notice you. You were looking for somebody, anybody, that would give your life meaning. You just wanted to exist."**_

"I…" _It's a lie, it's a lie, it's a lie!_

_**"You liked Sarutobi and Hinata not because you appreciated them, but because you wanted their attention. You wanted someone to free you from your cage of despair, because you refused to admit you were nothing. That is what gave me life. That is why I am strong. Because, even though you hated others and wanted them to serve your needs, you were ready to forgive and do what they wanted if they stared at you. This paradox is what gave birth to my will. And when friendliness failed, you turned to murder."**_

"YOU LIE!" Kitsune screamed, kneeling and putting his hands on his ears. "SHUT UP!"

_**"You killed them not out of anger, but because you were desperate to make an impact on this world!" **_Yami Kitsune shouted, its façade of calmness crumbling to reveal the raging monster underneath. _**"With Hinata's death and Sarutobi's betrayal, you realized nobody would be your prince and save you! You didn't butcher the Hyuuga for revenge, but because you wanted to prove to everybody, including yourself, that you existed! You just wanted to be someone, even a reviled murderer, and not a friendless nobody!"**_

"It's impossible…" Kitsune cried. "It can't be the truth…"

Yet… deep down, he knew it was real. It was the truth he had been hiding all along, refused to admit, buried deep inside himself. It was the truth that gave rise to his madness, to the Kyuubi's transformation.

_**"I am a reflection of yourself, the darkness you refused to accept, the dark self you created," **_Yami Kitsune said, with the Kyuubi's voice. _**"The feelings you refused to accept, and I welcomed them, becoming what I am now. But for me to become truly real, fused with the Kyuubi… I need to absorb you. I need your memories, your life, your chakra, your soul… everything. I will consume you and end your despair. And then, I shall escape to the real world, to lay waste to all of mankind. I will punish them all for refusing me, for making us suffer. And then, when I'm be finished, I will rule a world devoid of man where only I exist!"**_

Kitsune, didn't react, broken into true despair.

_**"So give up, and please accept your end," **_the fox said, extending his arm toward the boy. _**"Welcome the end of your pain, and the end of all things."**_

Kitsune raised his head, observing his doom…

And then caught the arm.

"I won't," Kitsune said, with a determined look. "I refuse."

_**"You foolish boy," **_the Kyuubi growled through the werefox's mouth. _**"Do you intend to oppose Kurama again? Do you intend to deny me?"**_

"I… I refuse to acknowledge you," Kitsune replied. "You might be born from my feelings, but… I won't submit to you. You intend to harm others. You want to hurt my friends and my family. I can't allow it… I won't let you rule my life anymore."

_**"You have allowed me to do it countless times," **_the beast pointed out with a sneer. _**"You asked for Kurama's help in the first place, accepting his deal. I have come to reclaim its price and my freedom. Why do you care about the real world anyway? It only brought you pain. I can offer you eternal peace."**_

"I am tired of running away," Kitsune replied, freeing the fake Naruto's hand. "This girl's words… they opened my eyes. All that time… I refused to face my responsibilities. I refused to accept the fact I allowed you to roam free, cowering in fear instead of taming you. In a way, I was just a coward."

He stared at his copy with determined eyes. "Well, no more. I won't run away this time. You are a part of me… and that's all. You aren't my master or anything. Just a part of my personality I didn't have the will to deal with." He glared at Yami Kitsune. "_I _am the master here."

The werefox snorted. _**"This worm's words have made you blind to the way things are. Kurama is the ruling entity here. You are just a part of Kurama, nothing else. A mere limb. And you won't even be that soon enough."**_

Kitsune smiled. "This place is the Kyuubi's mind and soul, isn't it? And you are the incarnation of its will, warped by my own feelings. This is basically a mental battle for dominance." He adopted a fighting pose. "So, if I kick your ass there, does it mean I will be able to destroy the Kyuubi from the inside?"

The monster glared at him, confirming his suspicions.

"It's how Kurama killed N's Kyuubi, isn't it?" Kitsune guessed. "A part of me was aware when it committed yet another crime in my body. It invaded its counterpart's mind and destroyed it, leaving only lifeless chakra behind. I am inside Kurama's mind. So, I can repeat the process there, ending its threat once and for all."

_**"It would be possible, if you were truly strong," **_the werefox laughed. _**"A pity you aren't. Remember, you never managed to contain it. You never truly fazed it. At best, you delayed it. In order to defeat Kurama, you need to defeat the part of you that doesn't want Kurama's destruction, aka me. So, to destroy it is an impossible feat for you, as you cannot bring me down."**_

"There is no such thing as impossible," Kitsune said. "It's just I haven't tried yet."

The werefox chuckled madly. Its eyes were shining with a red light. _**"If you are so intent on defying me…" **_It showed its claws. _**"I will have to discipline you. Time to show you who is the boss here."**_

"Go on, bastard," Kitsune stated, imitating Naruko's confidence. "I have waited years for this. You will lose. That is already decided."

The werefox smirked. _**"Truly? Why would I lose?"**_

"It's simple," Kitsune replied, charging. "You lack something I have."

_**"And what is it?" **_Yami Kitsune snickered. _**"Wrath? Power? Some hidden Jutsu, or maybe a half baked plan?"**_

"No," Kitsune whispered. "People to fight for."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Gatherer, Kurama<strong>_

As its container got out of the hole linking the different mindscapes, Kurama raised its head, looking through the cage. _**"I was waiting for you to come, Naruko."**_

"Kurama…" she whispered. "Are you aware of the situation?"

_**"Yes," **_the Bijuu replied. _**"My counterpart has broken free from its seal, and is about to escape into the real world, destroying its container in the process."**_

"Shukaku said you knew a way to defeat Kitsune's demon," she pointed out. "So… can you help me?"

_**"A fully powered Kyuubi is a terrifying opponent," **_the Bijuu explained. _**"Our power is beyond compare save for a handful of beings. Our might is tremendous. A swing of our tails can destroy mountains. You humans cannot win."**_

"But-"

_**"I, however, will be able to match it," **_the Tailed Beast cut in. _**"I will not be able to manifest my full power in another's mindscape, as can't Shukaku, but it shall give your group a fighting chance and an opportunity to save your friend. However…" **_Its claw pointed at the seal. _**"This is in the way."**_

"So I need to unseal you?" Naruko frowned. "But… do you promise you will help us?"

_**"I will, but I need to explain you a few things beforehand." **_The fact she hadn't said no yet astonished the Bijuu. It had expected her to be more distrustful. Her heart was truly pure. _**"Breaking the seal can lead to four possible results. The first is, I can absorb your chakra, tear apart your body, and escape." **_Naruto gasped. _**"I don't intend to do this. The second option is the exact opposite: you absorb my chakra, reseal my mind, and you reduce me to the level of a chakra battery. The third option is what my counterpart appears to be aiming at: an unequal fusion."**_

"Fusion?" Naruko frowned. "You mean, it and Kitsune will become one entity?"

_**"Somewhat. The two souls will mix, like water and earth to make mud. But there is a huge risk. The two personalities will struggle for dominance, and the strongest will more or less consume the other to strengthen itself. That is what awaits your friend, if you do not act."**_

The Bijuu took a deep breath. _**"The fourth option is… what I suggest. We will create a link between our two minds by sharing the other's chakra. It will make us equal, and give you free access to my chakra. This is the situation of the Nibi and its container. But, I warn you: there won't be any seal inside you. I will stay in your body not because I am forced to, but because I want to. I will be able to escape on a whim, killing you in the process. I will be able to take over your body in case of needs. And I shall always be present in your mind." **_It stared at its container. _**"Once it's done, there is no turning back. Would you still accept such existence and its risks, if it meant saving Kitsune?"**_

"Yes," she answered plainly, observing the seal. "I accept it."

_**"Then…" **_Kurama found itself at loss of words. _**"I am surprised you accepted. I didn't expect you to."**_

"Why?" she replied.

_**"Well… you are putting yourself into mortal danger for another," **_it said. _**"Many would have said no."**_

"If you were like Kitsune's demon, I would have refused, but…" Naruko smiled. "I trust you, Kurama. I know you aren't a bad Bijuu at heart. You are just… lonely."

_**"… eh," **_it chuckled. _Kushina, you truly have a brave daughter. You should be proud. __**"And… you the purest, best container I ever had. I regret my presence inside you caused so many hardships for you to face."**_

"I don't regret it, it allowed me to know you," she said calmly.

_**"Well, then," **_Kurama said, a bit disturbed. It didn't know how to react to that statement. _**"You only have one thing left to do."**_

The blonde lass nodded, and approached the gate. She raised her hand, touched the seal…

And a hand stopped her.

"Naruko," a woman said with a frown. She had long red hair, familiar eyes, and was wearing black robes… _Kushina? _Kurama thought.

"Who are you?" the blonde asked.

_**"She… is your mother," **_the Bijuu stated, making the little girl pale. _**"I do not know how it is possible, but this is Kushina Uzumaki, your mother. Were you waiting in the seal all along?"**_

"My soul and chakra, yes," the woman said, staring at her daughter. "Naruko… please allow me to do something I waited for years for."

Before the blonde could react, Kushina hugged her tenderly.

No word was said. There was no need to. Kurama felt slightly guilty for unwillingly watching such private, tender moment. If it could have, it would have left them alone, but it couldn't.

"I am so proud of you," the redhead whispered. "I was looking all along, through the seal. I saw you grow, and become a fine kunoichi. I am so happy to touch you."

"Mother…" Naruko whispered, strengthening the embrace. "I am so glad to see you… but how is this possible?"

"Your father placed my chakra and soul inside the seal, so I could help you in case the Kyuubi attempted to escape and harm you," she said. Kurama stiffened slightly, but it was, unfortunately, quite reasonable. "I was freed when you touched it." She broke the embrace. "We will be able to share a moment after your friend is saved."

"I have so many questions to ask…" The blonde whispered, tears in her eyes. "But…" she wiped them from her face. "I will wait. Kitsune's life is more important."

"Kyuubi," Kushina stated with a cold tone. "In case you lied and try to betray my daughter… mark my words, I will send you back to your fox house the hard way. Kick in the ass style."

_**"I never intended to, Kushina," **_the Bijuu chuckled, unfazed by the threat. _**"Your daughter touched my very heart. For the act of kindness she gave me, I will repay her with one of my own."**_

"Thanks, Kurama," Naruko smiled, breaking the seal.

The gates opened, and for the first time in decades, Kurama walked outside a cage. _**"It feels so good…" **_It stated, offering its paw to its container. _**"Thank you, for your trust."**_

"No problem," Naruko smiled, caressing the paw.

_**"Now," **_Kurama stated, seizing the two girls and placing them on its head. _**"Grab my fur. We have another Kyuubi to beat up, and it is waiting."**_

And they jumped into the hole.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Former Hokage<strong>_

"Sarutobi-sama," one of the ANBU began, the bestial Jinchuuriki's body being covered with red chakra. "The Yondaime's seal..."

"I know," the man replied, preparing hand-seals. "Go contact Danzo and others. The Kyuubi might escape at any moment, and I need a container ready."

"You intend to use sensei's technique?" Kakashi asked, observing the scene from behind his mask. Itachi, his parents, Inoichi and the two girls were still asleep, trapped inside the Jinchuuriki's mind. "You know you will have to wait for the Kyuubi to manifest fully if you want to reseal it."

"In that case, the boy will already be dead," Sarutobi stated, frowning. "But for now, he isn't. Maybe our team is delaying the demon's return to the world?"

"My Sharingan is detecting something strange," the Hatake stated. "The other Kyuubi and the Ichibi are sending chakra into the boy's system, as well."

"To accelerate the process or to halt it?" the former Hokage asked.

Kakashi hesitated one moment. "Halt it," he finally decided. "These two's chakra is clashing with the escaping Kyuubi. I admit it is hard to say what is happening. That Naruko's seal is unleashing incredible quantities of chakra, as if the seal wasn't functional anymore. But her Tailed Beast does not seem to try to escape."

"So my suspicions were correct, our team is delaying the Kyuubi's escape," Sarutobi whispered.

"Do you think they can stop it?" Kakashi asked.

"I hope they can," the old man said. "I truly do. Otherwise, we have another tragedy in the making." The former Hokage then noticed the living sword, Samehada, crawling on the werefox's belly. "What is it trying to do?"

The living sword touched the fur, and then seemed to fuse with it.

"I think it is trying to help its master," Kakashi stated, chuckling. "It's cute, in a disturbing sort of way."

"It seems the young Kitsune has some strange, but loyal friends," Sarutobi stated. "Very well. Let us see what will happen."

He simply hoped he wouldn't have to see the monster kill innocent people once again. Once had been enough.

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: time for awesomeness, my friends. _**

**_The chapter is a bit shorter than usual, as will be the three next. They're mostly transitions for the whole arc's climax, whose chapters shall be longer. You might find me sadistic for enforcing four cliffhangers... but I'm sure you'll like having four epic chapters following_**

**_Also, uploaded bfg10k17's fanart as this story's cover. Thank you. However, it seems the image managed is in need of an optimization..._**

**_As always, please review and tell what you think of it._**


	31. Chapter 28: A Puppeteer's Resolve

**_A few were disappointed by last chapter, and the Naruko Arc's conclusion will correct this. But for now, I advance the other arcs. This chapter deals with Sasori's adventures._**

**_As ever, thanks to my betas ABitterPill, Third Fang, and Alpha142 for their help._**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto._**

* * *

><p><em><strong>TravelerOriginal Naruto: Kazama Arashi.**_

_**Puppeteer Naruto: Chibaku Arashi.**_

_**Werefox/Hybrid Naruto: Kitsune Arashi.**_

_**Female Naruto: Naruko Arashi.**_

_**Traveler Kakashi: Kamui.**_

_**Alternate Nidaime Hokage: Kuebiko.**_

_**Deceiver/Original Madara: Tsukiyomi.**_

_**Destroyer/Rinnegan Madara: Susanoo.**_

_**Warrior/Collector Madara: Amaterasu (now dead).**_

_**Female Tobi: Izanami.**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Currently, they are scattered in four worlds:<strong>_

**_Shodaime!Madara world: Chibaku, Sasori, Haku, Kuebiko (Where we are now)._**

**_Godaime!Itachi world: Kitsune, Gaara, Naruko._**

**_Mystery world/Alternate Amegakure: Kazama, Tsukiyomi, Susanoo._**

**_Alive!Yondaime world: Kakashi, Yugito._**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 28: A Puppeteer's Resolve<strong>_

In Kuebiko's mind preparing an assault was never easy, especially when you couldn't trust your own allies.

Orochimaru, or at least, _this _Orochimaru, seemed reliable enough, but his men… many were openly distrustful of the dimension traveling man and Sasori. A few were downright hostile, or disrespectful. No, scratch that, he was sure at least half of them would just kill him if he happened to be in their way.

It was to be expected. The resistance movement was really… mixed. Criminals, heroes, psychopaths, normal people, unlucky heroes… all were united for survival sake, not because they trusted each others.

_"Omoikane is coming."_

Fukuro's words snapped him out of his thoughts. "When?" She was finally coming? She would be a welcome helper, even if a bit… wild.

_"As soon as you can give her coordinates."_

"Alright, give me a few minutes." He entered Orochimaru's office, who was talking with Sasori. The bodyguards didn't even blink, having been warned of his role in the soon-to-come revolution. "I have reinforcement. I need a place where they can land."

"How many additional soldiers?" The Sannin asked, interested. "An army would be good, but I do not expect much."

"Sorry, only one ninja, S-Rank heavy artillery," he explained. "It's my colleague, Omoikane. She's the… destructive type, and coming with a vehicle the size of a small house."

"I have a warehouse that might fit," the snake whispered, rising up. "I will lead you there. I truly wish to see your vehicle…"

The trio of S-Rank nins arrived in a large, underground room, big enough to contain Eon. "Come on over, Fukuro. I'm waiting."

_"Give me a second… just making sure we won't tear apart this universe or create an earth-destroying black hole… oh, screw this! Here we go!"_

It took only a flash. Well, in Kuebiko's case, it took his armor recording space being twisted apart by an advanced reactor to notice Eon's landing.

The device looked like a mini-pyramid, made of black metal, and indeed the size of a small house. Lines of gold were covering it, and it had that otherworldly look which Omoikane loved to design into her own machinery. The evolved version of their own armor, Eon was a vehicle powerful enough to travel between worlds. Maybe would it one day save a civilization from extinction…

A little gate opened, revealing a woman, who leapt next to him, pulling off her skull-shaped gray helmet. She had short purple hair, cold light-brown eyes, and was wearing a black armor similar to his own. She was the scientist Omoikane, formerly known as Mitarashi Anko.

"Hello, Omoi-"

She punched his helmet.

"What were you doing, you piece of scrap metal?" She snarled, much to both Orochimaru and Sasori's astonishment. "You should have returned a long time ago! I was worried you know, when I learned you landed in one of the most dangerous worlds we identified!"

"Calm down," Kuebiko said serenely. He was used to the woman's outbursts, but it was still as surprising as ever. "It was needed. People are in need of help, here."

"I know, that's why I came," she said, snapping her fingers. A miniature black snake was summoned around her hand, holding a pack of cigarettes. "Want some? Same for you guys."

"No, it's bad for my health," he replied.

"I don't have lungs," Sasori said. "And I hate such pointless pleasures."

"Omoikane, is it?" Orochimaru shook his head. "I am afraid, but I have to deny your request."

"Your loss," she replied, lighting one and taking a drag off it. "So, who are you? I already recognized you as Sasori of the Red Sand and Orochimaru, but I would like more details. Sorry if I don't trust you, snake bastard, but the last Orochimaru I met was onto kids and even worse than usual."

"Usual?" Orochimaru frowned, looking at Kuebiko warily. "What does she mean by _worse than usual_?"

"I will explain later. Well, Omoikane, this Sasori is the one I told Fukuro about, traveling around worlds," Kuebiko explained. "As for Orochimaru, he is the leader of the resistance against the ANBU."

"You're a nice guy?" she snickered at the Sannin. "I guessed I should meet one version of you that wasn't a total asshole in time, so congrats, you're the first, snake bastard."

"I guess I will have to do what we have," he whispered, ignoring the obvious insult. "You are a powerful kunoichi?"

"You joking? I'm the best," she smirked. "So, you want support? Gonna attack the ANBU's HQ and kill everybody? If yes, then I'm in."

"Pretty much," Sasori stated. "We will explain better during the briefing. Tell us what you can do so we can adjust and improve the plan accordingly."

"I summon snakes, I have an earth affinity, and I can do a lot of damage, fire hair," she said. "Good stuff, rockslides, earthquakes, stuff like that."

"Purging underground bunkers?"

"Are you kidding me? I don't purge them, I _demolish _them."

"Good," the puppeteer nodded. "And your vehicle? Can it give support?"

"Unfortunately no," Kuebiko shook his head. "Eon is only meant to transport people or supplies from one world to our base. It has no offensive abilities. We're scientists, not invaders."

"If only Vajra had allowed me to test one of his nuclear warheads with it, the problem would be solved," Omoikane shrugged. "Stuff would blow up. Lots of it."

"I think you should stop looking into his weapons," Kuebiko bickered with her. "Just look at what they did to his home world."

"Yes, but atomic fission is a field we should explore more for our work," she shot back.

Orochimaru and Sasori stared at each other confused. "Not having enough knowledge of physics, I won't try to press further into this," the former said. "Yet, I am curious. Is this Vajra your direct superior?"

"He's the founder of our organization," Kuebiko explained. "He's a powerful ninja whose world developed advanced technology using the Bijuu as power batteries. Unfortunately, his civilization… well, one day they created technology to access other universes. They lacked resources, having exhausted all of them after a very destructive world war, so they tried to open a path to another universe."

"Problem was, some guy screwed up and opened the path to… a very, very bad place," Omoikane snorted. "Apparently, some kind of alien force entered their dimension and erased their entire world in less than an hour."

"Vajra was a scientist living there, and the only survivor." Kuebiko stared at his own equipment. "His armor was the prototype of our own, and allowed him to flee to what would later become our base. He's the one who developed most of our technology."

"I see… this is why you cannot mass-produce your equipment," Sasori nodded in understanding, having nearly gone through a similar incident in his time in the other Multiverse. "It must truly be difficult. This Vajra knows how to create these armors, but doesn't have the equipment needed to make them."

"Indeed," Kuebiko confirmed. "It takes us years to even make one. Vajra could probably do more, but the whole event with his home world convinced him to restrain the use of his technology in case a similar event happened."

"I understand the reasoning," Orochimaru whispered, nodding. "So… you have limited yourself to small-scale activities?"

"We are pursuing knowledge," Kuebiko stated. "We try to find the secrets of the Infinity, and help endangered civilizations, if we can. Vajra and I believe we can one day allow sentient species to move onto another world, if the original were to be destroyed."

"Excuse me for asking, but…" Orochimaru began. "Why can't this Vajra come and help? I know you have already done much, but if he could come, he would reduce casualties."

Omoikane sighed. "Really, it's a pity Vajra isn't available, but this is a serious matter." She stared at Kuebiko. "He said he had to deal with a few problems your friends left behind, Scrap Metal. I'm afraid he's gonna be very, very busy soon enough."

"Problems?" The former Nidaime Hokage asked, as Sasori frowned. As if dealing with the legacy of an evil version of Hashirama, of all people, and having one of his main philosophies completely deconstructed wasn't enough already. "Could you explain? I am not in the mood to wait."

"Well, your friends basically damaged the Infinity."

He stopped dead in his tracks. "Care to elaborate?" Sasori asked. "How would it be possible to damage the multiverse? Isn't it reality itself?"

"How can someone manage to damage existence itself?" Kuebiko added.

"Vajra hasn't sent me all the data yet, but apparently the multiple breaches opened by your friend, Kuebiko, have weakened the barriers between a few universes," Omoikane explained. "I do not know how exactly it happened, but here it is: that Kazama's power has some shitty side-effects. Up to three worlds are in incredible danger right now."

"They are about to collapse?" Sasori guessed, sounding a little surprised.

"They're going to _collide_," Omoikane corrected, sounding annoyed. "Barriers exist between worlds for a reason, you know. And a few are dissolving, leaving whole universes on a crash course with one another… get it? Your Kazama will be very, _very _needed to solve the problem. Otherwise… trillions might die."

Kuebiko frowned. "We deal with the ANBU today, and then we shall try to locate him."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Sannin, Orochimaru<strong>_

You could hardly call this a war meeting.

His organization had a very special structure of command. They were mostly independent cells, led by a trusted officer. None knew the identity of other cell leaders, their resources, or their men. As such, when one cell is destroyed by the ANBU, the greater structure is still active.

At the same time, Orochimaru could contact them, giving them orders and offering them plans. It prevented any large assault, which would be doomed anyway, with Alpha's superweapon, and he could at best organize small-scaled attacks. But the battle of attrition had turned in his favor, the ANBU lacking manpower. Sure, elites like Five and Three were dangerous, but most clones, even if well-trained, were by no means one-man armies.

So, when he had called all the cell leaders for this meeting, after killing the few moles he had noticed and didn't see any use for, he had realized his organization was the very antithesis of the ANBU.

Whereas the ANBU's structure was almost uniform and disciplined, his cells were very irregular and didn't get along at all. Most were used to work more or less on their own, and had never learned cooperation or loyalty. He truly couldn't expect them to follow tactics.

Not that the main strategy needed it anyway, but it would have helped.

Orochimaru sighed. Sometimes, he regretted having been forced into this position. He was a scientist, and while a very good organizer, he didn't have Jiraiya's gift for motivating men and developing bonds with them. The snake enforced his rule through a little circle of followers, and by exploiting propaganda and the fear of the ANBU.

In fact, he never expected to lead the movement in the first place. He, Jiraiya, and their adoptive father Sarutobi Hiruzen were just among the many, many Shinobi hunted down for the sin of not being born with a shiny bloodline. The trio had gained a name for itself as the Sannin, and in the end, managed to organize the rebellion against the ANBU's rule. Unfortunately, when both Hiruzen and Jiraiya had been murdered by the Senju's attack dogs, he had been forced into the position of power. He thought he had done a pretty job at it all things considered, but… Jiraiya would have been better.

He truly was no storybook hero. He was, as the ANBU always loved to design him as, more akin to a terrorist leader. Always hiding like a rat, planning underhanded assaults, shooting civilians caught in middle of battles, torturing witnesses of attacks for information… he had done more than enough to safeguard the revolution.

He had to win today. He wouldn't be able to see his friends again in the Pure World without having made their sacrifices meaningful.

"This is the final battle," he explained to his gathered men, all focusing on him. His bodyguards, genuine revolutionaries, psychopaths preferring to fight against the ANBU than dying, civilians having lost their family… it truly was a strange alliance, born from fear and hate. "Today, we shall either end the rule of the ANBU, or die. No middle ground. All our forces have been mobilized for this. If anyone wants to leave, it's right now."

Nobody did.

"Good," Orochimaru nodded in appreciation. "Sasori-san?"

"The ANBU's base is located under the city itself, as you all know," he explained, opening a map he placarded on the wall behind Orochimaru. "From what our leader has gathered, it is composed of around five layers, whose size is enough to hold all of their installations. It is in essence a city-sized bunker."

"We shall create openings," Orochimaru stated. "At three points we recognized as weakly defended. Our forces shall penetrate though these points and purge the bunker of all ANBU we find inside."

"We have three main objectives," Sasori stated. "First, the ANBU commander, Alpha, is in possession of Madara's old weapon of mass destruction, codenamed _the statue_. We have no doubt she will keep it herself and use it, if she thinks the situation is lost. She is most likely hiding in the last layer, the most secure one."

"Sasori-san and I will infiltrate the layer and execute her," Orochimaru continued. "We shall move together to increase speed and discretion. The attack will be a welcome diversion. Another objective is freeing our captured companions from the ANBU jails. Kuebiko-san shall command this part of the operation, alongside his comrade Omoikane. Both are to be_trusted and respected_," he emphasized. "I have been lead to believe the jails were located in the second layer."

"I shall make it quick," the armored man stated. "After freeing our friends, we shall rush to be at your side to fight Alpha."

His female companion just nodded. "Stuff is going to blow up, so don't blame me if you don't get your asses out of the way when they do."

"Finally, we need to destroy the laboratories used to produce the clone army," Orochimaru continued. "We believe that they are located in the third or fourth layer. If we fail, at least it should cripple the ANBU for a minimum of a decade, perhaps permanently."

He then showed them two pictures. "These two are considered to be the most dangerous ANBU operatives, and need to be handled with extreme caution. The masked man is called Five, and one of Alpha's attack dogs. Lightning affinity, very fast. The woman is Three, Alpha's second in command. Powerful fire user. Both have to be killed, if possible."

He raised his head. "That should be all. The time for revolution has finally come."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The puppeteer, Chibaku<strong>_

The first time that psychotic ANBU had showed him the word _wrong _and asked him what it was, Chibaku had answered correctly. Haku's bruised face had been a good warning.

So when he had received an electroshock to the cheek, with his torturer instead pretending it was _right_, he had realized that _maybe _the guy in charge of his 'reeducation' wasn't the sanest person around.

"What is this word?" Five asked, as a picture of the word 'wrong' appeared on a crystal. "Answer with honesty."

"Screw you, obviously." Second shock. "Wrong?" Third shock. "Wrong, I said, you crazy bastard!"

At the fourth shock, Chibaku simply glared his torturer, his flesh burning. "Crazy _and_ sadistic bastard."

"Boy, boy, boy," the ANBU shook his head in displeasure. "You are a very bad liar. Hard to believe you are supposed to be my template. I guess I'm the advanced model."

"I love you too. Seriously, I'm all over you. Can you give a hug, please bro?"

"You two are seriously the most resilient, obstinate kids I ever educated," Five said, observing the two. Haku was restrained to a chair, next to Chibaku. Like him, seals were covering her limbs, preventing her from moving or using chakra. Her eyes were glaring at the ANBU with all her hate and disgust. "Most break down quickly. I guess I will have to cease being kind and use more brutal, painful methods."

"Right…" Haku whispered, before frowning, using all her power to fight back that false thought. "No… it's wrong..."

Five shook his head in displeasure. "You are a fool, girl. Why can't you accept the truth?"

"It's… not… the truth," she glared at him. "You can torture me all you want… I will never break… I will… resist. It will always stay…_wrong_."

"You are only delaying the inevitable," he snorted, unimpressed. "True, you resisted more than I imagined… yet you are slipping. If I say it's right, if Konoha says it's right, then wrong is right. Abandon the foolish thought you are sane. You aren't. You are insane. You are mentally ill. You cannot understand the truth, so you warp it to your own liking. Can't you welcome the peace of mind I'm offering you, the end of free-will?"

"I think I begin to understand why even the _other clones _think you're sick in the head," Chibaku whispered defiantly, receiving another electroshock as a punishment.

"You don't know anything about me," Five said, with a hint of anger. "You may have been shrewd enough to see Alpha's true nature, but you cannot hope to even understand mine."

"You don't even believe in what she says," Chibaku replied, "I heard you talking, bastard. You think she's a deluded madwoman, like I."

"Yes. And?" Five didn't seem very bothered. "Why can't I follow a cause I don't believe in? Countless men have done so in history for the sake of power, or out of cowardice. I am just feeding you lies and forcing you to accept them, like ideologues or doctrines like the Will of Fire. I simply made it way more painful."

"Why do you work for Alpha?" the puppeteer whispered. "Power?"

"Mmm… yes," he confirmed. "I think you can call it power. Or pain. Same thing, really."

"Pain?" Haku glared at him. "You are torturing people… because you enjoy it?"

"Took you all this time to get it, girl?" He shrugged his shoulders, as if it was no big deal. "What is power? To me it is the ability to inflict pain if others don't obey your will. Many people think power is just a means, while in actuality, it is the end of all struggle." He had a heartfelt little laugh. "I mean, don't you get it? All of history is a power struggle. We just happen to be this era's top dogs, and you are our toys. My torture is the exercise of power for power sake. Persecution is done for the sake of persecution. I relish in the power I have over you, so I abuse it."

"You are the sickest man I have ever met," Chibaku said. "At least Madara has a cause to believe in, even if twisted and frightening."

"Madara was a coward who didn't have the galls to admit his own reasons for fighting," Five shot the argument down. "All his talk about making a better world? Lies. Hashirama's words about peace? Bigger lies. Alpha's vision? Complete and utter crap. They don't have the courage to admit they're just out for power, for the ability to prove they're always right and others always wrong. I'm no hypocrite. I have the courage to admit I'm not gonna make some kind of heaven that will never come, that all that pain is for the greater good. Control and pain is all I'm after."

"You are pursuing power to abuse us?" Haku whispered in dread.

"I'm pursuing power because it means hurting humans," he replied. "Because I get to destroy minds, kill, and obliterate hope everywhere. It allows me to bring down as many of you as I can. Alpha's utopia will crumble on itself anyway, like the mad dream it is. I am just making sure as many of you suffer as possible before we are replaced by other tyrants. With luck, we clones will kill all life, and end the joke that is existence forever. If only we could leave nothing but ashes, so all of you could see this doomed world die."

"You are insane," Haku seethed. "Why do you hate us so much? We never did anything to you."

"I am after all of you originals and non-clones," he shot back. "As for why… it's payback for making me what I am and having the life I can't live. You made me, and I will unmake you."

"Making you?" Chibaku gasped. "You hate us for _letting you live_? Every time I think you can't get madder, I'm proved wrong!"

"Mad? No," Five said, before shrugging. "I can't believe I'm talking about it, but you have no idea of what the hell I go through each day. So yes, I hate you for making me. No… hate can't represent what I feel. I just want all of you gone forever. It's my sincerest wish."

"Whatever happened to you, you aren't the only one to have had it rough," Chibaku spat.

"Truly?" Five took away his mask. "Would like to look at this face in the mirror each morning, after you wake up in pain? Well… if you can s_ee _it at all, being blind and all."

It was… a horror show. The skin was charred, flesh was torn apart, and his eyes… his eyes were _completely white_. Yet, the puppeteer could still sense the vicious, potent hate inside them.

"That is the result of my birth," he explained, putting on his mask again. "My genetic code was altered so I would age quickly, and then break down before I could turn into a menace for the clans that made me. I'm barely a decade old, and I'm dying and blind. Pills halted my aging and the destruction of my flesh, but even Alpha thinks I will die within a year or two at best, with no hope of survival. Either my sickness or the pills themselves will stop my heart, and I can't do a _shit _about it."

He stared at his hands, as if he could really see them. "If I don't take pills, I lose the control of my mind, have hallucinations, go into homicidal rages… and even when I do take them, I am in oh so much pain, and I can see myself slipping toward slow, unavoidable destruction. Alpha's pity is the only reason I haven't been executed yet for killing my fellow clones in my worst moments. Instead, I am sent on dangerous missions, fighting enemies of the state, while the other clones fearfully wish I could die in one. I have neither a friend nor a family. Why would a doomed rabid dog get them? He's just expendable. Worthless cannon fodder."

He casually grabbed Chibaku's throat and started choking him. The puppeteer could feel his life leaving him. "And _every time _I come back to this worthless city, I see you originals wasting your lives doing useless things. Unlike you all, I will never be able to live to fifty. I will never have children or see them grow. Whichever goal I try, like becoming the best Ninjutsu user in the world, is worthless, as I will die without ever being able to complete it. When I do die, it will be alone, unwanted, forgotten, having failed to do anything. Like worthless trash."

He freed the puppeteer. "So, if I am to die a meaningless death, then I will take as many of you originals as I can with me. I refuse to see you experience what I have been denied from birth. I will destroy you, just like I destroyed countless others. It's the way of things. This whole world just watches us ants suffer, and isn't going to cry, no matter how much we beg for life or hope. You would do well to remember this lesson, for I learned it the harsh way. Power is the only real thing in this world, the only rule being to crave it and make it your own. I will pursue it endlessly, and use it to destroy all your hopes, just like mine were."

He left their sight. "I am no one. I have no life of my own. I am just Alpha's copy. I have no identity, and I will die a nameless number. If this is my fate, then you will all share my pain and despair. I will drag all of you down with me to my grave." The disturbed clone shrugged. "I will gather my tools and get _serious _when I return. You have been warned."

The room felt silent.

"Haku?" Chibaku asked. "Are you alright?"

"I… I'm fine," she said. "I… I resisted. I didn't break. It's wrong. _Wrong_. The word is _wrong_, not _right_."

"Yes, it's _wrong_," Chibaku nodded. "He can't break us... at least, for the moment." He rolled his eyes. "Really, Sasori is just going to drop by and save us, after mocking me. I'm used to it." The girl didn't answer. "Haku?"

"Sorry, it's just… I'm thinking about what Five said." He heard her sigh. "Will we one day see a world without pain?"

"There must be at least one," the puppeteer said, chuckling. _Now, I guess I can understand why he's so fucked up. _"Haku, that guy's story is sad, yes… but he's torturing us. No matter if we can relate to him on some level, he's still a psychopath."

"I know, but… his life is one full of sorrow," Haku whispered. "He thinks lashing out at everything is the only thing he has. I feel… pity… for him." She frowned, coming to some sort of realization. "Wait, he is almost blind, right? How can he walk so easily?"

Chibaku quickly guessed. "I think it might be linked to his powers," he suggested. "He seems good at using Lightning. Maybe he can sense electric charges or vibrations. It might be how he could tell people are lying and not believing their own words. Creepy."

An earthquake shook the room.

"What is happening?" Haku whispered, as another earthquake followed.

"It sounds like explosions," Chibaku frowned. "Is the complex under attack?"

His suspicions were confirmed the second the crystal in front of them shattered, one _very dead _ANBU sent flying through it. The attacker probably didn't know how to use a door.

Both the prisoners were left speechless when a familiar, armored man, entered the torture room. Another techno-samurai-whatever was following. "Haku, Chibaku," the man said. "I was looking for you. Are you alright?"

"Kuebiko?" Haku gasped, astonished. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving us, I guess, like all techno-samurais do," Chibaku deadpanned, as the scientist touched the two's seals, making them vanish. "And who is the new one? Sorry, but I need to know your name if I want to make a joke out of this situation."

"The name's Omoikane." _So she's a girl? Doesn't surprise me…_

"Yes," the Nidaime Hokage said. "The others and I are attacking the place. This whole complex is now a battlefield. Do you know where your equipment is?"

"I'm afraid the ANBU took everything. Petty, isn't it?" The puppeteer sighed, getting used to walking once again. Damn, it felt so good. _Kyuubi?_

_**I'm here. I think it is the first time in my entire life I'm happy to listen to your horrible, annoying voice.**_

_I hate you too. _"I guess I will have to use whatever I can," he said, creating chakra strings and making the dead ANBU move. "It's better than nothing, though I would prefer wood."

"You said others?" Haku asked, making hand seals. Senbon made of ice appeared, and she hid them under her clothes. "Sasori-san?"

"Him, and the resistance movement against Alpha," Kuebiko said. "I will explain on the way out. We need to find weapons before defenders arrive."

"I met the ANBU leader, Alpha," Chibaku said, as the trio escaped the room, running though lighted corridors. "She is completely out of her gourd, but very dangerous. Very beautiful too. Just picture Naruko with boobs and… beauty."

"Sasori and the resistance leader are attempting to take care of her, both being S-Rank ninjas," Kuebiko explained. "I am supposed to rush to their help, once you get out of danger. Any information to share?"

"She can read people's thoughts," the puppeteer explained. They were now in a dark corridor. "Her right-hand woman is called Three and looks strong, and one of her most dangerous operatives is a man called Five."

In the end, they arrived in… a very disturbing place.

It was large, and dome shaped. The walls were white, like in a hospital. The group was surrounded by computers and test tubes. Inside, there were people, in an fetal position. A few were adults, others were kids. On the ground, burned cadavers were waiting for them.

As was Five.

"You never give up, right?" He wondered out loud with his back turned. He was occupied watching a test tube, a blonde woman kept inside. "Don't you know your struggle is futile? I don't understand why you keep fighting."

"This is the clone creation facility?" Omoikane guessed, looking at the bodies on the floor. "I see we aren't the first trying to destroy it."

"It is where all of we clones are born," Five said. "Where I was born." He shrugged. "You're going to destroy them, right? All these people that have yet to be born. Why I wonder? Power? The right thing? Fun? Or maybe are you going to spare them?"

"Why do you care?" Chibaku snarled. "You yourself said the world is meaningless."

"True," the psycho replied, touching the glass separating him from the female clone. "Why bother letting them live? It would be mercy. After all, we clones are not really alive. We are copies. We aren't real people, just a mockery of life. Yet, when I sensed their heart beating, I couldn't bring myself to destroy them. Talk about weakness." He turned around. "Can you? You have come for this, right? Do you have the courage to do it?"

"It's necessary," Kuebiko stated, sounding unconvinced. "It would prevent any further conflict. It's the right thing to do in this situation."

"Truly?" The mad clone snickered. "Why do you think these creatures seek conflict? They have no concept of good and evil, they're just blank states. How can they even start a conflict? You originals have already done it time and time before, even without us clones. We are just finishing your job of destroying yourselves. Are you truly thinking you are doing the _right thing_? Will doing the _right thing _make everyone happy, I wonder? _Madara _thought he was doing the right thing too."

"You want us to spare them?" Chibaku frowned, ignoring Kuebiko's obvious discomfort. He was obviously troubled by these words. "Why?"

"Because… it's what Alpha wants," Five replied, looking at the tubes, apparently lost in his memories. "_Clones have souls, _she said. _They deserve a chance to live, _she said. _We must protect and nurture the new generation. _All that crap and Will of Fire bullshit really fried her brain cells. No matter how hard she tries to deny it, our existence has no point. We are beyond hopeless."

"Five," Haku began. "Why are you obeying Alpha? The _real _reason. You could have killed more people by working for the resistance, or just gone on your own, fighting for a cause you believe in. You _must _have another reason."

Five stayed silent a moment. "Yuki, have you ever been alone? Not alone for a few days. Truly alone. Without friend, without enemy, without family. Just yourself, with nothing more than your life?" He stared at her. "I think you have been, at least once. You and the puppeteer. This is what made you strong." He shrugged. "Then, you know what I felt, when one person gave me a purpose."

Chibaku understood immediately. "You aren't loyal to Alpha's cause, but to Alpha herself." He was… basically what they would have become, had Sasori or Zabuza been tyrants. If Haku's expression was of any indication, she understood the similarity has well. "You can't care less if she's right or wrong, or mad. You're just going to follow her."

Five nodded. "It seems I delayed you enough."

_Oh crap, _Chibaku realized, sensing chakra signatures coming. _He was just delaying us! I should have known!_

Kuebiko suddenly spun on the spot, making a single hand-seal. A wall of water formed behind Chibaku, shielding him from what looked like a fireball. The puppeteer stared at the corridor they used, from which three ANBU exited. One was that woman, Three, her hands surrounded by fire. The other two… "Guys? Is that you?" He blinked in surprise.

"Ah, the new one?" Twenty said, his red notebook nowhere to be seen. He was wielding a long, black iron rod. "Why am I not surprised? I could almost see it coming."

"Wh- What are you doing there?" Ninety asked, obviously shocked. "And with enemies, to boot?! And using the corpse of one of us?"

"Isn't it obvious? He isn't one of us, but a dangerous enemy of the state!" Three glared at the group. "We must defend our base against all invaders! Don't show hesitation and kill them quickly!"

"Sorry kid," Twenty said regretfully. "It's just our job, you realize? Nothing personal. It just has to be done."

"It must be a mistake," Ninety whispered.

"A rifle?" Omoikane snorted, looking at Twenty. "How did you asses get your hands on it?"

"It's one of our experimental, and apparently not-so-secret new weapons," he shrugged. "It can fire enough projectiles to kill you all. It shouldn't be painful."

"Hey, maybe we can make peace!" Chibaku adopted a nice guy pose and smile. "Yeah, let's make love, not war!"

If Three's shooting a fireball their direction, forcing them to disperse, was of any indication, the answer was a '_no_'.

"I will take down Five!" Haku shouted, creating a big dome of ice around herself and her opponent, cutting them off from the rest. "Good luck!"

"You too!" Chibaku replied, inwardly swearing. He didn't want to hurt Three's helpers. "I guess it can't be avoided. _Crap_. Just crap."

"I will do my best not to inflict lethal wounds," Kuebiko promised.

"I don't promise anything," Omoikane snickered. "I'm not the precise type."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Ice Lady, Haku<strong>_

"Hyoton…" Five noted. "So your clan wasn't destroyed in your home universe?"

"Five-san," Haku whispered, forming a layer of ice over her skin. She had gotten this idea watching Gaara. It would increase her chances of survival. Mirrors covered the dome's inside. "You are aware of our identity?"

"Alpha told me all about you and your friends, after she mind raped the puppeteer," he replied. "Your teacher, the only reason you lived for, is dead. Why do you still fight? To honor his memory?"

"I am trying… to find my own way to live, as he asked me to," the teen said, her ice armor finished. "Your bond with Alpha is the same as the one I shared with Zabuza-sama. Or were you lying to delay us?"

"I spoke the truth. As for bonds… I don't think you call that a bond. Does that Zabuza truly care about you? Would he sacrifice his goals for you?"

Haku hesitated for an instant. "Yes," she finally said, "He already did it, sacrificing himself for my sake."

"Good for you, because it's not my case," he said sadly. "Alpha pities me, and gave me a purpose, but she would sacrifice me in a heartbeat for the sake of her utopia, and not feel any regret. All of it, for a dream that will never come true… perhaps in another world? I am not very familiar with how this whole multiverse crap works."

"Five-san, please abandon. I do not wish to kill you."

"Funny, because that's exactly what I have in mind for you!" The ANBU screamed, his mood switching from melancholy to rage in an instant. He seemed to calm himself, disturbing Haku. "Cursed brain of mine, can't stay stable for a day without help."

"You haven't taken your pills, have you?" Haku guessed, entering one mirror. "Your control over yourself is slipping."

"The attack happened before I could," he confirmed, his fingers twitching in anger and annoyance. "It doesn't matter. I just need to kill you all. That is my mission. My purpose."

"There is a path other than death, Five-sa-"

"There is no other way!" He screamed. He had thrown his composure out of the window. "Killing you is all I can do! My whole existence is meaningless! This world is nothing in the great scheme of things! We're just monkeys trying to find hope in a world that doesn't have any! Alpha, the clones, everyone are deluded fools who will just fail and die! Improving the world? It's a waste of time! Man is just a vermin that just refuse to die, not something that can be improved! Not in this world, not in any universe! Existence should just vanish!"

Haku realized the man wasn't talking with her, but _at _her. He was shouting all his buried rage to the world. "You still have time," she said. "Maybe a medication can be found, maybe you can enjoy your tim-"

"I was born to die, you foolish girl!" He snarled. "There is no remedy to my condition! My death was engraved in my bones since the moment I was created! I just have enough time to contemplate just how worthless I and this world are! I can't even laugh at the absurdity of it all!"

"You're wrong," Haku said. "Life is beautiful, and no existence is absurd. You can be saved, you can learn about appreciating life."

"Why are you so intent on letting me live?" He asked, calm again. His body was shaking. The clone was obviously in pain and attempting not to show it. "I tortured you and your friend. I spat on you. I have killed so much that I've lost count. I'm a monster, and painfully aware of it. And you still want me to live? Why? To mock me? To punish me? How can I get you to end my misery?"

"Five-san… you are aware of how similar we are," she pointed out. "I know what it is, to think one's life is meaningless. But it is wrong. You are wrong in seeking destruction. There are thousands of ways to find meaning, even with a short life. Don't waste it on aimlessly destroying yourself and others."

"We perhaps have things in common, then you should understand I have already found my purpose," he replied. "Doing what Alpha ordered me to. Protect the base and kill you all. If I die along the way, which is all but assured… then at least I will die for something."

"I… I see," she whispered. "Have you truly made your choice?"

"Yes. Please understand." His hands lit up, being engulfed with light. "You are an ice user, right? Then I shall show you my power… the power to turn hope into despair. You will give up on trying to live."

"I shall never give up on trying," Haku promised, as a lightning bolt was shot in her direction. "I won't give into despair. I will fight to the end."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Puppet Master, Sasori<strong>_

It was extremely hard to disgust Sasori.

"We are happy," the Hyuuga woman passing by him smiled.

Having faced many horrors in his career and committed many crimes personally, it was hard to surprise him. He himself thought he couldn't be astonished by anything, after transforming humans into puppets or brainwashing people for information.

"Utopia is a perfect place," a man grinned spinning lazily a short distance away from him. "We are at peace."

But these… these _things _were on another level entirely.

"We love Alpha," mindless drones whispered. "She's protecting us. We are safe."

"No will, individuality annihilated," Sasori growled, eying the people surrounding him. He and Orochimaru had found that _Utopia_, an underground garden, illuminated by an artificial sun. And they had met its denizens. "No memory, destroyed. No soul, reduced to rubble."

"What is the meaning of this horror?" Orochimaru whispered in disgust. "This is… disturbing."

"Alpha is mad," Sasori whispered. "That is assured now." And they were supposed to fight her together. Not that he really trusted Orochimaru. It's just he had no choice, and Alpha had captured his apprentice. Nobody would get away with it and live to tell the tale.

"Truly? You are the one to talk, Sasori."

The voice belonged to a beautiful blonde woman, wearing white priestess robes. She was advancing toward them, her face serene. "Citizens of Utopia, please leave us," she whispered, the mindless drones obeying. "Now, we can talk undisturbed."

"Alpha," Orochimaru spoke. "This is the first time we meet, and the last. Your tyrannical reign ends today. I shall _make it end_."

"Orochimaru," the clone leader whispered in disgust. "You have done nothing but destroy and induce chaos. I shall end your threat to national security here and now, personally. Same to you, Sasori of the Red Sand."

"So you are the responsible of all of this madness," Sasori stared at her. "I have only question for you before I kill you: _why._"

"Why what?" She frowned. "Could you be more precise?"

"Why did you created this… abomination," the puppeteer explained. "Why did you turn those people into mindless creatures?"

"Isn't it obvious?" the priestess asked in a cool tone. Her voice was similar to Naruko's, but cold. A very disturbing image. "It was to bring peace and balance to the world. All my actions were meant to bring about the birth of a peaceful earth, where there would be no conflict, no pain, no will. A better, ideal world, where everyone would be happy."

"How is this insanity supposed to create a better world?" Orochimaru asked with wrath in his tone. "Just look at your spawns, Alpha. They are not humans anymore, only machines and dolls. You aren't bringing balance to the world, you are _destroying _it. Your clones aren't doing any better."

"We aren't destroying the world. You originals did it long ago." She replied calmly. "Madara, and later the Senju brought about the end of this world. I am trying to save what is left from their ashes. Humans cannot take care of themselves. They need us clones to find happiness. Their individuality naturally brings them to greater heights of selfishness and destruction. We clones were created to destroy, but we understood it led to nowhere. So we found ourselves another goal, another purpose, far more selfless. When all free-will shall vanish, then the world shall be united. No difference, no selfishness."

"So you are trying to destroy all individuality, and create some unanimous collective, all so you can find yourself a reason to live?" Sasori growled. "By breaking minds left and right? That's your solutions to all problems? Do you truly believe your own words?"

"Someone without empathy like you, Sasori, cannot hope to understand my reasoning," Alpha explained. "I was born with the gift to feel others' thoughts and emotions. Hashirama created me like that, so I could serve as a weapon by stealing plans from the minds of enemies. But it also helped me to understand the source of all suffering. Individuals have little to no perspective. They do not know it, when they hurt others. Our creators themselves didn't understand, when I explained them my goal. They were completely blind to others' pain… no, they were aware of it, but ignored it for the sake of their greed. But my clones understood, and followed my promise of giving them a purpose behind serving as weapons."

She shrugged. "Soon, we rebelled. Our leaders underestimated us, and we defeated them quickly and discreetly. But the masses were unhappy, vain, and foolish. So I created Utopia to give them peace. I created a heaven for them, one they can appreciate."

"At the cost of freedom and free-will," Orochmaru pointed out.

"What is the value of freedom?" she replied. "Freedom is by definition the ability to violate others' rights. Freedom is the cornerstone of all pain. As for free-will… maybe these people didn't choose to be happy, but they _are_. When people start calling themselves _'I'_, they start ignoring others for their own sake, hurting others to further their own interests. Just look at your own troops, Orochimaru. These anarchists might be united against a common enemy, but when I shall be gone, they will turn on each others. War shall be reborn anew, as will pain."

"Maybe," Orochimaru nodded. "I know the price we have to pay to earn our freedom. But if pain is the price to pay in order to live free, then yes, I will gladly do so. All the soldiers fighting at my side are ready to pay it. Alpha, your utopia _isn't worth the sacrifices you made to build it_. Millions of people had their lives taken to make its foundations. To maintain it, you lied and exterminated countless innocents. To make it eternal, you will have to break these drones' children too. Are you going to lobotomize them? Or force their own parents to break them themselves, to make your utopia self-perpetual? Are you going to get that far?"

He glared at her, when she didn't answer. "No matter how much you try to hide it… you are no better than Madara, and the people who created you. You have just perpetuated their work." He clenched his fists. "I have to stop you, before you can do anymore damage to this world than you and your predecessors already have."

If Alpha's angered face was of any indication, the snake had attacked a very sensitive point. The blonde then stared at Sasori. "And you? Are you going to attack me for a similar reason?"

"If you can read minds as well as you pretend to, then you should already know." The puppeteer glared at her. "But since it's obviously not the case, then let me be clear." He gritted his teeth, and took his breath.

"I will kill you for embodying _everything _I _despise_."

The words were simple, yet full of anger. Because Sasori was, for once, well and truly _pissed off_. "You are hypocrisy and sloth given physical form," he said. "You don't try to give others a chance to gain their own happiness through their own successes. You are simply… preventing them from growing. You trap them in an endless present without future. You not only take the easy way, but you prevent others from choosing their own path. I admit I have brainwashed people to spy for me, but I always gave them a measure of will, and never restrained their creativity. I always encouraged it. Your creations are not even puppets, just empty shells."

He spat on the ground, abandoning his usual formal behavior, just this once. "You are a hypocrite. You want to destroy all individuality, but you keep your own. You pretend to have empathy, but you do not consider others' point of view. Your paradise is built on hypocrisy and paradoxes. You pretend to be in the right and have the moral high ground, but your actions speak otherwise. I will not allow this to continue."

The puppeteer cracked his own artificial neck, to hammer the point home. "I came to rescue my student and make you pay for capturing him, but now defeating you has become a matter of personal grudge. I am not siding with Orochimaru, Alpha. I am not siding with the resistance, this world, morality, or anyone. I am siding with my own beliefs."

For a few minutes, the female clone stayed speechless.

"Truly?" Alpha finally whispered, closing her eyes. "Then a battle is-"

Sasori took the opportunity to unleash his flamethrower on her, but a barrier of purple chakra surrounded her like a shield, pushing the flames back.

"Unavoidable," she finished, ignoring the action, before finally opening her eyes once again. "I know your thoughts. It is true I cannot understand all of them, but I can predict your own tactics. You have no hope of defeating me."

"At two against one, I think we will take our chances," Orochimaru chuckled, dropping his robes. Under them, he was wearing simple black pants, his torso uncovered. "I have my trump cards."

His body suddenly morphed. Horns erupted on his head, his features became even more snake-like, and his skin turned into scales. His whole body was radiating with power.

"Sage Mode," Sasori whispered, impressed. Orochimaru had mastered this legendary ability? Astonishing. After witnessing what this power could do with the Feral Gale, the Puppet Master silently felt more confident in his odds of success.

"You were willing to discuss only to gain the time to gather natural energy," Alpha noticed, sounding a bit angry. "Underhanded, but impressive. Only a genius like you could master such power."

"Individuality has advantages," the man-snake smirked. "It allows the gifted to make use of their abilities, for good or evil. It is the essence of creativity and progress. The power to make the impossible possible."

"Fitting," Sasori commented, taking his special scroll. He unleashed ten different puppets, varied and white. "You are going to be defeated by two lone geniuses, you who want to destroy everything outside a norm. Quite the irony indeed."

"The puppets of Monzaemon Chikamatsu?" Alpha sounded well and truly surprised. As Sasori had expected, her mind reading wasn't perfect. He guessed she had troubles guessing the thoughts of people who had suppressed their emotions to the extreme, or who had a deficient empathy to begin with. She could read simple thoughts, like aggression, or names, but she probably wasn't able to read their most complex plans. "No matter. Are you doing this for the symbolism?"

A pity for her Sasori and Orochimaru had discussed more than a dozen plans to kill her even before entering her lair. There was no way they could lose.

"I am using the puppets of one genius, who opened a new path to the ninja world," Sasori explained. "A genius I and all puppeteers admire and thrive to surpass. A genius that would have never be born in your world, Alpha. Your defeat will allow a new generation of gifted people to rise, and top us in time."

"We won't be the bringers of happiness," Orochimaru conceded, "But we shall be the champions of creativity and will. We shall create a world of choice. It will be one of strife… but also one of greatness."

Alpha smiled, waving her hands in a challenging gesture. "Then I guess I will have to destroy your vision of the future. Fair enough. This shall no longer be a battle between humans, but a battle between opposing ideals. Time for me to stay true to my own."

Her chakra reserves skyrocketed in one second.

Both Sasori and Orochimaru were taken aback. Alpha was surrounded by purple chakra, like a flame. She was channeling enormous amounts of power from somewhere…

Sasori quickly raised his eyes. The artificial sun was glowing brighter, a vague humanoid shadow appearing in its center. "The statue, I guess?"

"She's absorbing the power it contains, like a Jinchuuriki," Orochimaru spat. "Alpha, such power isn't meant to be handled by a mere human! Only the Sage could wield it safely! You are going to destroy yourself!"

_**"I am aware of its price," **_she answered, her voice amplified by the power she was tapping into. Her skin was torn apart, her blood mixing with the sinister chakra and covering her completely._**"Perhaps I will die within a day. Maybe my mind won't handle the power of the Ten Tails, and will be destroyed. Maybe I will lose my mind, only the desire to protect this place and its people remaining in me. I will become the very embodiment of my ideal, the defender of peace and happiness, for my clones shall continue my work."**_

A few minutes later, Sasori and Orochimaru were contemplating an abomination. It was a black humanoid, made of mixed blood and purple chakra. Its eyes were bright, blue hazes. Its claws and fangs, cruel and almighty. Its very aura was oppressive. Its chakra reserves… were limitless. It was pure power, given a physical shape.

_**"In ancient times, the Sage sacrificed his happiness to seal the god of this world, the legendary Ten Tails, into himself." **_She seemed to smile, as her face turned into purple chakra. _**"In case it would return, he created the statue as a vessel to contain it. Madara revived the god by fusing all Tailed Beasts, and was consumed by its power. Now… with the power of the one true god at my disposal, I shall make my ideal reality!" **_Her breath turned into blue, demonic fire. _**"Let see which vision this world favors!"**_

"We shall see indeed," Orochimaru said, making hand seals. "This may be the hardest battle in your entire life, Sasori. Are you ready?"

"I am always ready," the puppeteer said. "A fool with the power of a god is still a fool, after all."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Omake: Worship Money-Sama!<strong>_

"Cease all battles!" Kakuzu ordered, exiting Eon. Hidan was following, looking humiliated. "Money-sama wants no blood to be shed, for it is a waste of money!"

"The hell?" Kubeiko blinked. "Where is Omoikane? How can you get into this universe?"

"He…" Hidan cried. "_He bribed the author_!"

"Even Kagaseo can't defeat the almighty power of Money-sama!" Kakuzu growled. "Listen! I have come to convert you all to the cult of Money-sama! Give me all your bank accounts! Without asking questions! I certainly won't steal everything on them, and it's certainly not a con to get you suckers!"

"Prove it!" Sasori said. "I need a miracle!"

Thunder fell.

_**"Money-sama shall answer this prayer!" **_A powerful voice said. _**"A miracle has been granted! All your bank accounts have been reduced to zero!"**_

"NO!"

"YES!"

_**"Including yours, Kakuzu!"**_

The bounty hunter froze. "NO! NO!" All his hearts failed him at the same moment... until he was brought back to life.

**_"No, Kakuzu, I can't allow you to die. I'm supposed to pay for my priests' funerals, and it would be a waste of money."_**

"Next time, try to find a god less greedy than you are," Hidan snickered.

**_(In another Multiverse, foreshadowing a battle of epic and ridiculous proportions between immature deities)_**

Taking a break from being nearly killed again for the sake of his master's amusement, the Feral Gale was relaxing in a field when he sensed a disturbance. Despite the fact that the teen could easily tell that whatever it was was clearly stronger than he was, he didn't bother moving from his relaxed position. "Can I help you?"

"_**Naruto. My faithful follower…"**_ A bodiless voice echoed in his mind. _**"It is I. The selfless holy one."**_

The jinchuuriki froze before going into a crouched position. "What can I do for you holy one?" He paused for a moment. "Hold on. I thought that your essence was limited to my universe Log-sama."

A log not unlike the ones that most ninja replace themselves with materialized in front of him, floating several feet above the ground. _**"I am everywhere that I am needed my child, as are all of my kin… the power of my greatness has spread throughout many stories, and even more authors have come to worship my name."**_

Naruto remained quiet before looking up. "Uh. Log-sama? Is this one of those fourth wall things that Ero-Ni occasionally rants about that some gods are supposed to be aware of… because I'm fairly certain that I'm not supposed to be able to be truly aware of it for some reason."

"_**And it is indeed a good reason."**_ The floating piece of tinder replied ambiguously. _**"However confusing you is not the purpose for my visit. I have a task for you. Soon you will encounter a believer of a false dark deity, a deity that is both corrupt and annoying…"**_

"Are you talking about that Jashin nut? Because I think I can take him without that much trouble if it's one on one at this point…" The time and dimension traveling jinchuuriki raised an eyebrow.

"_**Pfft. Jashin? Hell no. He's a pushover. I kick that pansy's ass across several worlds almost once a week for the hell of it." **_The inanimate object snorted, causing his subject to laugh nervously. _**"Your task is to destroy the follower of the deity of false monetary gain! Grind his non believing soul into the ground and make him wish he had my blessing!"**_

"I take it you are not on friendly terms with this guy's boss." The blonde sighed, wishing he could encounter a god like being that wasn't violently insane or ignorantly prideful for once.

"_**That little shit has been annoying me for centuries ever since paper currency has become the major form of exchange in more than a few universes, which physically originally came from ME. I at least pay my respects to the tree and forest gods, who by the way are also backing this request up. We need you to show up his follower to shut the prick up for once."**_

"I'll see what I can do Log-Sama." The Feral Gale bowed. "Is there anything else?"

"_**Spread my name to those that deserve my blessing. Like seeds in the wind, they will grow into mighty trees that will expand my divine protection upon all who deserve it. You are my champion Naruto Uzumaki. You are the only one I can trust this task to." **_The floating log began disappearing into nothingness. _**"Kick his aaassssss…"**_

Naruto remained quiet for several moments before sighing to himself. "… Will I ever come across a god or godlike existence that's actually mature for once?"

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: as you have seen, this chapter is mostly an ideological battle, before the start of the physical one. For those who don't remember Twenty and Ninety, they're the clones who welcomed Chibaku when he arrived in the city._**

**_Five's speeches are a tribute to 1984's O'Brien, whose lectures were always favorites of mine. Of course, Five himself is far more sympathetic. If Orochimaru and co represent the faint hope in the future, Five is the embodiment of nihilist despair such crappy world would bring about. _**

**_For Sasori getting angry, which is rare, I think anyone would have a similar reaction when facing someone who is one's complete opposite. Like two ends of a political spectrum facing in a debate, it's bound to cause sparks. _**

**_As you have seen, Orochimaru's army has a dark side too. They're light grey facing a very dark shade of grey._**

**_Also... with this chapter, Echoes is now past 300 000 words. I think it's worth a celebration. Thanks all the readers that followed and still follow this story. I think I wouldn't have continued with your support._**

**_Finally... worship Money-sama! And please review! Money-sama won't suck your bank account if you do!_**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Edit: I added a poll on my profile, throwing you a bone after multiple cliffhangers. You get to choose the order of publication of the different arcs' conclusion. The poll will be closed after the last cliffhanger is published.<em>**


	32. Chapter 29: Survival of the Fittest

**_Today, we deal with Kazama's adventure, and him and Madara getting their badass moment in the end._**

**_As ever, thanks to my betas ABitterPill and Third Fang for their help._**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto._**

* * *

><p><em><strong>TravelerOriginal Naruto: Kazama Arashi.**_

_**Puppeteer Naruto: Chibaku Arashi.**_

_**Werefox/Hybrid Naruto: Kitsune Arashi.**_

_**Female Naruto: Naruko Arashi.**_

_**Traveler Kakashi: Kamui.**_

_**Alternate Nidaime Hokage: Kuebiko.**_

_**Deceiver/Original Madara: Tsukiyomi.**_

_**Destroyer/Rinnegan Madara: Susanoo.**_

_**Warrior/Collector Madara: Amaterasu (now dead).**_

_**Female Tobi: Izanami.**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Currently, they are scattered in four worlds:<strong>_

**_Shodaime!Madara world: Chibaku, Sasori, Haku, Kuebiko._**

**_Godaime!Itachi world: Kitsune, Gaara, Naruko._**

**_Mystery world/Alternate Amegakure: Kazama, Tsukiyomi, Susanoo (where we are now)._**

**_Alive!Yondaime world: Kakashi, Yugito._**

* * *

><p><strong><em>POLL:<em>**

**_I have opened a poll on my profile. Since I am being a sadist by imposing cliffhangers, I have decided to be nice and reward you for your patience._**

**_You get to chose the order of the different mini-arcs' climax._**

**_The poll will be closed with the last cliffhanger, aka next chapter, so vote quick..._**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 29: Survival of the Fittest<strong>_

Kazama thought he would be used to failing by now.

He had failed to help Sasuke. He had failed to save Sai. He had failed at protecting his friends and family from Madara. All in all, his life was made of failures.

Having failed to help Yahiko was just the latest of a very long list of them.

"How is Nagato?" The teen asked Konan. The woman was giving first aid to the crippled redhead, sleeping on a bed. His body was pierced clean through by a dozen black spikes, and he was wincing in pain even while unconscious. The power he had used to drive away Hanzo and Yagura had taken a great toll on his body.

o. o. o.

_"Hanzo!" Nagato shouted in unparalleled rage, a humanoid monster emerging from the ground with a terrifying scream of pain. Kazama froze in place, sheer offending pressure from the creature's existence kept him from moving. The beast roared, growing a series of black spikes like roots from its stomach that impaled Nagato's back, connecting him to the beast._

_**"You want to take my spot in the food chain?" **__Yagura chuckled_. _**"Be my guest!"**_

_"Enough," Hanzo cut in, observing a crying Konan cradling Yahiko's corpse. "We are leaving. Yahiko is dead. Their spirit is crushed. I do not wish for more bloodshed on my land. Goodbye, children."_

_"Hanzo!" Nagato screamed, the monster blasting dragon-shaped light at the man, who simply used a shunshin and vanished._

_**"Stupid,"**__Yagura growled, before leaping away before the ethereal attack reached him as well.__**"I will kill you next time, prey!"**_

_Nagato screamed, and the monster dematerialized._

_A pity the spikes in Nagato's spine didn't vanish with it._

_o. o. o._

The power of the Rinnegan had a ghastly price, or so it seemed. Kazama wondered if Susanoo had faced similar problems.

"He won't be able to walk again," Konan stated emotionlessly. Her face was now trapped in a depressed state. "His spine has been crushed. I am not a skilled enough medic to remove the spikes without killing him."

The woman had lost all her usual friendliness. Her behavior was cold, her will crushed. She had spent hours holding Yahiko's hand in silence, forcing Kazama to use shadow clones to drag all of them back to the house. Unfortunately, he had no Medic-nin training, and the help he could give to Nagato was virtually non-existent.

"I…" he whispered, before turning to face Yahiko's body, waiting on another bed, "I'm so sorry. I wasn't fast enough."

"You couldn't do anything," Konan replied. "Nobody could." Suddenly, she began to cry. "Why? Why did it have to happen? We didn't want to do any wrong!"

Kazama put a hand on her shoulder. "Konan-san, some people just want to cause harm. What Hanzo and Yagura has done is unforgivable. Evil is sometimes motiveless."

"Yahiko and Nagato just wanted to help this land," she whispered. "But now, Yahiko is dead, and Nagato is crippled. Does the world want to cause pain and hate? Have we no hope of making things better?"

Kazama observed her in silence. "Konan-san, there is always hope. If my travels have taught me one thing, it's that no matter how grim the situation looks, it is possible to find a way to live on." He had fought Uchiha Madara, defeated Orochimaru, survived against impossible odds. There was always a way to turn the situation around.

"Live on without him?" Konan asked, cradling Yahiko's dead body. She kissed his cold lips, and the blonde understood they had been lovers, or nearly as close. "Why? Why can't we be happy?"

"I can't answer this question," Kazama replied calmly. Inside, however, he was aware of the answer. _**They lack the necessary power for it**_, he thought, helped by dark whispers. "But it doesn't mean you can't find happiness. You still have Nagato."

"Yagura will find and kill us, Kazama-san." The tone was flat. It was a fact. "He will never cease to track us, even without Hanzo's authorization. There is no way we won't be targeted."

Kazama took his decision at that moment. "You have one hope," he realized, before turning to leave. "I will give it to you. Stay there and cure Nagato as much as you can. I will bring you happiness."

"What are you going to do?" Konan asked. Kazama felt her eyes staring at his back. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to kill Hanzo and Yagura."

His tone was cold, determined. He had enough of failing others and himself. This time… this time, he would succeed and make things right. These people were like he had been once, good but alone. He would give her a hand, like the one he had awaited in vain during his childhood.

"NO!" Konan shouted, and she ran toward him, putting herself in the way. Her expression was one of pure desperation. "Don't leave! You're going to get killed too!"

"Konan-san," he whispered. "Please step aside. My decision cannot be changed. I will kill them, and give you a chance at happiness. I will give you a chance at improving this world." He looked at Nagato. "With his eyes, he will be able to maintain peace. Removing Hanzo is the only way things can turn for the better."

"But you can't do this!" Konan said. "I don't want you to die too!"

"Konan, it might sound strange, but I possess enough firepower to destroy them." A god's power would be enough to kill two men. "_And _I'm going to drag along the only person who can match them."

"You're going to beg _him _for help?" Konan frowned. "Why? Why are you doing this for us?"

"Because I have had enough of failing at helping the few people I care about," he explained. "People are either cowards or corrupt, but sometimes, they are good just like you. I care for you and Nagato because of that. I can't let you be crushed. I will return the kindness you showed me with Hanzo's head."

He opened the door, and was welcomed with a very familiar mask. "Uzumaki Naruto, here you are," Tsukiyomi said. "You made me run. Please, do not leave without a word ever again, it's impolite."

A masked woman was standing next to him.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Dark Mentor, Tsukiyomi<strong>_

"I understand," Tsukiyomi nodded, once the boy finished his explanations. So he had used Mikaboshi's teleportation? It meant his own pocket dimension was probably complete. Very good. "Similar events happened in our original universe."

He crossed his arms, and stared at Konan. Izanami was working on removing the spikes from Nagato's spine and healing the damage in the process, showing some prowess as a Medic-nin. Intriguing, and dangerous. Tsunade was living proof of how just how deadly medic-nins could be. "Hanzo attacked these idealists with help from Konoha, and killed Yahiko. This world's Hanzo apparently chose a different ally. The result was the same, I guess."

"What happened to them in our world?" Kazama asked, walking with the man out of the house. "Be honest."

"I am always honest," the Uchiha replied with a fake, offended tone. Blatant lies, of course. "If you want details, I will gladly give them to you. Well, first, Nagato went mad. Not as mad as Yagura or Orochimaru, but mad none-the-less. He lost all sanity, convinced himself he was some kind of god coming to make everyone share his pain. He started a civil war, killed Hanzo, and the created the Akatsuki you fought with my help. As for Konan, she never recovered from her lover's death."

"Lover?" Kazama cut in, narrowing his eyes. "So I was right? They really were together?"

"Of course," the conqueror whispered, "Passion was born of their common struggle. Misery loves company, I believe. It was beautiful, but didn't last." He snorted. "Foolish youngsters."

"Where is the foolishness in loving someone?" Kazama snapped.

"Love between _couples_ only brings pain." Madara spoke from experience, having been cast aside by his own wife. "You give all you have, but the other cannot return your sacrifice. Love is inherently flawed, a cruel illusion. In the end, when you live long enough for your lover to betray your trust, you only learn despair. Back to the important matter. Yahiko's death paved the way to many tragedies, that will accumulate. It's a fact."

"Not if I can avert them," Kazama shot back, full of determination. "If I kill Hanzo, then Nagato won't have to become a tyrant."

"Killing Hanzo will make things easier, but won't solve all problems," Madara pointed out. "The rest will be in your new friends' hands. That is, if you can defeat Hanzo at all. He beat the Sannin alone, without breaking a sweat. All three of them, in their prime, at the same time. His age and paranoia have yet to dull his skills. He's at his peak for the moment. As for Yagura, he earned the Mizukage title by defeating countless warlords on his own. Alone, you cannot win. You aren't strong enough yet."

"That is why I need your help." The words were bitter, as if they were an admission of weakness and defeat. Which it was. "I need you to make me strong. I need your help to defeat them." He bowed, apparently genuinely. "Will you help?"

"Of course I will," Madara shot back, surprising the teen. Did he really thought he wasn't taking his mentor duties to heart? "Cease to bow, it's distasteful. You realize my help has a price?"

Kazama reluctantly nodded. "What do you want?"

Tsukiyomi chuckled, and waved his hand. A table with a chess game appeared out of nowhere. "If you don't like Shogi, I would like you to try another strategy game. If you win and answer one question, I will agree to help."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Student, Kazama<strong>_

"The white strike first?" Kazama asked, looking at the game. "I admit not being familiar with it."

"Chess is a variant of Shogi, coming from lands beyond Suna." Tsukiyomi took the queen piece and touched it. "Warlords used it to mentally simulate wars. I find it as good as Shogi, as, being less versatile, it forces one to strategize. It is my personal opinion on the subject, nothing more."

Kazama nodded. "Why do you want me to play with the white?"

"I think you fit this side better."

"Care to explain?"

"White is associated with both death and light," he whispered. "It is the color of the truth, and sometimes the painful one. It can be both a promise of disaster, and a message of salvation. As the white strikes first, it is the one leading the game, and relying on surprise. I think it fits you well. Plus, there's the aggression factor."

"And you prefer black?" Kazama snickered. "Because it is associated with mystery?"

"The darkness that traps the enemy, yes," Madara nodded. "The best at adaptation too. Tell me, Naruto, which piece do you identify yourself the most?"

The blonde pondered about it for a moment. "The knight."

"Strange choice," Madara commented. "May I ask why?"

"I believe it is the most versatile, unusual piece," Kazama said. "You disagree?"

"You are more akin to the pawn, in my mind." Madara lifted his hand, as the blonde glared at him. "You begin as the weakest piece, but you have the biggest potential. If you reach the end of the chessboard, you will become the queen, the strongest of all pieces and the keystone to countless victories. Your little copy Naruko is similar, but I think she might become a tower instead. She lacks the maturity to make full use of her potential. Of course, nothing is set in stone."

He pointed at different pieces on the chessboard. "Sasori and his little apprentice are the real knights. Hard to predict, subtle, able to get past any defense and strike in the back. Zabuza and that sand lady are the towers, powerful, but whose actions are predictable. The rest of your team is composed of bishops, who traded power for versatility and skills."

"And who are you?" Kazama shot back. "The queen?"

"I am afraid not," Madara shook his head, "From the way I behave, I am more suitable to be a knight. Susanoo is a tower, and the embodiment of predictability. Amaterasu was a bishop. His strength wasn't where people thought it was."

Kazama guessed what it meant. "His true power isn't in strength, but in his hidden talents." He remembered something odd in the sentence. "Was?"

"Amaterasu is dead," Tsukiyomi dropped the bomb, "Killed during our last battle by Zabuza, most likely at the cost his life. I doubt he survived the wounds inflicted on him by my counterpart."

"Zabuza… is dead?" he paled, unable to accept it. But Madara would have no reason to lie on the subject. The man was so strong and stubborn, but taking Amaterasu down needed such sacrifice. The irony. He had died taking his enemy with him, like in his original world. His death truly saddened the blonde. "I see. He was a good man."

"You were right on Amaterasu," Tsukiyomi switched subject. "His true power was in his mind. With his power, he could have won any battle if he went all out, but he favored skill over brute strength, unlike Susanoo. It made him more akin to a bishop than a tower."

Kazama guessed why Madara was talking about pieces analogies. "The true question is: who is the king."

"Exactly," the masked man nodded. "All battles, all struggles, all nations have a king. It is the cornerstone of them all. Losing the king means losing oneself. Who do you think the king is, in your ragtag clan? And who is the king in my own side?"

Kazama pondered. Naruko? He wanted to protect her, but her loss wouldn't destroy the whole team. Sasori? No, he had strategy, but the clan would go on without him. Himself? No, the clan wouldn't shatter if he were to die. They would just change goals. Who-

His eyes widened. He had realized he was wrong from the start. The question wasn't who, but _what_, was keeping the clan from falling apart. "It's our bonds," he whispered. "It's our familial bond that keep us from losing."

"Correct answer," Madara nodded. "And what is my king?"

"Your vision," the blonde guessed. "When you will lose your faith in your common vision, your group shall fall apart."

"Exactly. Do you understand now, what the king is?"

"It's not always a person, it can be a concept," Kazama whispered. "A dictatorship's king is the dictator himself, or rather, the power and order he embodies. A Hidden Village's king is the nation itself. A clan's king is the family blood. A family's king is the familial love. In the end, the king is what we believe in."

Madara chuckled. "Congratulation. You have just won the match."

"But we didn't even began!" Kazama snapped, before calming himself. "Your goal never was to fight."

"No, the goal was making you _think_," Tsukiyomi explained. "It is my sincerest belief great people fail because they do not know what to believe in. Now that you know what is the king you have to protect, you will find strength in yourself, and you shall strategize better to defend it. An aim is always needed to improve." He raised his lone Sharingan, which crossed gaze with Kazama's own eyes. "Of course, it all leads to a question. Who do you think is Ame's king?"

Kazama thought about it, and then paled in realization. Hanzo. He was the one keeping things from falling apart.

"Yes," Tsukiyomi said. "You remove Hanzo from power, and the whole country collapses into a civil war. Currently, we are in the middle of a world war. Hanzo's power is the only barrier between this land and invaders. Ame's army is not very competent, the economy is ruinous. Hanzo is a one-man army, powerful enough to intimidate enemies and keep them at bay. You remove him, and all of Rain will suffer. Not only these two, but thousands. And let's not talk about Hanzo's loyalists, placed at all the echelons of the power command."

Kazama clenched his fists. "Do you imply my plan is doomed from the start? That I should let him and Yagura get away with their crimes?"

Tsukiyomi chuckled and quickly corrected him. "It is doomed if you don't have a good plan. May I serve as your tactical adviser?" He showed him two fingers. "You have two options. First, you assassinate Hanzo discreetly, kill everyone related to him and replace them by your own men. It's what Nagato did in our homeworld, and eliminating all the loyalists took a civil war. Of course, it includes killing entire families. I guess you don't want to do it?"

"Never," he replied. Madara might be willing to sink that low, but there had to be another way. "What is the other solution?"

"You kill Hanzo in such a way the entire ninja world will be scared of the new leadership for decades." The Uchiha took the king piece, and crushed it with his fingers. "As I said, Hanzo is a one-man army. If someone defeats him in a public fight, shows the entire ninja world he isn't the top dog in Amegakure anymore, and that the new leaders can and_will_kill anyone threatening them, then fear will keep peace."

He touched the pawns. "The loyalists will chose their life over dedication to a dead lord, and those who are willing to backstab the new leadership will wait before acting, allowing Nagato to remove them slowly and painlessly. The other nations will wisely decide angering someone stronger than Hanzo is not a good idea and adopt a 'let-see-what-follows' view. If Nagato shows no will to cause troubles for the main powers, then Ame will be left alone. Hanzo has no real ally among them, so one won't decide to avenge him. Isolationism has some bad effects."

"And Yagura?" Kazama asked. "He will die, it's non-negotiable. I can't allow that monster to continue his atrocities. Would Kiri react badly?"

"Let's be honest. No one in Kiri will miss Yagura and his crazed policies," Tsukiyomi stated bluntly. "Virtually nobody is loyal to him save the Blood Police, his personal army. The ninjas of Kirigakure will get rid of them very, _very _quickly once they learn of Yagura's demise. Ruling through strength means leaving no lasting legacy. The most likely, no, certain, scenario is the coming into power of the seven swordsman of the Mist. Having no tyrant to remove, they will drop the coup d'état they planned for years and take over peacefully. I believe Kiri might even be grateful to Amegakure and Nagato. Of course, it won't prevent them from attacking them during the next war should the opportunity present itself. It's how politics work in the ninja word."

Kazama nodded, observing his side of the chessboard. "So, we are going to fight side by side. If someone had told me it would happen a week ago, I would have most likely punched them in the face."

"Change is the essence of life, Uzumaki Naruto," Madara commented. "Improving is the key to success." He crossed his arms. "Now, the question I had to ask. Why?"

The world wanderer raised his eyebrow in confusion. "Why what?"

"What convinced you to help them? What convinced you to let go your inhibitions and ask for my help, not reluctantly this time? I can sense the bitterness in your words, but I thought you would rather go face these two alone than rely on me more than you already do."

The blonde breathed heavily. "I… the current events made me come to a realization. First, my meeting with Namikaze Minato, and second, what happened with Yagura." He stared at the Uchiha lord.

"I have seen people at their lowest. You are right, the vast majority of us do not deserve to live. They're corrupt, selfish, or completely ignorant. It took me a long time to get it. If they are to die, they will die." He smiled. "But, for nine bastards out there, there is one good person. My family, a few people I have crossed paths with, now these orphans from Ame. But the world just spat on them, even if they deserved better."

He stared at the rainy skies. "The world is unfair. And Yagura made me realize why. It's because the wrong people have power and the good don't. As the ones who have power, they decide what if fair or unfair, finding any justification for their behavior. They decide to sacrifice us for their own vision, like my father, uncaring of what we go through. Yagura doesn't even need a justification. He just relishes in the power he has over others."

The blonde stared at his hands. "What happened to Yahiko was the last straw. It was stupid of him to trust Hanzo, but the reason was laudable: he thought being good could lead to results. And Yagura is probably going to finish off Yakiho's friends just because he can."

He sighed. "I'm tired of seeing the few good people this multiverse has to offer go through pain. So, I will gain power to give them a brighter future, like the one I should have had. If might makes right, then I shall become the mightiest of all and enforce justice. I will protect my loved ones and destroy those who threaten them." _Including you, _was left unsaid. "For that, I need as much power as possible. And to become the strongest and make things fair… I need your help."

He could almost see the smile behind the man's mask. "My, my, you have chosen well. I'm proud of you. Alright, I will help you. And give you power." He rose up. "I need to gather intelligence to develop a strategy. I will return in a few hours. Meanwhile, prepare to leave. We won't come back until we are finished."

He teleported, space twisting in his wake.

Kazama rose up too, and walked through the deserted village, as rain began to fall. _The country is mourning its dead, _he thought, remembering Konan's own words. _Or is it sad, for the blood that shall be shed by my hand?_

"Ne, is Naru-kun sad?" It was the masked woman Madara had brought. Her tone was rather childish "'Naga-kun is cured. He won't walk for a while, but he will. Nami is a good medic. Learnt that to kill villains, but still!"

"Thank you," he said with a bow. She seemed rather nice for an ally of Madara. "Your name is Nami? Happy to meet you. Are you… an alternate version of _him_?"

"_Iza_nami," she emphasized, as if he was some kind of slow-thinking child. "Nami is not Madara-senpai. Nami is a good girl, even if bad girls are _so_ much more fun, and you're a good boy." She gave him a tap on the ass, much to his shock. "Better remember it."

"What the-" _Where the hell did Madara find her?_

"Ne, are these whiskers?" Izanami asked, pinching his cheeks. The blonde was too surprised to react calmly. "They're cute! Are they makeup? Does it mean you're a fox?"

Reddening a bit, Kazama gritted his teeth. "Is it so funny to tease me?"

"Of course," she replied, her tone less childish. It was a playful tone, but an adult's one nonetheless. "You are quite cute when you are embarrassed. Has no one ever teased you a bit?"

"It was never funny," he snorted, quite amazed by the sudden change in personality. It was almost jarring.

"Cheer up," she chuckled, releasing his cheeks. "I mean, you truly need to become more optimistic. Acting like that all the time will make people want to go sulk in a corner. It makes me want to comfort you the best I can, so I will tell you a little secret."

She approached, her mask a hair's breadth from his ears. "I'm on your side, not on his."

Kazama gasped in genuine surprise. "What?"

"If he plans to harm you, I will do my best to help," she whispered. "You can count on me when the time comes." She took a leap back. "So keep hope. You aren't alone."

She vanished, teleporting away.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Dark Mentor, Tsukiyomi<strong>_

"You didn't tell me your apprentice was Uzumaki Kushina's son."

Tsukiyomi shrugged, ignoring the woman. "Why should I have?" They were in a dark corridor without light, tunnel under a mountain far away from man's land. "You didn't ask for his identity. Why does it bother you?"

"Point taken, Tsukiyomi-sama. It was a surprise. I am a bit intrigued. Is he necessary for the plan?"

_What does she have in mind? _"You dislike my apprentice? I can affirm he is a fine lad with a lot of potential."

"Not at all." Her tone was flat, emotionless. "I trust your judgment. I-"

"You should cease to lie to us, for you are fooling no one."

Izanami didn't have the time to react, as Susanoo impaled her from behind with a black spike, not having even fully materialized yet. The woman fell on the ground, much to Tsukiyomi's surprise. The two Uchiha Madara stared at each other.

"I found our counterpart's body hidden in her lair, or rather, the pieces of him." Susanoo's voice was flat, cold. "He had been dismembered, probably with a sword, according to my examination. She probably killed him herself."

Tsukyomi nodded. "I knew something was amiss, as she didn't bring our counterpart back with Edo Tensei, even if she obviously could."

"No way I would have ever resurrected that misogynistic bastard."

Both Uchiha Madara narrowed their eyes and stared at Izanami's body. She had discreetly crawled a few meters away, and her previous wound was nowhere to be seen. "Since when did you suspect me?"

"Since the moment I saw you," Susanoo replied calmly, raising his hand. "Now, be gone, shadow. Shinra-"

Izanami simply snapped her fingers, and a coffin sprung from the ground in less than three seconds, opening before Susanoo could finish his sentence. Tsukiyomi instantly recognized the body inside, and paled behind his mask. "Impossible." With _that_, she could rival them both. Susanoo's twitching fingers told him he had recognized the summoned dead as well.

"I may not be able to kill you two together with it," Izanami chuckled, "but I will more than likely be able to at least take one of you with me. Are you truly willing to start a fight, or can we negotiate as equals?"

"I never deal with betrayers," Susanoo spat. "I have been betrayed enough myself." The reaction actually made Tsukiyomi uneasy. Was he saying that to instill a fake sense of security in him?

Izanami seemed to shrug. "Your counterpart betrayed me first. He had planned to cast me aside because I was a woman and too weak for his liking. He wanted to replace me with another genius he had found, thinking I wasn't aware of it. I took him by surprise, chopped his body into pieces and took over. I would have liked to enslave him. Unfortunately, he had taken precautions to break free from the Impure Resurrection, should he be brought back with it. He was too careful, and fortunately too arrogant."

Of course they had no hope of confirming her version, and the woman was completely aware of it. "Why were you pretending to be loyal to him?" Tsukiyomi asked. "For an opportunity to stab our backs?"

"Actually, I did it for my own amusement," she laughed with a hint of something that was neither madness nor sanity. "Making you underestimate me was a secondary goal. I needed to gather as much information as I could on you two as possible. By my experience, servants tend to be considered too harmless not to be trusted. I'm sure you understand."

_Cunning. I like that. _"What do you intend to do now?" Susanoo asked. "I suppose you had no intention of following the Moon Eye's plan?"

"Offering you an alliance." It surprised Kazama's mentor, and he glared at her in distrust. "Your appearance and your apprentice's ability allow me to reevaluate my plans. I abandoned the Moon's Eye long ago. Fortunately, my goals are compatible with yours."

The Rinnegan user snorted. "And what is your goal?"

"I want to lay waste to the whole multiverse," Izanami replied, without a hint of madness in her eyes. "I want to cause chaos and death everywhere I go. With your help, I can now do it on a far larger scale than I had ever anticipated. Why? Because I want to spit on the gods for taking from me everything I had. Our goals might be different, but our actions shall result in destruction everywhere. That is a sufficient reason to work with you."

_She's completely mad. Or sane, but extremely bitter. Or she's lying through her teeth. Probably the latter, but I can't be sure._"If we refuse, you will sic your dog on us?"

She touched the coffin affectionately. "Of course. I only need a thought to have him attack you. You might win, or I may get out of it alive, leaving your corpses to rot in this cave. Why take such risk? We can share our resources, and everyone will benefit from it. A win-win deal between equals."

Tsukiyomi crossed gaze with his counterpart, and read his thoughts on it. _We have no choice. Let's keep her back in sight. _The downsides of refusing outweighed the benefits. "We work together as equals," Kazama's mentor whispered. "However, keep your dog out of our sight. The second you try to backstab us, you will die. Don't think we can be killed by anyone easily."

Izanami stayed silent a moment. "Do you truly think you two can kill me?" Her tone was incredulous. "If you truly are immortal, then I am undying. Nothing short of a god can kill me." The coffin containing her ace vanished, and she went past them with an attitude of regal confidence. "Now come. We are almost near what you came here for in the first place."

As she put distance between them, the two Uchiha Madara locked eyes. "Tsukiyomi, you do realize we are sure to win if we fight together? He is not at his peak in this state and he doesn't have his Bijuu."

"I am, yet avoiding a fight would be better anyway," he replied. "Keep your allies close, and the enemy even more so. She would be easier to predict and kill after we gathered everything about her abilities." _I guess it will prevent any infighting. Two are needed to defeat one. Balance is restored… but for how long?_

The Rinnegan user nodded. "I guess I can drop the idea of undying Paths of Pain…"

They continued the travel in silence, reaching the deepest cave.

The statue was waiting for them, a scroll in its hands.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Traveler, Kazama<strong>_

"Kazama-san," Nagato stated, still laying on his bed, unable to move his limbs. "Please, change your mind."

"My decision is made," he answered sternly but gently, standing next to the man. Izanami had apparently told the truth and repaired the spine somehow after removing the spikes. The blonde had taken possession of them, and placed them in a sealing scroll. The Shinobi couldn't be sure if the woman had been completely truthful, he had little to no experience with medicine. "You cannot change it."

"You can't!" Nagato snarled, gritting his teeth in anger and pain. "Why are you putting your life in danger for us?"

The blonde shrugged. "Is that truly that exceptional to assist people in need of help? I decided to, and so I do."

"Kazama… I…I… thank you," Nagato hesitated with a dry mouth, with a hint of shame. "I was wrong to distrust you. Pardon me for my earlier actions. You didn't deserve it."

The blonde grinned. "It did me more good than harm on the long run." He prepared to leave. "Now, time to show Yagura he isn't the world's top dog."

"Kazama-san," Konan interrupted him, holding clothes in her arms. "Before you leave, I would like to offer you something. Could you wear this during your fight? It's the proof we are friends."

He took the clothes, and narrowed his eyes. It was the Akatsuki's cloak. "I will," he promised. _If someone had told me I would one day wear the organization's uniform… _"And thank you, for the friend part."

She smiled sadly. "Promise me you will return. And mean it."

"I promise," he said, leaving the house. Outside, he put the cloak on and waited for Tsukiyomi to appear.

Which he did, twisting space as he normally did whenever he teleported with Izanami next to him. He gave into a heartfelt laugh the second he noticed his cloak. "I hope you noticed the irony?" He was carrying a huge black scroll. "If you declare your intention to capture all Bijuu and take over the wo-"

"No," he cut in, gritting his teeth. He stared at Izanami and gave her a polite short bow. "Izanami-san."

"Naruto-san," she replied with a reverence. "You look better than you used to."

"I took your advice to heart," he replied with a smirk, and gazed at the scroll. "What is it?"

"Oh, just your ace against Yagura," Tsukiyomi explained casually, teleporting the three of them to their training ground before continuing. It was almost unnerving how used to the sensation Kazama was already. "Are you familiar the food chain concept? Then learn Bijuu aren't at the top of it. They have a predator. And this is its summoning scroll, which we obtained thanks to Nagato."

Kazama's jaw dropped. He stared at the scroll, then at Tsukiyomi to see if he was joking, switching for Izanagi, who shrugged. Realizing it wasn't a ploy, he gazed at the scroll again. Finally, he remembered the only thing he had seen Nagato summon since arriving at that world. "This is the summoning scroll for that _monster_?"

"The complete term is 'demonic statue of the outer path', or Gedo Mazou for short. It is a Bijuu-capturing device, with a life of its own. Are you familiar with the legend of the Sage of the Six Paths?"

"The creator of the ninja world?" Kazama nodded, remembering the few lessons he had listened to back in the academy. "He created ninjutsu."

"When the world was still young, he fought a demonic being of godlike power, and won thanks to the Rinnegan, a powerful Dojutsu granted by the gods themselves," Izanami began, with a lecturing tone. "To keep it from returning, the Sage split it into nine beings of varying strength, the Tailed Beasts."

"… the Tailed Beasts have a _mother_?!"

"They are fragments of a single entity," Tsukiyomi nodded, unfazed by his student's outburst. "He was afraid for some reason or another, that they would merge together again and destroy the world, this time without him to stop it from happening. So he… became quite involved with the opposite sex, hoping one of his descendants would inherit his Dojutsu, and created the Gedo Mazou, before sealing it deep under the earth. Only a Rinnegan user could summon it back, and your friend Nagato did it quite recently."

He opened the scroll, with only the name of Nagato written on it. "The Gedo Mazou then returned to the Sage's old lair, which I had rediscovered after extensive researching, waiting to be used. Since there was a risk that the Rinnegan summoner might not stay alive long enough to defeat the united Bijuu, it was brought back with a summoning scroll."

Izanami chuckled. "Of course, the risk the device would be used for selfish purposes was even bigger. With enough attempts, it might even allow a summoner to access the Tailed Beasts' chakra stored inside, allowing for the summoner to become akin to a living god. Hence, there is a price to pay when it is used. The Gedo Mazou will devour the life of a non-Rinnegan master with each use. Hence, neither of us can do it."

"Nagato has the Rinnegan," Kazama pointed out, remembering what the statue had done to him. "It almost crushed his spine."

"I was also surprised when it happened," Tsukiyomi admitted. "My personal theory is that the chakra receivers embedded on his back were supposed to allow for greater synchronization between them. I believe is possible for a Rinnegan user to use the statue without them, but harder. I cannot confirm this, for Nagato never used the statue for offense since its first summoning back in our world. We can understand why now."

Kazama glared at his mentor. "Madara, I have no Rinnegan. Isn't the Gedo Mazou going to kill me if I try to control it? Unless… unless you believe the seal will protect me?" He scratched the back of his head, pondering about it. "Since it was made to be used for a man with divine power-"

"You qualify." Izanami narrowed her eyes, obviously understanding she hadn't been told everything about the blonde. Madara signed the scroll, and then handed it to his student. "We will be sure during the first summoning. We will see how the statue reacts to you. Write your name with your own blood. I am aware of your contract with the toads, even if you cannot summon them. When you sign a contract with another party all the previous are broken, but since the toads are useless to you there is no point in retaining your connection to them. Do not worry about it."

"Why did you sign it, if you can't use it?" The blonde wondered out loud, before realization hit him. "It can't be turned against you now, right, even under my command?"

"I am a careful man," he confirmed. "The temptation for you to do it would be great."

Kazama stared at the scroll. Was he ready to gamble his life on it? _Yes, _he thought, biting his index and writing his name on the paper. _It can't be worse than the Kyuubi's chakra anyway. Except this time, I am informed of the risks. _Once done, he turned around, made the necessary hand-signs, and slammed his bloodied hand on the ground.

In a cloud of smoke, the monster appeared, towering over the two ninjas. It was a truly hideous giant, with a vaguely humanoid shape, with spike shaped protrusions on his back. It had nine closed eyes, yet it seemed to stare at the duo, its maw opened widely.

"Er… hello," Kazama said with a little nod, as the monster said no word. "I'm your summoner."

No answer. It didn't even move. The blonde frowned. "Can you sit?" It didn't even blink. "Hey, do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Strange. Try sending a mental order," Tsukiyomi advised.

_Sit, please, _the wanderer thought with all his will, without an effect. "What is happening?"

"I honestly have no idea," Madara replied, sounding truthful. "This wasn't supposed to happen. You should have gotten a reaction. A twitch at the very least." After a minute of contemplating, he shrugged. "I think the problem doesn't lie in the Gedo Mazou. It lies in you." He sighed. "Somehow, the Gedo Mazou doesn't think you as worthy of commanding it."

For a few seconds, Kazama said nothing. Unworthy? Why unworthy? "What do I lack?" He pondered out loud.

"I cannot answer," the Uchiha replied. "Have no worry. It is problematic, but not crippling. If Yagura unleashes the Sanbi's might, use Nagato's black spikes. They should siphon its chakra like sponges."

"I am sure it will be a solved problem in time," Izanami comforted the blonde.

Kazama smiled at her, staring at his mentor next. "What do we do now?"

"Simple," Tsukiyomi chuckled. "We try perfecting your fire techniques. You will need them tomorrow, when we assault the capital."

"Tomorrow?" Kazama gasped. "But I am not ready!"

"You underestimate yourself," Tsukiyomi chuckled. "In term of power, versatility and skills, you are a solid candidate for the S-rank league, though admittedly among the lower ranks. If you put your mind into it and fought intelligently, you could probably defeat Yagura. At least, unless he transforms into the Sanbi. Your defeat would be no doubt in that case, so quickly impale him with Nagato's spikes. It will to prevent the transformation. Killing him quickly is your only hope of decisively beating him. As for the time of the attack, it has to be tomorrow. Hanzo is making a big speech in front of the ambassadors of the hidden nations at that time - although prisoners would be a better word to describe them- on how Ame is now allied with Kirigakure against Konoha. Yagura will be present as well."

"If they are defeated then, the entire world will know it in less than a week," Kazama understood. "Why would they accept a fight, instead of simply calling an army of guards on us? As heads of nations, it's well within their power to do so."

"Good guess," Tsukiyomi flattered him. "You are becoming more cunning and careful with each passing day. Any other Kage would indeed refuse our challenge. Fortunately, those two are a special case."

"Naruto-san, Hanzo rules by strength alone," Izanami pointed out. "If he isn't secure in his might enough to refuse a duel, other countries will take it as a sign he isn't what he was. He cannot allow that to happen. As for Yagura-"

"He will never say no to a power contest." The blonde smirked. That self-proclaimed ultimate predator would never see it coming. "So, it will be I and you, Madara? Against those two?"

"With all of the world as spectators," he chuckled. "You cannot hope for a more epic setup. I would have liked to bring allies along, but it would give our opponents an excuse to refuse our challenge or bring in wildcards that he had not planned for. Izanami will stay undercover as support, in case the situation were to deteriorate."

"You will just have to shout my name, Naruto-san, and I will come," the woman promised.

"I will fight Hanzo in a duel, and you Yagura. Or the other way around." Tsukiyomi eyed him. "Your choice. Both are just as dangerous as the other. Hanzo may lack the Sanbi's power, but he is, at this point, the equal of Namikaze Minato. Your fighting style would be better against Yagura, in my humble opinion."

"It shall be him," Kazama nodded. "Only a former Jinchuuriki can beat another, right?"

Izanami put her fingers on her mask, apparently taking good note of the statement.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Salamander, Hanzo<strong>_

Amegakure's monument to the fallen had a new name.

It was as showy as Konoha's. It was a wall made of black, enduring stones, before which people could gather and read the names of the land's heroes. For now, Hanzo was the only one present, having made a point about carving names himself, with his good old kusarigama. The names included war heroes, fighters who were tortured rather than betraying Ame, and respectable people who died trying to do the right thing.

Yahiko belonged to the last category, and as such deserved a mention on it.

"You foolish youngster," Hanzo cursed. "You had a life before you. Why did you have to be a fool one time too many? Couldn't you just live peacefully with your girlfriend and have good sons to take care of you when you would be old?" The old shinobi had none. He had forsaken all hope of a legacy by giving his soul to the Rain.

He was completely aware Yahiko's ghost wasn't listening, of course. He was just voicing his own thoughts. "I kept track of the villages you and your little group helped. Quite the impressive number. I had learned about your open criticism of my policies, you know? But I ignored you. You were a good man, and good men aren't killed for voicing their opinions." He sighed. "Then you had to talk with Konoha's scum, thinking I wouldn't learn about it."

The samurai snorted. "I didn't believe my spies at first. I told them 'Yahiko is a good son of his country, a proud Ame-nin. That can't be him'. Then they showed me letters you exchanged with the tree-huggers. One of your messenger was in my pockets since the very beginning. He worked for the country, first and foremost. Like me. We can't trust the Great Nations. They have invaded us countless times, before I came and scarred them away. Namikaze won't be able to change them. In the ninja world, there is no place for morality."

He stared at the various names. "I'm… what, sixty? I killed my first man at thirteen. More than forty years on the battlefield teaches you things. When you see a village burned to the ground by the enemy, when you see your first comrade die from a kunai through the chest, you promise yourself it won't happen again. And when it does, you either kill yourself or you retreat into yourself and keep going. I never surrendered. My country was weak, whereas… whereas I was strong. I was the mightiest, the fastest, the best. A samurai in shining armor that people dreamed of. But then, I got into power."

He spat on the ground. "You really thought I wasn't aware people were hungry? I'm made to fight and make battle tactics, not deal with crops. For all my prowess… I'm a poor ruler. Yagura… I'm aware of what he is, but Kiri's help will allow me to give Ame's citizens rations. It's not much but it's the only thing I can do for now. You might criticize me for allying with the Mist. I… I was forced to compromise. The time I could avoid my problems is over."

He stared at his crumpled arm. "I'm getting old Yahiko. One of my favorite pastimes is to cut the rain drops with either my sickle or my katana. A hundred per morning, to practice my swing. I never missed. One year ago, I missed once. At the time, I thought nothing of it. The following months, I began to miss more and more. This morning, I missed ten times out of a hundred. My reflexes aren't what they used to be. No man beat me, but age will in time."

Hanzo sighed. Realizing since his waning had started it had been a powerful blow to his confidence. "I'm not the man I used to be. I can sense my strength leaving me. Sarutobi and Onoki must feel that way as well. Unlike them, I have no strong successor to take the mantle. Even your friend with bright eyes, he won't do much against Konoha's armies. Kiri was the only nation that could support Ame without invading it along the way. When I'm finally gone, Ame will get some measure of peace, all its enemies crippled around it. I did what I had to do, Yahiko. I never enjoyed it in the slightest."

The Salamander stared at the wall one last time. "I will make your sacrifices meaningful. All of you, I promise. I will keep this land safe, even with my last breath."

"Nice speech," Yagura's voice reached his ears, much to his displeasure. "Why attach yourself to a weakling? He died for you to live. Prey are better to be forgotten."

"I am no animal," Hanzo replied with disgust. "I mourn a son of my country. His intentions were misguided, but he had its wellbeing at heart."

"Who cares? He's dead. If one dies, then he's too weak to survive in this world. The strong endure. The strong doesn't need to weep for the weak. You're strong, you had the right to have them killed. It's the law of nature."

Hanzo clenched his fists. "I am to protect the weak and keep the peace. It is my purpose."

Yagura spat on the ground. "Just look at the herd you call subjects. They're sheep, weeping like cowards, expecting the wolves to back down before their tears and the shepherd to save them. They can't understand what the strong are doing. They have no sense of gratitude. Protecting them is stupid, Hanzo-san. You better toughen them up and allow the few rams hiding among them to grow."

He laughed. "As for peace, what is peace? A time where kids are multiplying like rabbits and crops are better? Where armies aren't raiding villages? It's a stupid idea the herd dreams of, for it gets thrown out of the window the second one wolf decides it's meaningless and slaughters the sheep. And he was in the right."

"And civilization crumbles," Hanzo pointed out. He couldn't believe he was actually arguing with this madman. "We'd become no more than beasts."

"Civilization is a lie," Yagura chuckled. "Didn't you realize it, once on the battlefield? It's where mankind drops the mask and revels in its true nature, Hanzo. Civilization is regression, the cowards' victory over pure nature." He extended his arms. "My goal is to peel away that façade and purify my species through violence. You are its living proof. A wolf having risen among weaklings, whose potential was awakened through pain and destruction. Like me."

Hanzo glared at the demon vessel, and spoke his mind. "I am _nothing _like you."

The Mizukage simply laughed some more. "Truly? It is my belief we both started out the same. We were misguided by foolish ideals. We wanted to save the weak, as we were strong." He grinned madly. "Can you imagine that my dream had always been to become Mizukage? To prove we demon vessels were saviors and not devils?"

His face twisted into rage. "They kept badmouthing and hating me. No matter if I died or not, I was just considered a trained animal. And then, dear Isobu opened my eyes. There was nothing wrong with being a beast. It's our nature, no matter how hard we try to repress it. War and battle is fun and good. Bloodshed is natural. Violence makes the strong stronger, and the slaughtered weak cannot pollute our genes. Bloodlines are an impurity. They make ninja lazy. Failures must be crushed, the peaceful will be slain without resistance."

The Mizukage stared at the rainy skies. "When this world shall be red with the blood of the weak, the sick, the elderly, when the skies will cease to cry for us, mankind shall break free from the chains of morality and civilization. It shall embrace its role as the ruling predators. Our genes will be purified, and we shall be ready to fight everything nature put on our way!"

At that moment, Hanzo realized his ally just might be a little too crazy for his own good.

A few hours later, clad in his shining blue armor, the Salamander arrived in his 'throne room', a large circular enclosure with white walls, one door, with only one circular table. He didn't consider himself a Daimyo, sitting on the floor as any samurai should. It was simply the room where he received either his close allies or foreign dignitaries.

Today, he was receiving the latter.

"Welcome," he told the gathered men and women, one ambassador for each nation, sitting before him. The ruler of Ame rarely did it, in fact. He had always maintained a strict stance of neutrality and isolationism. That was about to change. "Thank you for accepting my invitation." None had a choice of course. "Especially you, Yagura-san."

"The pleasure is all mine," Yagura smirked, making the other ambassadors well and truly uneasy.

"As you all know, Amegakure has always been neutral in all conflicts, ever since my rise into power." He rose up, staring above all dignitaries, and glared at Konoha's ambassador, a Hyuuga man he never bothered to memorize the name. "However this changed the second Konohagakure attempted to treacherously destroy my land by assassinating one of our proudest ninjas, Yahiko, after he refused an alliance to take over Amegakure."

The lie was horrible, yet would serve a double purpose. It would save Yahiko's reputation, making him a martyr, and give a convenient pretext to declare war on Konohagakure. The announce shocked everyone. "What?" The ambassador from Leaf gasped in equal and massive amounts of confusion and fear.

"As such, I have decided to declare war on the Land of Fire, alongside the Mizukage Yagura-san," the samurai continued, ignoring the whispers in the assistance. "Our armies shall fight together to destroy the treacherous Leaf, in memory of our dead son. For our country lost a son because of Konohagakure." At the point, it was the perfect time to strike. The other neighborhoods nations were weakened, their armies far away. Nobody would attack Ame during the 'burned tree' campaign…

"No. It lost a son because of you."

Hanzo felt his blood freeze in his veins, as two people materialized on the table, before the assembled dignitaries. Both were wearing black cloaks with red clouds, yet one was very familiar. It was one of Yahiko's helpers, a teen with blonde hair and cold icy eyes. His companion, a masked man, was a total unknown. His Sharingan obviously designed him as a member of the Uchiha clan, and his terrifying aura was very, _very _familiar.

"Yagura killed Yahiko, because he opposed your policies Hanzo!" The blonde accused, pointing a finger at the enraged Mizukage. "It is him you should declare war on, you liar!"

"We are here to bring you justice," the Uchiha continued, Hanzo recognizing the voice. "Your betrayal present you as unfit to govern this land. As such, we Akatsuki will now take over. Hanzo, I thereby challenge you, on the behalf of Akatsuki as a whole, for the title of ruler of Amegakure."

"You, Yagura, I challenge to single combat, for the murder of Yahiko, and for being an all-around _monster_," the blonde spoke, his eyes blazing with fury.

The Mizukage grinned ear to ear. "You have no idea of how outmatched you are without your bloodline wielding redhead to protect you." He chuckled. "Alright. I accept your challenge for the place of ultimate predator."

Hanzo surprised everyone by laughing. Only the masked man seemed unfazed. "I accept your challenge… Uchiha Madara."

At the mere mention of the name, the Konoha envoy obviously pissed on himself, evident by the stain on his pants and the distinct smell of ammonia coming from him.

"I have no idea why the strongest missing-nin in existence would be interested in fighting for a bunch of orphans and kids," the Salamander whispered, "but I have desired to defeat you for years. I have a personal grudge against you."

"Truly?" The Uchiha chuckled, as the audience cowered in dread. "I do not remember. I ruined so many lives I lost count." He pretended to not notice the accusing look that his student briefly shot him.

"I remember well," Hanzo stated, his gas mask turning his breathing into a growl. "We met once, back in the time of the clan wars, when the Hidden Villages were still young. I was just a kid with a kunai, a squire, fighting with a group of Ame samurais you massacred under Konoha's flag. When you stared me, your foot on my chest, I thought my last hour had come."

He chuckled. "You said _'what kind of man kills children? Find yourself a resolve, and you shall become an adult worth my time' _and left me bruised and bloodied, but alive. Now, fifty years later, I have found a resolve, and it seems I have become worth your time." The samurai raised his shoulders, and glared at the blonde. "It shall not be a duel, however. It would be a waste not to fight a youngster determined enough to defy the Mizukage and thinking he will live to tell the tale."

"What do you suggest then?" the youngster glared back.

"A tag-team battle," the Salamander spoke. "You two will fight both I and Yagura-san at the same time, in front of all of Amegakure. The stadium of our chunnin exams shall be our battleground."

Madara shrugged. "Alright. We will crush you the way you want."

"Fine, I get to kill both of you," Yagura smirked, his teeth white and shining. It really was the picture of a shark ready to go on a rampage.

Hanzo stared at the blonde ninja. "I never got to ask for your name."

"Arashi Kazama. The last you'll ever learn."

The samurai chuckled at the teen's boast. If he could back up his claim, it would indeed be an enjoyable fight. "Are you aware I am the reason behind most nicknames in the ninja world? The God of Shinobi, the Sannin, the Yellow Flash, Onoki the Twin Scales… all were people I fought and found worthy of a legend."

He touched his blade. "If you prove yourself to be worthy, I shall give you a title too, Arashi Kazama."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Wanderer, Kazama<strong>_

A true arena.

It was a gigantic, circular battleground, with a floor made of black earth, surrounded by benches of white stone. People were gathered there, observing the fighters. Among them were the ambassadors, civilians, ninjas. To them, it was just another spectacle, inevitably leading with their ruler's victory. The skies would cry again soon.

Tears of blood it shall be.

"It feels intoxicating, isn't it?" Tsukiyomi's voice snapped him from his thoughts. "Having people staring at you, spectators recognizing your worth."

Kazama snorted. "They're simply looking for entertainment. They see us as meat for their ruler, cowering in fear. They are aware Hanzo's policies are ruining them, and yet they do nothing. They aren't even loyal to him, just without will. They obey whoever is at the top."

"Gifted and strong-willed people are rare." Madara sneezed. "Who cares? You aren't fighting for the masses. You are fighting for yourself."

"I'm fighting for what I believe is the right thing to do given the circumstances, no matter what the cost," the teen corrected, as Yagura and Hanzo readied themselves. The former was wielding his hook, the latter his kusarigama. "Yep, it's selfish. It's self-centered. It's about being at peace with myself."

"Good resolve," Tsukiyomi nodded. "Follow your own morality. Don't let the masses decide your principles for you, for they will only keep you down. Follow your own goals, and the world shall bow down to you." He stared at the enemies. "Of course, sometimes, your philosophy will clash with others'. In this case, it's the strongest resolve that will decide the winners."

"You're a stepping stone in the food chain," Yagura growled, his eyes blazing with madness. "I'm going to wipe you weaklings from the face of the earth!"

"If you want to take my spot," Hanzo stated, "you will have to earn it. Come and try, if you can!"

"Tell me, Naruto, do you trust me?"

The blonde narrowed his eyes. "Of course not."

Tsukiyomi sighed in disappointment. "I hope we won't need cooperation with these two then. Good luck."

"Good luck to you too."

When the rain fell on the ground, the battle started, and the crowd roared.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Log-sama vs Money-sama: the battle<strong>_

_**"I, the selfless holy one, have arrived to destroy you so badly your ancestors will explode just because they were related to you!" **_A shining log spoke, materializing in front of the Feral Gale, playing poker with Kakuzu and Ghost. Hidan was sulking into a corner. _**"How dare you betray me for a gold coin? At least Judas asked for more!"**_

"Hey, it isn't my fault!" The ninja protested, pointing a finger at Ghost. "He got bribed! Sorry, but I'm more scared of him than loyal to you. He… threatened me with punishment you can't even imagine! It involved Mitarashi 'I'm gonna make you scream like a pig in twelve different languages and dialects' Anko!"

_**"Oh… I see," **_the Log realized it would have done the same in the same situation. It stared at Ghost with wrath. _**"How dare you force your apprentice into not doing his duty of beating the follower of the deity of false monetary gain, you ass!"**_

"Sorry, but he bribed me." The human shaped immortal yawned not caring. "I'm up to my tits in debt to Scab. When you're up to your tits in debt to that guy, he does things to you." He shivered. "For SCIENCE!"

"Money-sama's power is almighty!" Kakuzu laughed, as the log refrained a sigh. Even it was too sane for all this wacky insanity.

_**"… Screw it, I'm kicking your ass myself. And yes, I am very well aware that I lack legs. That is just how hard I'm going to maim you right now." **_Log stated in a deadpan tone, making Kakuzu piss on himself. Thunder suddenly fell, and a golden coin materialized, surrounded by a shiny halo.

_**"Money-sama doesn't want to pay for its follower's hospitalization!" **_Money-sama declared. _**"It can invest into destroying a rival deity, however! Your wood will make me richer!"**_

_**"I will annihilate your tree-killing face!" **_Log-sama roared, summoning endless armies of logs. _**"I am the pulp of my log. A tree made my body, and awesomeness is my soul. I have spawned over a thousand future logs. Unaware of destruction, nor aware of defeat. Have withstood pain to save many ninjas. Yet, the log will never end! Unlimited Log Works!"**_

_**"Money-sama will not waste money on buying an aria," **_the golden coin replied, summoning endless waves of gold bullions. _**"Gate of Money!"**_

As everyone expected a battle of legendary proportions to decide which was the most ridiculous inanimate deity ever…

The true crazy god manifested.

_**"One Piece's Straw Hat, the awesome one, will beat both of you!" **_A straw-hat declared, materializing with a halo. _**"Emo Killing and Awesomeness Making BLAST!"**_

A powerful light followed, and only a crater remained of the omake.

"Did the author write that on crack?" Hidan snorted, fleeing through the fourth wall. "Yep, definitively. I won't accept any other explanation."

From the rubble of the crater, Ghost materialized once more and sighed. "Nope. That way didn't kill me either." He looked around and realized he was the only one left. "Oh come on! The minion was raking in some serious cash from that game! We could have bought ourselves a seriously nice omake with that…"

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: thanks, Majin Hentai X, for inspiring the straw hat part..._**

**_Now, about the chapter. Now, the diverging elements is now revealed: this world's Tobi backstabbed Madara and derailed/hijacked his plans quite hard. The consequences, which I keep secret for the moment, resulted in Hanzo contacting Yagura instead of Danzo._**

**_Izanami's role is left ambiguous: is she a villain faking having a nice spot for the hero, or a good guy undercover? You will discover way later. But she definitively has troll/drama queen tendencies._**

**_As for the statue... I couldn't help but subvert the 'instant power-up never talked about before' cliche by making Kazama fails HARD at using it. Of course, it will have importance in the future, but do NOT expect Kazama to use it against Yagura. He will have to rely on the power he already has._**

**_In case you wonder, at this point, Hanzo isn't nearly as paranoid and weak as in canon, so yes, he isn't the guy who lost badly to Pain and Mifune after losing both his resolve and skills... he's the guy who beat the Sannin without breaking a sweat. The battle will be harder than you think._**

**_For Yagura... he is another evil mirror to Naruto, but in a subtler way. They're both demon vessels looking for acknowledgment and who dreamed of being Kage, growing up hated. Except Yagura went mad when he found his dream for acceptance impossible and lost it HARD. Plus, his demon's influence did no good for his sanity. As for Hanzo, he is a deconstruction of the 'ruler by ass-kicking' cliche: the fact you are an excellent battler and tactician doesn't mean you have what it takes to rule effectively. Knowing how to kill people is not the same thing as knowing how to feed them, or making them prosperous. _**

**_Also, I have seen Echoes' trope page has grown quite a lot... thank Caellach Tiger Eye (nice Fire Emblem reference, by the way) and ESPECIALLY the Zogg for their excellent work._**

**_So, next time, Kakashi and Yugito's chapter. The profile poll will be closed after the next chapter, so please vote._**

**_As ever, please review, and write you soon._**


	33. Chapter 30: Blast from the Past

**_Phew, finally done. I awaited a bit until the poll was finished. Unfortunately, Uni gives me less free time than I expected. As such, the updates' schedule might be a bit irregular._**

**_Anyway, time for awesomeness._**

**_As always, thanks Third Fang and ABitterPill for betaing._**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto._**

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><p><em><strong>TravelerOriginal Naruto: Kazama Arashi.**_

_**Puppeteer Naruto: Chibaku Arashi.**_

_**Werefox/Hybrid Naruto: Kitsune Arashi.**_

_**Female Naruto: Naruko Arashi.**_

_**Traveler Kakashi: Kamui.**_

_**Alternate Nidaime Hokage: Kuebiko.**_

_**Deceiver/Original Madara: Tsukiyomi.**_

_**Destroyer/Rinnegan Madara: Susanoo.**_

_**Warrior/Collector Madara: Amaterasu (now dead).**_

_**Female Tobi: Izanami.**_

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><p><em><strong>Currently, they are scattered in four worlds:<strong>_

**_Shodaime!Madara world: Chibaku, Sasori, Haku, Kuebiko._**

**_Godaime!Itachi world: Kitsune, Gaara, Naruko._**

**_Mystery world/Alternate Amegakure: Kazama, Tsukiyomi, Susanoo._**

**_Alive!Yondaime world: Kakashi, Yugito (where we are now)._**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 30: Blast from the Past<strong>_

_"This is the end, Madara," he declared to the defeated Uchiha. The madman was standing still, thoroughly impaled by Zabuza's blade in the middle of a field of corpses. It had taken dozens men and four Kage to defeat the masked man, but now, it was the end. Kushina's spirit could finally rest in peace._

_The Uchiha laughed. "The end, you say?" The dying villain stared at his killers. The Hokage, Namikaze Minato; the Mizukage, Momochi Zabuza; the Tsuchikage, Onoki; and the mysterious Yondaime Kazekage. "You are mistaken. This may be my end… but not _the _end. The end is not for today."_

_"I've heard better last words," Zabuza snickered, his face covered with blood. "You gave me the fight of my life and this is all you can say… I am disappointed."_

_"Last words are for those who haven't said enough," Madara whispered. His blinded white eyes stared at Minato. "You do realize you are doomed to fail, Namikaze? This world's sorrow shall linger, even without me."_

_"My own sorrow at losing those I loved to you will always linger, Madara," Minato admitted, remembering Kushina's last moments, as she agonized in his arms. He remembered the Sandaime's sacrifice to allow him a chance to be a father to his son. "Never again shall I allow these tragedies to repeat, and one like you to rise."_

_The Uchiha shrugged. "I see… you haven't learned much. People like me, like Nagato, will rise endlessly. Tomorrow belongs to us, Namikaze. You cannot stop is, only delay it… for a force in every human heart shall make us rise again endlessly, until we win. It is a force stronger than love, stronger than life itself."_

_"Evil?" Zabuza deadpanned._

_The Uchiha spared him no glance, keeping his focus on the blonde. "One day, you will see one person. It may be a child, a man, a woman, of any clan, of any name, of any country. You will look into this person's eyes… and you will see your world burning. You will see yourself burning. You will see me, Orochimaru, Nagato. You will see what motivates us. You will see what motivates conquerors and avengers alike. You will see nothing but a pure, undiluted desire for harm. Then, and only then, shall you understand a simple fact."_

_He chuckled one last time, blood dropping from his mask. "You will understand __**hate**__… our hate always lives on."_

_His body fell into dust._

_The scenery changed. An inferno. It turned into an inferno, where all things were nothing but flames and ashes. The entire world was burning._

_At the center of it all stood a dark figure. A shadow, neither male nor female. But it had eyes._

_"Do you remember, Minato?" The voice belonged to thousands people. Madara, Nagato, Orochimaru, Kenta, and so many others. "Do you remember… the pain, of losing __**her**__? The despair? The helplessness? Do you feel it inside you? Remember the pain, Minato, for soon… soon, all will feel this pain. And you will be powerless to stop it."_

_Blue eyes full of hate._

"Minato, wake up."

The Hokage's eyes snapped open. His first sight was of his own desk and paper. Raising his head groaning, the Yondaime pushed his back against his armchair. "I fell asleep again, didn't I?"

Uchiha Mikoto simply smiled, pushing a few documents around in order to sit on the desk, right in front of the Hokage. "You are overworking yourself, Minato. You are going to kill yourself at this rate, or at least age faster than you should."

Minato chuckled weakly. She was right. He was overtaxing himself. This was the second time he fell asleep since that morning. "It has to be done," he replied, taking a few documents. This time they were Jiraiya's reports on the situation in Kumo. A was obviously gunning for something, he just couldn't put his fingers on what. "It is the only way to safeguard the peace we struggled so hard to achieve."

Mikoto narrowed her eyebrows in slight displeasure. "It doesn't mean you have to do everything alone," she pointed out, not buying his excuse. "You could rely on others to help you. You could have more time to see your son, and be with me." She glared at her lover in anger. "Why are you so intent on doing everything alone?"

Minato clenched his jaw. He joined his fingers. "I… do you remember what I told you some months ago? Madara's last words?" Why was he talking about it?"

"His speech on how hate would live on?" The woman bit her lip. "Minato, it was the last curse of a now dead madman. You shouldn't take what he said at face value."

He sighed. He hadn't taken them seriously at first, until later events came to prove the mad Uchiha right. "Then… what did you see in Fugaku's eyes, when you stabbed his heart? What did you see, if not hate?"

His lover looked as if she had been slapped, and glanced elsewhere, avoiding the blonde's gaze. "Betrayal, surprise… and sadness. He didn't expect me to do it… then again, I was surprised myself." She shook a bit. "I… I couldn't control my hands, when he had admitted being the cause of Kushina's death. I lashed out, I guess."

Her tone was trembling. Minato knew the memory still haunted her, years after it happened. When he had interrogated Itachi, who had rushed to the scene, his mother was still in state of shock and unable to talk at all. "How did you figure out it was him who gave our location to Madara?"

The woman smiled sadly. "I was suspicious, but I always refused to admit it to myself. He was my husband and the father of my children, Minato. You cannot imagine how hard it was to admit Fugaku might have been on our enemy's side all along. When he began talking of rebellion, my suspicions grew, until I managed to blurt them out one day. When he confirmed he was the one that had Kushina killed I… I snapped." She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "My own son saw me kill his father right in front of him."

The blonde gently caressed Mikoto's fingers. "Itachi holds nothing against you. He told it to me himself. Your action has probably spared the Uchiha clan as a whole." It had been a pain in the ass to make Fugaku's death pass as a murder by an Akatsuki infiltrator and pinning the rebellious elements of the clan as a whole on the other group, but with Itachi's help, it had been possible.

"Maybe… or I could have been more careful and prevented Kushina's death," Mikoto replied darkly, before eying her lover. "Minato, what I saw in Fugaku's eyes does not matter, for he deserved what came to him."

"It's just… I keep having a nightmare," the Hokage admitted. "One that always wakes me up." She knew it. After all, they shared the same bed, and she had been woken up herself more than once, as her lover screamed. "I always see them. These eyes Madara talked about. The eyes of hate itself."

The Uchiha matriarch said no word. Minato took it as an invitation to carry on. "I keep seeing them. They haunt me. They pursue me." He narrowed his eyes. "I don't want my son, or Obito, or Sasuke… or any of the new generation… to ever see them again. To see what they love the most robbed because a hateful person decided so on a whim."

Mikoto's eyes widened briefly, and then she retook a stoic expression. She approached his lips and took them with her own. Her lips were soft and hot, and it gave some pleasure to the depressed man.

A part of him remembered Kushina. Dear Kushina and her kisses. Kushina as she laid dying in her own blood, comforting their newborn son. These memories, Minato would never forget. He had learned to love once more… but he would never forget.

After a moment, Mikoto broke the kiss and locked eyes with the Hokage. "This fear… it's exactly what Madara wanted. To see you consumed by fear. You don't have to bear all the world's problems on your shoulders. We can bear some too." She frowned in displeasure. "Your son misses you, beloved. Your son needs you outside of detention for bad behavior."

Minato stiffened at that. She was right, unfortunately. "I…" he shut his mouth, took his breath, and opened it once again. "I don't know what to do with him."

"Teach him fishing, ninjutsu, whatever. Talk with him. Ask about his team, his interests. _Spend time with him_." She glared, and the Hokage squirmed slightly. "The world can wait, but if you continue your destructive lifestyle, Naruto's childhood will pass without you."

The Yondaime looked as if he had been slapped. He pondered the words. "You believe a break would be fine?"

The Uchiha smiled. "Take your week-end, and let your assistants take over for the moment." She stared at the office's windows. "Just you, our respective sons, and me. There are plenty of locations we could enjoy visiting."

Minato smiled… until a knock at the door ruined the moment. "Hokage-sama, I need to speak to you! Rin-san has been kidnapped."

Minato's eyes turned cold and serious in an instant.

In the next he was already out of the room.

**_The Healed Man, Kamui_**

There wasn't a noise to be heard as the group traveled to their destination, and Kakashi Hatake, also going by the name of Kamui, didn't like it at all.

The forest was dark. The silence was heavy. Birds had stopped singing, the beasts had fled. It was almost as if time had stopped and the shinobi there were the only ones free from the curse.

It was too calm, in his opinion. Kamui briefly recalled the first time he had dealt with this event in his world and in his version of the forest. Kenta's guards had ambushed his group of ANBU kilometers away from the castle. This time however, the group he was with had yet to face any resistance.

"Something wrong?" His ANBU self asked, with a hint of worry. He was leaping next to him on branches, closely followed by the rest of the makeshift team.

"We should have been attacked already, if events are truly similar to those I experienced. This is easy. Way too easy."

"They obviously have a trap waiting for us," Yugito pointed out. The Jinchuuriki was staring into the forest's shadows, her eyes obviously seeing farther than their own.

"You do not seem bothered," Mei Terumi chuckled, putting on a cheerful smile. "I have the excuse of seeking some thrill, but you, Yugito?"

The blonde lass shrugged, not bothering to stare at her new friend. "To be honest, I'm confident enough in my abilities to notice enemies attacking. I cannot say the same for hidden trap jutsu though."

"My Sharingan will notice them." Itachi's eyes were now as red as blood. "Ayatsuri Kenta isn't known as someone gifted at trapping. He's a social expert, not a hunter."

"You would be surprised by the number of skills one can learn during a long self-imposed exile," Tsunade snorted. "Believe me, I'm speaking from experience."

"He will rely on bodyguards and trained soldiers for protection," Kamui spoke. Kenta never truly trusted machines or traps. They lacked the degree of self-awareness and adaptation the psycho thought was necessary to avoid failure. "He used waves of them in my universe, sacrificing them without care. He will do the same."

"I'm afraid that's not the case this time," Yugito replied as she narrowed her gaze forward.

The Shinobi narrowed his eye. "Why? You see someone?"

"Two, and they're both extremely dangerous." She nodded. "We'll reach them within five minutes. They are clearly waiting for us. I don't see anyone else."

The ANBU Kakashi shrugged, revealing his Sharingan. "Quality over quantity, I guess." Kamui nodded, and took off his mask from his eye. Obito's gift would be very, very helpful in the oncoming minutes. _This time, I won't screw up. I promise. I will save her._

They reached a darker segment of the forest. Trees were now so close the sunlight could hardly pass through the leaves. It was the perfect place for an ambush, and the group stopped on a very large branch belonging to a magnificent, gigantic oak.

On another branch, ten meters away from the team, two famous missing-nins were standing still.

"Greetings, my dear moneybags in waiting," Kakuzu of the Waterfall spoke. His skin was black, similar in texture to hard stone. "Mm… quite the interesting bunch. 100 million. 120 million. 80 million, and a magnificent 150 million treasure. All of this money, I'm almost crying in joy. Pity I can't, with the mask and all."

Itachi blinked, and voiced everyone's thoughts. "Did he just address us by our bounty?"

"Yes, 50 millions bag. Want to join my bank account?"

"You greedy unbeliever," Hidan the Jashinist cursed. "Do you always think people as money?"

"Yes, my dear 110 million. Not that you have any worth, mind you. It's a shame I can't gather your money. How very sad."

The priest glared at him, enraged. "You bastard! I'm no bounty prize!"

"I know, but making fun of you is addictive. It gives my life further purpose and always puts a smile on my face. Seeing you cry in pain and humiliation helps me sleep at night. Your demise is my lifelong goal, besides making more money."

At that point Kamui's mind had stopped working. "What the hell? Are you Kenta's henchmen?"

"The term is elite expensive S-rank bodyguard," Kakuzu insisted with a lecturing tone, as if he was talking to the biggest idiot he had ever met. "Henchman is an ugly word. You better learn to talk better, little boy, or, as your elder by around sixty years, I will spank you."

The fact nobody talked, probably out of justified amazement at the sheer absurdity of the scene, made the lecture even worse.

"Anyway, your psycho ex-boyfriend-father-whatever is waiting for you," Kakuzu snorted, showing Kamui the way. "You are the only one allowed for the date. He wants no peeping. So you and your twin get to go farther. The rest will have to wait."

Yugito narrowed her eyes. "If we refuse, you will attack us?" The missing-nin simply raised his shoulders and shrugged. "Kakashi, we can get rid of them together, then add support against Kenta."

"Doing such a thing would risk Inuzuka Rin's life and give additional time for Kenta to prepare," Terumi pointed out. "I suggest you two go on without us and try stopping him. We will join you later, once they're dead."

"You have a lot of courage, 100 million." Kakuzu cracked his fingers. "I hope you can back up your claim. Otherwise, you will regret crossing my path."

"Jashin-sama will shepherd these new souls," Hidan whispered, holding his symbol. A black and red scythe popped up in his left hand, surrounded by a malicious dark aura. "The time for death has come. Blessed are those who stand against the unbelievers, for they shall triumph!"

"We shall kill these two loons," Tsunade spoke calmly, her words a mere whisper to Kamui's ear. "Go on." Itachi nodded, kunai in hand.

Yugito's eyes flickered at the silver-haired ninja that she had spent the most time with so far. "You better survive. I'm the only one allowed to kick your ass, and that girl deserves to live. So…" She smiled. "Good luck."

Kamui grinned behind his mask. "You too." He locked eyes with his ANBU self. "Let's go."

The duo jumped on the bodyguards' branch. Kakuzu, however, stopped them, grabbing their shoulders. Both Kakashi prepared for an assault…

"The base is hidden in the vegetation," he spoke, releasing them. "Focus, or you will miss it."

The twins blinked, and leapt a moment later. The missing-nin hadn't even spared them a glance.

"They will do well," the ANBU stated, in an obvious attempt to alleviate Kamui's worries. "However, I wonder why Kenta didn't bring additional muscle. We might have attacked earlier than he planned, yes. He didn't expect us to have knowledge of his base's location, yes. But only two henchmen? No way in hell."

"He had hundreds in my home world, including his own little… trained tools. Maybe his summons were a little too hungry."

_"Dog summons," Kenta told him, presenting him the pups sleeping in a corner, "or Ninken, are a specialty of mine. My father taught me how to tame them, as his father taught him, and so on. Ninken have an arrangement with a few ninjas lines: we train their young, and they fight at our side. These ones, are now yours to name and train. In a decade, they will be excellent additions to your own skills."_

_Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the dogs, already finding names. Pakku, for the little orange one, and he would name the rest later. "Why are they of different breeds?"_

_"Ninken are divided into clans, just as we do. Their society is very similar to our own. Consider these pups as a larger genin team you will slowly train to chunin level. Most clans live together in harmony and as such form cross-breeds teams."_

_"Most?" Kakashi asked, until he remembered they were similar to ninjas. "They have missing-Ninken?"_

_"Indeed. A few clans of Ninken are composed of man-eating hounds, and are so vicious other Ninken attack them on sight. You see, when summons eat humans, they absorb a small amount of their chakra, growing stronger than their brethren in the process. I have little doubt this is why Orochimaru's Manda is the strongest summon available, but the Sannin will never admit it. A few clans of Ninken made a habit of eating humans to become more powerful, until they enjoyed the taste."_

_The man smiled. "These clans refuse to work for anybody unless they are provided sacrifices. The more sacrifices they receive, the stronger are the hounds they offer you as attack dogs. They don't give pups, only grown-up warriors, of whom you have to buy their loyalty with blood. Of course, doing so results in all other Ninken ending their partnership with you and Konoha trying to hunt you down, so only Missing-nin turn to these clans for help…"_

The ANBU stiffened. "Man-eating summoned hounds? He's gone that far? Scratch that. He's gotten far past that point. To sacrifice hundreds, it means he has the loyalty of a few top evil dogs."

Kamui chuckled. "Ninken."

The ANBU laughed. "Yeah." They reached a little brown castle, which walls were covered by moss and vines. It was hard to distinguish it from the vegetation. Probably what the builders had in mind. "Here we are."

"Yeah," Kamui stated, reaching the opened gates. "He is waiting for us." _Waiting with Rin. Please, gods, Izanagi, whoever will listen… please, let her be unharmed. _If the ANBU's serious face was of any indication, he had a similar prayer in mind.

They passed through the main entrance without issue, walking through lightened corridors. They met no one alive. Kamui knew the way, and guided the two toward Kenta's throne room. Unfortunately, the castle's architecture forced them to walk through the sociopath's playground.

Kamui had never learned what purpose these rooms had, until they were turned into Kenta's laboratory. The walls were brown and dirty. The meager light that pervaded the hallways revealed the man's crimes for all to see.

_The cells were black, and the people inside them silent. Kakashi had never seen this part of Kenta's orphanage, hidden from all. Even he wasn't trusted with these dirty secrets. And now, he was forced to learn all of them, his Sharingan forever imprinting the memories in his mind._

_"How can he have hidden this… this filth for so long?" Minato asked out loud, his face twisted in disgust._

_"I believe he had help from some well-placed individuals," Danzo spoke. The crippled war hawk didn't seem too much bothered by the sight, as stoic as ever. "Sarutobi has already started arresting several of them." He paused for a moment before looking almost lazily at the blonde man with his lone good eye. "Now may be an opportune time to start a purge, Yondaime-sama. You have a convenient excuse. We just have to add names to the list of condemned."_

_"The purge… all people linked to this horror will be executed but I will not use this debacle to stage a political coup."_

_"As you wish." Danzo nodded silently before handing him some journals. "Here are some the notes Kenta left after fleeing. Hiashi, Shiba and Tsume are on his trail, but I doubt he will be found for at least a few years."_

_The Yondaime took the notes and read them. His frown deepened. "So, this was the side of his program he never showed us… and how he funded it." Minato stared sadly at the kids waiting in the cells. "Creating emotionless soldiers and prostitutes for the highest bidder…" His expression turned cold. "When all his victims are sent into therapy… burn it all."_

_"Yondaime-sama?"_

_"Burn the notes and this place. Leave nothing but ashes."_

_"It will be done," Danzo promised._

_Kakashi couldn't care less. His eyes were fixated on a girl, barely older than him, whose eyes were empty of will. "What it your name?" He asked, fearful of the answer._

_She raised her head. "I don't have a name. Dolls don't need them."_

_He would never forget her face._

Six operation tables. Six bodies on them, a seventh laid on the ground.

"Oh god…" The ANBU whispered in horror, examining the red-haired girl's body, whose corpse was lying in her own blood. "The body is still hot. He must have killed her not even an hour ago-" He stopped. "He removed part of her flesh."

"Not only flesh." Kamui examined an eyeless corpse, and then another. A grey-haired boy. A familiar one. It was this world's version of the Kaguya that worked under Zabuza, back when they fought in Wave. "This one is a Kaguya. Kenta removed his limbs' bones and the ribs."

"What the hell was he doing?" the ANBU spoke with a disgusted tone. "Experimentation?"

"I never saw this last time." Kamui stared at the laboratory's stairwell, which would inevitably lead to the throne room. "Things are happening differently."

"If he removed eyes and bones from bloodline wielders…" The ANBU trailed off. "He implanted them into himself. Two bar minimum."

"He will be tougher than the one I faced, that's for sure." Kamui stared at his counterpart. "I will take care of him and give you an opening. Grab Rin and get away as soon as you can."

The ANBU narrowed his eyes. "I promised on Obito's grave I would never leave a comrade behind ever again, myself. We will fight together or die together."

"You've got the life you deserve." Kamui's expression was one of pure seriousness. "The only one I ever wanted. Live happily. That's my wish. I might die taking him down, but if I make sure you and Rin are happy then it will be worth it."

"We will free Rin and kill him." The ANBU's gaze was determined, iron-willed. "You will not die. You will live long enough to see your family again. You will grow old and die with a legacy." He offered him his hand. "Let's do it together… nii-san."

Kamui stared at the hand, and shook it, repressing tears. "Alright." He stared at the stairs again. "Let's make things right this time."

The duo ascended, and finally entered a large, cubic room. The walls were made of yellow bricks. Light was provided by seals on the ceiling in the shape of snakes.

At the opposite end of the room was a throne made of silver. Rin was tethered to it, her limbs and neck kept immobile by black shackles. The chains themselves were in contact with a red device, one that included rods of dynamite. Two huge black hounds were circling the throne, their teeth shining a sick yellow and their eyes vicious.

Next to Rin, Ayatsuri Kenta was standing, holding a cup of tea near his mouth with his left hand. The sick man was more akin to a mummy than anything now. His whole body was covered by bandages. The only visible parts of his body were few tufts of silver hair, his white lips, and two Byakugan staring intensely at the newcomers.

"Welcome home, Kakashi. You must have had a long travel. Would you care for some?"

_**The Cat, Yugito Nii**_

As the two Kakashi left on their journey to save their loved one, the vessel of the Nibi focused on her imminent opponents.

Kakuzu's soul was made of pure greed. So much so that she could hardly believe what she was seeing. The guy's entire life and goal was money. For it to have warped his soul itself was almost unheard of, only further proving that his avarice truly was truly inhuman. Otherwise, it was the soul of a jaded old ninja.

Hidan's soul was just as warped, but in another way. His soul was dark-pitched, yet tainted by a fanatic religious, obsessive faith. It was the soul of a zealot devoted to a dark deity. He would do anything for his religion. _Anything_.

"Three hours. Nope, four…"

Tsunade glared at Kakuzu, who was staring at his fingers. "What are you counting?" she spoke with clear displeasure.

"Oh, just the time it will take us to kill you and collect your bounties," the missing-nin shrugged his shoulders.

Yugito narrowed her eyes. "Guys, I don't know what Kenta promised you as reward, yet the little I have learned about him convinced me he wasn't going to fulfill his promises."

Kakuzu snorted, unconcerned. "Of course he isn't going to pay us." They all stared at him with widened eyes, even Hidan. "What? Think about it. He offered us a new job right after we asked for payment. He's stalling for time because he is either bankrupt or needed a delay. He lies well, but I have enough taken classes in psychology to recognize a sociopath when I see one. Kenta may have a high IQ to make up for his impulses, but he's still a pathological liar that can't be trusted. Plus he's going to die soon with the two Kakashi on the way."

Yugito felt her blood freeze in her veins. Realization hit her, and Mei voiced her suspicions. "You didn't intend to show them the way, just to test if it was a shadow clone by seizing them."

The missing-nin chuckled. "I have no idea of what to think of that. Does the copy-nin have a twin? Is it a ninja disguised as him? Regardless, the conclusion is the same: Kenta won't expect it and shall die. Hence, we are jobless. And penniless."

"Yeah right, you're the richest unbeliever in the entire world!" Hidan contested. "You have more money than a few Hidden Villages."

"Yes, my bank account does provide some comfort, as I am forced to listen to your anti-"

He thrust his palms towards the group and a powerful pillar of flames descended upon them.

Yugito leapt away, not so surprised by the sneak attack, only for Kakuzu to jump at her midway. She blocked a powerful blow with her palm, but the sheer power behind it propelled her toward the ground below. Hidan let himself fall from his branch, rotating on his axis with his scythe, effectively turning himself into a cutting whirlwind. The kunoichi barely had to the time to rise up and dodge, leaving the priest to regain his footing.

The second he landed, a waterfall of boiling water splashed the priest, making him scream his lungs out.

"I expected more from S-Rank missing-nin," Mei spoke, landing next to Yugito, as Hidan continued to twist in pain. Above them were numerous explosions. Itachi and Tsunade had apparently teamed-up against Kakuzu and were fighting him in the branches. "Unless you have some trick."

"Jashin… sama… will eat your soul!" Hidan laughed insanely, his skin turning black. The two kunoichi put themselves on guard, as the madman stared at them with malevolent joy and made hand seals. "Here it comes! The lord of darkness, Jashin-sama!"

At this moment, his shadow rose up.

As in, separated from the ground and gained a consistence. It was as thin as a sheet of paper, yet very real. It started growing, reaching the size of a giant. The shape changed, gaining horns and claws. In place of eyes, one purple, glowing light was visible.

_**I recognize that aura… oh shit, **_the Nibi cursed, sounding…_fearful_. _**Kitten, run.**_

_Wh-_

_**Don't ask, just run away! You cannot beat it!**_

The shadow's lone eye shined brightly, and fired a purple shooting star at them.

Both Kunoichi ran away, barely avoiding the attack. The projectile hit the ground, shined… and left nothing behind. The piece of land it had impacted agaist, approximately ten square meters, had vanished. It was as if a painter had erased a part of its work.

"What the-" _Nibi, what the hell is that thing?_

_**Picture yourself void, darkness, order, and stars, embodied into a god, all with the demeanor of a civilized person. Imagine a force of nature that is to you what you are to an ant, and then you can picture yourself Amatsu-Mikaboshi, the god you should run away from, like, NOW!**_

Yugito blinked in horror. "This is a god?"

"This is _the _god, Jashin-sama!" Hidan corrected, laughing his ass off and waving his scythe. "You face my religion's ultimate jutsu: the Star God Incarnation Ritual!"

Mei's jaw dropped. "A variant of the Dead Demon Consuming Seal?" She fearfully asked, not so confident anymore.

_**Kitten, this thing above is a god, and it is using its follower's lifeforce and soul to partially manifest in this world, **_the Nibi explained. _**Oh, it can only use a fragment of its power, but even a billionth of a god's power is too much for the two of us.**_

Yugito nodded. If even a Bijuu was suggesting running away, then they really had no chance. "Mei, we need to flee!"

"You wish!" Hidan chuckled, slamming his hands on the ground. "Star God Ritual: Ultimate Encampment!"

A purple, cubic barrier materialized around a large area of the forest, cutting them off from the outside world.

_**Well, Kitten, I am afraid running away is now out of option…**_

Mei joined her palms. "Yugi-san, a god might be unbeatable, but not its summoner. If we kill Hidan-"

"His god will lose its anchor to this world and vanish," the demon vessel finished. _Easier said than done. _"By the way, as we may die… it was an honor meeting you."

"Yugi-san, we cannot die yet," the Kiri-nin smiled, as Hidan charged at them, screaming maniacally. "We both have too many things left to do. I'm not even old yet!"

_**The Greedy, Kakuzu**_

"Can't you quiet down a bit?" Kakuzu shouted at his partner below, as the barrier rose. "Some of us are trying to be professional here!"

"Ignoring the enemy is not professional, Kakuzu-san," Itachi Uchiha pointed out, making hand seals. "Fire Release: the g-"

One of Kakuzu's animated mask shot a beam of light at the Uchiha, interrupting his theatrical and pointless presentation of his attack. The so-called genius leapt on another branch, having wasted his breath for an attack that would never come.

"My turn!" Kakuzu joined his palms. "Fire Release: the Great Fireball!"

He breathed in deeply…

And unleashed a series of extremely fast bullets of wind at the surprised Uchiha. The teen's expression was priceless. _Yeah, as if I was going to announce the technique I'm about to use. _Itachi avoided the attacks gracefully, dodging the incoming bullets. _Goddamn Sharingan…_

Tsunade took that time to punch him. Seeing it coming, Kakuzu leapt away, using his threads to change his fall's course. He landed on a tree's trunk. _First lesson when dealing with Tsunade Senju: keep your distance and blast her from afar. _One of his masked monsters, with the face of a white rabbit, started spitting icicles at the kunoichi.

The Senju didn't avoid. She broke the incoming projectiles. With her _index finger_.

"I hate showoffs," he grumbled, leaping down to the ground to avoid a tree-shattering punch. He landed next to his partner and his god-demon-whatever it was. His enemies gathered, the Sannin and Uchiha prick joining Yugito Nii and that Kiri-bounty. "Especially when they are trouble to deal with."

"You aren't any better," Tsunade snorted. "All that silly talk to make us drop our guard? I expected better from one of my grandfather's enemies."

"That's the point: you _weren't _expecting it!" Kakuzu pointed out. "Surprise, my dear money. Surprise is a powerful tool for winning. Just like- oh shit look behind you!" He pointed his finger at an empty space.

Nobody was fooled.

"Well, it was worth a try."

"Kakuzu, stop joking around!" Hidan growled, his god-summon-thing joining its palms. "Jashin-sama is getting restless!"

The bounty hunter rolled his eyes. Couldn't he understand he was pretending to be carefree to make himself look weaker than he actually was? Ninjas tend to underestimate flippant adversaries. _Sometimes, the peak of wisdom is to fake being as dumb and crazy as a clown, so you get the last laugh. _"Tell your god I only worship Money-sama."

"That god doesn't even exist!"

"I beg to differ. Money-sama has existed since man discovered currency. Money-sama is within every human heart. The world doesn't work in spite of Money-sama, but because of its golden glory and greediness!"

_Operation piss them off: started, _the bounty hunter thought, seeing his enemies visibly losing patience with the duo. Tsunade, however, wasn't duped. "Don't be fooled, Kakuzu managed to fight my grandfather and survive. He is simply being flippant because he can afford to."

Kakuzu sighed. _I guess they are used to crazy stuff… my bad. _"Alright, time to be serious then," he joined his palms. "Hidan, you don't mind if I kill you along with them in a concert of fireworks and explosions?"

"Jashin-sama will protect me, you idiot!"

"Killjoy."

_**Kamui**_

Kamui wasted no time.

"Amaterasu!"

He targeted Kenta himself, avoiding the dynamite. He blasted out his black flames, intending to roast the bastard alive. Unfortunately, the fire was almost immediately redirected to the ceiling, much to his amazement. The seals absorbed the heavenly flames of the Uchiha, as they were designed to.

The monster had taken a liking to sealing, it seemed.

"Why such violence?" Kenta asked, with a fake affable voice. His soulless eyes, they, didn't lie. He opened his right hand, revealing a little black rod with a red button on it. "If I press this, the device explodes and we all die, including her. So, please, can we talk like civilized people, before the inevitable happens? I must say I am impressed you improved the Sharingan this far."

Both Hatake Kakashi would have loved to say no and kill him on the spot. They really did. Unfortunately, Rin's life was more important. The device was obviously real, and Kenta was not the kind of man to bet everything on an empty threat.

"Did you bring a shadow clone for additional support? Smart." Kenta's words were apparently genuine. Of course, they hardly hid the sinister tone and glee. "You have always had a weakness for your teammates, Kakashi. That's why you failed me. I will fix you, have no worry."

"I have nothing to prove to you." The ANBU stared at Rin. "Don't worry. It will be alright."

"Leave!" Rin shouted, her voice laced with desperation. "We all know he's not going to let me live, no matter what! Don't get near me!"

The sight brought back terrible memories to Kamui.

_The hospital waiting room was white, deathly white. Yet, full of warmth._

_When a doctor entered, Kakashi stared at him hopefully. "You have a wonderful boy, Kakashi-san. Rin-san is waiting for you."_

_Gai started crying, and Kakashi happily gave him a tap on the back. He rose up and entered the hospital bedroom, the doctor closing the door behind him._

_Rin was holding a baby in white blanket, near her breasts. She was laying on her head, obviously dead tired, and smiled when she noticed her lover. Kakashi smiled back, and gently took the newborn from her. He was asleep, his eyes closed. "Wonderful…" he whispered to his child._

_"He's our future, Kakashi," Rin replied with a faint smile. "Our love."_

_"Indeed…" The copy-nin let his Sharingan memorize every detail of the scene. "Do you see, Obito? This is your nephew, for you were a brother to me and I never got to realize it in time."_

_"Obito… why not call our son Obito? Our teammate's name would live on."_

_"True," Kakashi smirked, as the baby started moaning. "Hello, Obito. I am your father, and I will never let you go."_

"I'm not letting you live, indeed. For ruining my masterpiece, the punishment is death." Kenta caressed the detonator, obviously struggling against his murderous impulses. Suicide didn't bother him much, obviously.

The ANBU glared at Kenta in anger. "Why? Why don't you leave us alone? I escaped your clutches, and that deserves death?"

"I have no intention of killing you, Kakashi." Kenta smiled, showing his sharpened teeth. _Kirigakure, _Kamui thought, _he copied their horrible tradition. _"How could I? You are my greatest creation. The ultimate ninja. The best of the best. Namikaze sabotaged you, but have no worry, I will cure you from your ailment." He sighed. "Of course, the treatment will be painful. Emotionally painful. Of course, after it you won't have any emotions left, so the pain won't last."

"You twisted monster," Rin spat on the floor. The black hounds growling, and Kenta silenced them with a simple glare. They were dark ninja-dogs, who had tasted the flesh of man. They grew stronger, increasing their chakra reserves, at the cost of reverting back to savagery. The beasts traded their services against blood. For Kenta to have tamed them to that point, he must have had given them plenty of food. "You killed Obito, and now, you want to finish what Iwa had begun?"

"Yes, I want to. A pity they failed at their job. I paid them with decisive information on Konoha, I gave them every tool needed to succeed, and yet they still managed to screw up." Kenta snorted. "Namikaze discovered my involvement, forcing me to exile myself. Cursed Danzo stole my research and notes. My network within both civilians and Shinobis had been dismantled. I had to restart everything from the ground up. It was very stressful."

He stared at Rin. "What kept me going, you wonder? The conviction I would one day repair your mistakes, and cure my ultimate weapon from its illness. Now, my life has come to an end, but my legacy shall remain. I have prepared years for this day, waiting until you would lower your guard."

"Kabuto was your mole all along," the ANBU realized. "He had been tasked to spy on us from afar."

"Yes and no." The hounds slightly grinned in sadism. Kamui immediately understood they had eaten the traitor. "He was one of Orochimaru's men. Many of my minions were survivors of the Kages' purge of Otogakure I gathered for my own purposes. The Sannin's notes helped my research a great deal. I owe him one from beyond the grave."

"These experiments…" Kamui narrowed his eyes. "You gathered his experiments and tried to complete them?" He paled in horror. "You didn't…"

Kenta shrugged. _He did_. "You used people as living subjects. You tried to complete your super-soldier program, even after having lost everything."

"You cannot imagine how hard it has been, to see myself fail endlessly. People… people aren't like you and I. They fail constantly. Again and again and again. After my twentieth or so attempt, I had to drop all hopes of reproducing you." He smirked. "Although I managed to complete Orochimaru's work on myself. I am not like others people… I feel no pain."

A monster through and through that only looked human in physical form. Even then, what was under the bandages probably didn't look very human anymore. "Kenta," Kamui spoke. "Before I kill you, I would like to ask you a question. I never got to ask it last time we fought." _I was too occupied ramming a Chidori in your chest._

"Last time?" Kenta narrowed his eyes, obviously misunderstand what he meant. "What do you mean by last time we fought?"

Kamui ignored him. "Why?" He asked, the ANBU and Rin staring at him.

Kenta blinked in confusion. "Why what?"

"Why are you doing all this?" Kamui growled. "What is the point in breaking me? To gain some satisfaction? Why are so obsessed with this super-soldier program? Because you want to prove you were successful? What will it bring you? Why _the hell _are you ruining lives left and right?"

For a second, Kenta said no word. He was perfectly still, his eyes the very picture of serenity.

"I am to exist forever." The monster had adopted a neutral expression. "When I am gone, I will leave a legacy behind. My program, once proven successful, will inspire others to follow in my footsteps. Why do you think we people remember the Sage of the Sixth Paths? The puppeteer Monzaemon? Uchiha Madara? They opened new perspectives for future generations. In the ninja world, higher powers are always looking for weapons and perfect ninjas. If I manage to create at least one, then scientists will replicate my feat and better the processes I initiated. Ayatsuri Kenta will be forever be remembered as a respected forerunner. I will be the equal of the Sage himself."

Silence.

"You are doing all this… horror… for a _megalomaniac ego trip_?" Kamui asked, horrified. "All this so you can be remembered?"

"You do not understand," Kenta shook his head in disappointment. "It is not an ego trip, but the ultimate way to defeat death. Do you remember all the people who died on the frontlines for the sake of others? No, you remember those who inspired them to kill themselves in the first place. I am good at turning people into weapons, so why shouldn't I have pursued my talent?"

"I don't know, maybe because it was morally reprehensible," the ANBU deadpanned with a disgusted tone.

Kenta simply shrugged his shoulders with a chuckle. "Morality does not exist. On the inside, people do not believe in it either. Right and wrong are just stupidities fools use to feel better about themselves or interact with others. They put their trust into people who say, _hey, how are you? _As if everyone said what they truly thought."

He caressed the button. "So society blames us honest and superior individuals for their misdeeds. Like black sheep. But it's the world who made us what we are. Society is built on lies and strife. Is it no wonder they made people like me?" The monster sighed. "I am the victim there. Konoha and its teachings morphed me into what I am. The Shinobi system and wars made me what I am. I had no choice but be who I was."

Kamui snapped. "That's complete and utter _bullshit_!"

Kenta frowned, showing emotion for once. The Hatake elaborated. "Society is not responsible for what you are, Kenta. I faced worse ordeals than you, and I didn't turn out like you. Kazama, Obito, and countless heroes had a shitty life, and they became good and nice. Your behavior has no excuse."

The ANBU shook his head. "You're just a vicious scumbag, Kenta. Nothing more. If you had some shred of conscience, you would have been horrified by what you had done, and, I don't know, tried to make up for your actions, vowing never to try again. Yet, you crossed the line and never looked back."

"Crossing a line?" Kenta asked. "_You _crossed the line Kakashi. _You _betrayed _me_. And you still deny _your_ own faults. You failed me, and I sacrificed my life work for you. Your ungratefulness is… I have no word for it."

Kamui had to struggle very hard not to attack.

"Do you understand how generous I was to take you under my wing, after your failure of a father died a coward?" The monster snapped, sounding genuinely angry. "Do you realize how many resources I put into creating you? How much time and effort it took to make you flourish to your fullest potential? You should _thank _me. I made you. I am doing all of this for you. And yet, you still refuse to accept your role as my legacy?"

The ANBU almost blurted something out, but Kamui made him a sign, silencing the jounin. He stared at Kenta, and took his breath. He had prepared these words carefully, and he craved for saying them. "Kenta… you broke me once."

The man stayed silent, obviously misunderstanding the situation. Kamui ignored him. "Your plan worked once. You destroyed everything I had, cruelly, with me being unable to do anything about it. I asked myself time and time again why you didn't truly fight back when I killed you, and I understand why now. Your goal was to be remembered, to make sure I would always bear your scars."

"Killed once?" The monster narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"I spent years wasting my life. I sought death and it never came. In the end, I regained some measure of peace by getting to watch over my sensei's son and two other kids… until I failed them too. They died right in front of me, and I couldn't do a _shit _about it. I briefly pondered the option of simply slicing my throat and just ending it all… until I met someone very special."

The picture of Kazama flashed in his mind. "He is no genius, still a minor, and has a lot of issues and anger management problems. He's had a life nearly as bad as my own… and he taught me a valuable lesson. That as long as there is life, there is hope."

Zabuza's face flashed. "I met people who confirmed this lesson and made me stop delving into despair." He mentally pictured himself the Arashi clan as a whole. "I found myself a purpose: to protect people I love, and this time, succeed."

He locked eyes with the monster. "Kenta, you are nothing compared to the ordeals I faced at their side. I have seen worlds where plants have the Sharingan and kill people, I have faced demons, met insane gods, and survived a collapsing tower. I defeated and killed a Raikage because he kidnapped my friends. I fought _Madara Uchiha_ _twice _and lived to tell the tale. I fought ninjas with enough power to destroy entire landscapes and survived."

Kamui chose that moment to snort. "You, Kenta, are nothing more than a petty psychopath whose appetite for cruelty was never denied or fulfilled, a monster who thought he was more than a self-centered child that never grew up. I don't owe you _anything but pain and hate_. You never cared about anyone. All you ever wanted was to feed your own warped ego. I am just a toy for you… and you are _nothing _to me."

He joined his palms. "No matter what it takes, I will destroy you and prevent you from hurting anyone else. I'm not doing it for revenge… but for others. I am doing it to prove you will never, _ever _succeed!"

"You are completely delusional, Kakashi." The monster's expression had darkened, and the Hatake's Sharingan picked the slight inflection of his jaw. He didn't know what the hell was happening, and it angered him. "Ungrateful student, killing me will solve nothing, for my work shall remain. You cannot kill a memory."

The ANBU snorted. "You don't understand a fuck, Kenta. Killing your memory will be very easy."

The monster's eyebrow twitched.

"Your research has been destroyed. Sensei made sure of it. Danzo burned your journals in front of him and did what was necessary to make sure no one would ever pursue it. Nothing of you will survive, for we will burn this base to the ground after we kill you. We will destroy your page from the Bingo Book and then erase your record from Konoha. Your memory will linger in our minds, and then vanish, forever. My son won't even know _your name_." The ANBU shrugged, and gave the fatal blow to Kenta's hopes.

"It will be as if you never existed in the first place."

At this moment, Kenta lost it.

Oh, the mental breakdown was very subtle. He didn't scream or shout anything. He said no word. But his expressions… the Sharingan picked its transformation from stoicism to madness.

Firstly, the jaw tightened.

Secondly, the eyebrows narrowed.

Thirdly, his eyes burned with rage.

Finally, he pushed the button so hard he shattered it into pieces, throwing his lifelong goal away in a second.

As both Kakashi paled in horror, he moved his lips. "Failure," he whispered, as blades of bones sprung from his arms. Behind him, Rin's device had started clicking, and his hounds howled. One became surrounded by a coat of fire, the second by what looked like red thunder.

"I have five minutes before the device explodes and kill us all… five minutes to _torture you to death _for ruining my dream. Five minutes of hope I will crush alog with your skull." Kenta's eyes turned into a disturbing, familiar sick white color. "Byakugan," he whispered, as his strips were torn apart. His flesh was now covered with an armor of bone and white spikes.

Fitting: he was always a monster inside. Now the exterior matched his personality.

"ANBU," Kamui started, "free Rin and run."

"Five minutes won't be enough to escape," the ANBU retorted, not sounding truly afraid. "I have a skill that can get rid of the bomb, but I can only use it once. Better not have these three interrupt. So…" Kenta and his dogs leapt into the air, out of blood. "Five minutes?"

Kamui smirked under his mask. "Give me two."

_**Omake: Parodyverse**_

"What. The. Hell?" Kazama asked, glaring at the assembled group of men and women and kids and cats in front of him.

"The force is strong within you," a version of him, dressed all in black and with a red lightsaber, whispered. "I am Darth Kazama… join the dark side of the force! Or stay true to the light side! So hard to choose…"

"Let's kick evildoers' asses!" Naruko shouted, wearing orange spandex. "I am so badass I will kick everyone's ass with kickassness!"

"You don't mind if I take photos of your ass along the way?" Chibaku asked, playing with naked dolls. "I have made porn dolls, but I lack your ass and the breasts' dimension… if you have any, that's it…"

"Kill or not to kill?" Kitsune asked to his hand, painted in orange with a fox drawing on it for a face.

"Kill!" The hand shot back.

"Murder isn't always the best solution!" The other hand, still orange, didn't agree with the other. "Torture has its merits too!"

"Now, my grand plan has started!" Sasori smirked, extending his hands. "I WILL TURN ALL OF MANKIND INTO PUPPETS!"

"Kunai, dear kunai…" Kakashi spoke, observing the weapon as he sulked into a corner. "I will have you open my veins full of angst and shed all this misery to spread emoness everywhere…"

"Kamina, you're wimp!" Zabuza roared, showing his muscles with a testosterone-laced voice. "Who the hell do you think I am? I beat the shit out of the _god of war_! I am the ghost of Sparta!"

"Please, please, don't leave me alone," Haku asked, holding a butcher knife. "If you leave me alone, I will kill you, and I will be alone, forcing me to kill you again…"

"I will kill everyone to prove my existence!" Gaara growled, red sand floating around her. "I will build sandcastles with your intestines!"

"Meowth!" A purple cat nodded.

"I'm going to map everything…" Kuebiko whispered, a lightsaber in hands. "FOR I AM A TECHNO JEDI!"

"Seeing your weapon stirs something inside me, Tobirama," Amaterasu spoke. "Not only my interest."

"CRUSH! KILL! DESTROY!" Susanoo shouted, each and every move of his making the earth tremble. "Or burn. Fate will decide." He threw a piece of money in the air and started at the result. "Kill! Maim! Burn!"

"I am certainly misunderstood, not evil," Tsukiyomi whispered, drinking coffee with the words 'EVIL GENIUS' written on it. "Honest."

"Whoa, the parodyverse is insane," Izanami commented. "I mean, everyone is a parody of himself! Incredible."

"How can you still be sane?" Kazama, the sane one, asked. "I'm goddamn Darth Vader here!"

"Well… I am sane because I don't need an omake to do… this!" Izanami spanked his ass, making him redden in humiliation. "But… well, I guess it can only be done here, so let's cross the line between humor and trolliness."

She brought down his pants.

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: Thanks yournameandnumber for inspiring the parodyverse omake.<em>**

**_This chapter is of course, Kakashi-focused. It's basically his personal story's peak. Others scenes are added to underline the difference between the current incarnations of Kakuzu and Hidan from the canon ones, and foreshadow future plot twists with the Minato scene. The blue eyes' nature is left for your interpretation._**

**_Kakuzu... I have always wondered how such old and devious missing-nin could be beaten by a small team many times his junior. I mean, if the guy survived the first Hokage, supposedly stronger than canon!Madara, and lived nearly a century facing nukekins hunters, he should be a lot more dangerous and smart. Here, his silliness is a ploy to be underestimated, and he acts like a real ninja: lies about the techniques he's about to use, plans beforehand..._**

**_Hidan... I wonder how the canon one can be considered S-class. True, his curse has a lot of potential for assassination, but he's closer to A-rank in term of skills. As such, I have given him a variant of the Dead Consuming Seal to justify his reputation. I mean, if one can summon the Shinigami, it should be possible to summon other gods... including Jashin/Mikaboshi. Yep, as you have seen, they're the same deity, with different names._**

**_Now, Kenta... he's my attempt at portraying a real life sociopath, without all the cliche associated to the name. I have realized most sociopaths in movies and the like, like Orochimaru and Palpatine, are closer to extreme narcissists than true sociopaths, who rarely learns of their mistakes and are so impulsive they can throw away a life goal on a whim and blame it on others. Kenta may be intelligent, but he's at core a cruel manchild blaming everyone for his actions/a self-glorified serial killer with megalomaniac tendencies. He really can't imagine a scenario where he's at fault._**

**_Yugito will get her share of development in the next arc. _**

**_Finally, the last cliffhanger is over. Next time, the different climaxes, longer than the current chapters. All the heroes will have gotten at least one awesome moment/took a level in badass by the end._**

**_Finally, the poll is closed. As such, the order of the different mini-arcs' climax/big fights shall be:_**

**_1) The Amegakure Arc (Kazama and the two Madara)._**

**_2) The Confronting the Demon Arc (Naruko, Kitsune, Gaara)._**

**_3) The Dystopia Arc (Sasori, Kuebiko, Chibaku and Haku)._**

**_4) The Past Enemy Arc (Kamui/Kakashi and Yugito)._**

_**Now, write you soon, and don't forget to review and give your point of view.**_

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><p><em><strong>Teasers for the new chapters.<strong>_

_**August Star**_

The Sanbi was roaring for all to hear, each and every movement made the earth shake. Its gaze was full of hate, its claws soon to be drenched in blood.

And yet, Kazama wasn't afraid.

"I wield the power of a god, Bijuu!" He shouted. "I have faced ordeals beyond your comprehension. And I will not back down!"

...

Much to Tsukiyomi and Kazama's surprise, Hanzo dropped his broken Kusarigama on the ground.

"What happened," he asked, adopting a fighting pose, "to the nobility of unarmed combat?"

...

_**"That is **_**your **_**power, Uzumaki Naruto. My power is your own, and your future is in your hands only. No fate but the one you make."**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Lost Innocence<strong>_

_**"Do you wish me to show them all?" **_The Kyuubi laughed. _**"The real Naruko? The one you desperately try to hide under a fake mask of cheerfulness? Haven't you always wondered WHY everyone always agreed with you, against their better judgment? Let me tell you how meaningless your victories were."**_

...

"I don't care if my hope is built on lies," Kitsune told his Dark self. "For my struggle... for my struggle is real. For my family is real."

...

"Sometimes, Naruko... sometimes, we cannot save everyone. Sometimes, there are sacrifices to make."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Distant Utopia<strong>_

_**"You... you cannot understand... what we feel. What we clones feel at being nothing but copies."**_

...

"A name, eh?" Five asked, his mask red with blood. "I think... a name does not matter. In the end... nothing really matters, beside our actions."

...

Orochimaru waved his Kusanagi. "Ready?"

"Always," Sasori replied, linking his strings to the Sannin's limbs. "Hundred-to-one chance of survival? Good odds, given the situation."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Blade of Friendship<strong>_

Yugito rose up, and glared at the laughing murderer. "You like to kill people, right?" She growled, chakra covering her body. _**"I will show you... what it is to reduce someone to ashes!"**_

...

"I guess you weren't as tough as I thought you were," Kakuzu spoke.

...

One hundred meters. A big gap, and a monster at the end.

Kamui stared at his counterpart, who nodded. _Let's kick his ass._

"Chidori!" They shouted at the same time.

...

"Obito..." Kamui whispered, the Susanoo manifesting around him. "I will show you... that our friendship shall conquer all."


	34. Chapter 31: August Star

_Here is the end of Kazama's mini-arc, as decided with the poll._

As usual, thanks ABitterPill and Third Fang for betaing my work.

Disclaimer: guess what I don't own. As you have followed the story this far, I guess I don't have to remind you of the characters' aliases?

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 31:<strong>_

_**August Star**_

It started with fire.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball!" Kazama shouted, unleashing a powerful red blast at his enemies. Madara gave him support by flashing his hands, firing two shots of blue flames. While Hanzo simply vanished, moving faster than lightning, Yagura had his hook rotate. A shield of water materialized, extinguishing the oncoming attack.

Taking advantage of the situation, Kazama entered the resulting cloud of steam, summoning multiple shadow clones under cover. He let one go out into the open, and it was almost immediately impaled by Yagura's hook.

"Game over." The green haired jinchuriki grinned savagely before his latest target dispelled right in front of him. Acting on instinct, the Mizukage took a step back, barely avoiding two kunai, which almost grazed his temples. The kunai turned into shadow clones, who made hand signs mid-air, shooting fireballs at the mad warrior. Yagura spat in irritation and spun on himself like a twister, surrounding himself with a sphere of water.

_He copied the Hyuuga, _Kazama realized, analyzing the information of his clones. _His reflexes are good, but he is slower and physically weaker than I am. He must be a ninjutsu expert._

Hanzo chose that moment to reappear, moving almost faster than the eyes could follow. His kusarigama shined, surrounded by blue chakra turning it razor sharp. In a few perfectly executed motions, the ruler of Ame slaughtered the remaining clones, moving on to charge at the real one. Kazama activated his chakra chains in response and attempted to impale the man with them.

Hanzo in turn simply switched place with a raindrop, materializing right in front of the blonde.

Kazama couldn't help but blink. Hanzo could use the kawarimi _with a raindrop? _The ruler of Ame swung his kusarigama in one deadly motion, intending to behead the world wanderer.

Madara chose that time to erupt from the ground, seizing Hanzo's arm. "Goodbye," the Uchiha whispered as his Sharingan twisted space around his target.

Hanzo growled in mild frustration and despite all logic that said that he shouldn't have been able to, he managed to shunshined his way to freedom, materializing next to Yagura.

"Be wary, Naruto," the missing-nin from Konoha told Kazama. "Hanzo's speed is unrivaled in water. You cannot hope to match him in close combat."

The blonde reluctantly nodded, eyeing the Mizukage. "I'll focus on Yagura, you take Hanzo?"

"It would be better if we did that," the Uchiha nodded before unleashing multiple blue fireballs at Rain's ruler. The man kept avoiding them, and the blonde glanced at Yagura.

"Die, you sheep!" The Mizukage finished a hand-seal sequence, surrounding his body with a layer of water before launching at the pair with bloodlust and propelled through the air as a living arrow attempting to ram into the world wanderer. Kazama barely leapt to the side, managing to get out of the way in time and unleashed his chains. They caught the Mizukage's ankles, and yanked him to a stop so suddenly that he instantly shed off his secondary water skin. Kazama then spun as fast as he could manage and tossed the dizzied madman toward the bleachers.

The audience fled in horror as Yagura crashed through the seats. The Mizukage rose up quickly as expected though, anger all over his face and started another hand seals sequence. He opened his mouth, and shot multiple bullets of compressed water at the blonde.

Kazama charged forward in turn, his chains deflecting the lethal projectiles as he did so. Running faster than he had ever before, he reinforced his limbs with chakra, jumped, formed a Rasengan midair, and slammed it into the shocked Yagura's torso. The resulting aftershock resulted in a crater and a very wounded Mizukage.

As Kazama leapt a few meters away, he cursed as green chakra covered the enraged Mizukage like a cloak. "It seems you are a better contender than I imagined," Yagura snarled, one tail of chakra materializing from his tailbone. "I will take you seriously now!"

In an instant, Kazama was slammed back in the air by a powerful punch to the ribs. Yagura didn't stop there and jumped forward swinging his hook for a second and potentially lethal follow up blow.

Acting quickly, the blonde used Heat Wave to change his fall's direction, dodging the deadly strike at the last critical moment before he was left a head shorter. Regaining his footing, the wanderer threw three kunai covered with explosive seals at the Mizukage.

The shroud's tail moved on its own and blocked the projectiles, setting them off instantly. The resulting explosion not even managing to break past the chakra cloak. Landing and once again moving at great speed, Yagura attempted a vertical swing of his hook, once more preferring to utilize his weapon to deal damage instead of relying on his cloak to do so. Kazama easily dodged it by jumping to his side… only to be surprised by a hand of green chakra whose claws targeted the blonde's chest.

"Shit!" The wanderer cursed, as the claws barely missed the belly. They however tore apart his cloak and the shirt underneath, revealing his seal.

Yagura's sadistic grin was replaced by a look of pure surprise. "Jinchuurik-"

Taking advantage of the opening, Kazama drew the two Kusanagi from under his cloak and threw them at Yagura's heart and skull. The surprised Mizukage slightly moved to his left, dodging the lethal projectiles. One of the swords broke past the chakra cloak and grazed his chest, tearing a part of his shirt away.

Yagura was not amused. "You're a demon vessel too?" He asked, misunderstanding what the seal contained. "If so, which demon do you contain? And why are you fighting me? To prove you're the strongest?"

"Because you keep hurting people," he replied, throwing fireballs at the guy. However all of the projectiles were deflected by his tail. _It's moving independently… probably the Sanbi's will. It's like fighting two people at once. He doesn't seem to be affected by Kusanagi's poison either… it must not work that well against a jinchuriki with a cloak already up._

The Kage seemed to be downright _appalled _by the answer. "You're fighting for _them_?" He pointed a finger at the fleeing crowd, who had wisely decided to flee the stadium. "For these weaklings? They don't even care about you!"

Kazama mentally ordered his swords to change direction and stab the Mizukage in the back. "You misunderstand. I'm not doing it to _protect them_. I'm doing it to _defeat you_!" He snarled, crossing his fingers. "Great Fire Annihilation!" Releasing a huge wall of fire with his mouth, Kazama intended to roast his enemy alive.

Spinning once again, the Mizukage shaped a dome of water all around himself as protection, which, if the resulting steam was of any indication, was sufficient for a time.

One Kusanagi chose that time to return, piercing the shield and impaling Yagura to the ground. The dome of water crumbled on itself, leaving the bloodied Yagura to fall on himself. The blade had impaled his belly and kidney, drawing unhealthy amounts of blood. Yet, he was still alive. "Bastard!" he snarled, struggling to raise his head and glare at the blonde. "Fighting people _like_ me? You're a demon vessel, a hated sacrifice! You should _be_ like me! You should _revel_ in what you are and despise those sheep who keep abusing us!"

"I am fighting for the people who deserve to strive, Yagura," Kazama replied, catching the second Kusanagi midair and preparing a beheading motion. "Too long have I been weak. You, Orochimaru, the Inner Council… you all have power and use it to spread pain. Even if I find most people worthless, you keep hurting the few good people the world has to offer. Now I have the necessary power, I will live to the responsibility that comes with it… creating a better world by _annihilating_ your kind, starting with you."

"You…" Yagura erupted into insane laughter. "You piss me off."

His chakra reserves spiked in an instant. A powerful shockwave made Kazama stagger, as a whirlpool of chakra swirled around the bloodied madman. It started mixing with his blood, and Yagura's flesh was soon merged with the disgusting material. The Kusanagi impaling the man exploded into shards.

Panicking, Kazama extended his last sword, but it didn't even bother the monster. The metal was stopped by the chakra armor and the two tails swinging behind his back. _**"You piss me off." **_The voice was downright inhuman, deep and cruel. _**"Power is pain. It is a gift, not a burden."**_

Standing proudly, Yagura had nothing to do with a human anymore. The mix of green chakra and blood covered his entire body, adding claws and cruel fangs. His killing intent was on par with Orochimaru's on a bad day. _**"We demon vessels are the world's gift to mankind. We are a superior species, we are the guides of evolution. People hate and fear us because they know the world belongs to us, and our will is the will of nature. If you cannot understand this," **_he joined his palms, _**"you deserve only annihilation!"**_

Slamming his palms together, he opened his mouth and unleashed a tsunami.

Gallons upon gallons of water flooded the stadium, destroying it and spreading the chaos outwards onto the rest of the city. Kazama was covered with water and dragged by the powerful, irresistible currents generated by the attack. Keeping his breath, the blonde struggled to emerge, only to fail.

In the end, he managed to make the hand seals needed for the Heat Wave and used it to propel himself out of the water and luckily land on a rocky surface. This caused pain to race through his back, but at least he didn't drown. Dizzied, he managed to get up and observe his surroundings.

It wasn't the floor, but a roof. Yagura had flooded not only the stadium, but the entire _city_.

The streets were full of water; waves destroyed houses and people drowned by the dozens and floated limply down what used to be the main roads of the city. In the distance, Kazama could see the remnants of the destroyed stadium, where Madara was still fighting Hanzo. Yagura…

The bastard couldn't care less if he destroyed Amegakure with his enemy.

Yagura was coming, surfing on the water's waves like a hungry shark.

Staying on the roof, waiting for the enemy to come, Kazama mentally ran through a list of his options. He had burnt nearly a third of his chakra reserves so far, one of the Kusanagi was destroyed, and Yagura far outmatched him in terms of strength, if not speed. Fighting him on water was akin to suicide. His remaining Kusanagi wasn't able to break past the armor…

… _the Storm Flail could do the job, _Kazama thought, summoning his chains and embedding the Kusanagi in the floor. He formed a rasengan, left his chains swirl around it, and infused it with chakra. The flail glowed.

When Yagura jumped in the air, intending to smash the blonde to pieces, he had been too late and the flail struck his jaw instead. The resulting shockwave propelled the Mizukage into another building, which promptly crumbled from the sudden impact. Pretty sure the bastard was alive under the debris, the world wanderer unleashed a fire jutsu at the ruins, burning and melting what was not too soaked to catch alight.

After half a minute, the target emerged from the ruins, screaming. His chakra cloak had partially receded, the Storm Flail having exposed his skin to the flames. Unwilling to leave him any space, the blonde grabbed the Kusanagi, jumped from his roof and slashed Yagura vertically upon landing, drawing blood.

_It's too easy. That's the fabled Mizukage? He's a lot less skilled than Orochimar- _his eyes widened as he came to a sudden realization and backed away quickly. _He never __**needed **__skill._

_**"Willing to stand, prey?" **_Yagura's tone was derisive, barely hiding his pain. _**"Good. By devouring you, I will become twice as strong!"**_He showed his fangs, and Kazama suddenly realized who had made sharpened teeth one of Kiri's national customs, and _why_.

"You're a monster, Yagura. You're not going to get away with your atrocities this time."

The mad demon vessel chuckled, his chakra cloak reforming. _**"You're the biggest idiot I've ever seen. You think teaming up with Uchiha Madara can bring justice? Justice doesn't even exist! It's a foolish idea the weak invented to dream for a better future!" **_He waved his monstrous claws and attempted to smash the blonde, who dodged. _**"You're a hypocrite!"**_

"You're the hypocrite, for you're the only weak one here," Kazama taunted him, dodging the enemy's blows. Even with the Sanbi's chakra working to mend his wounds, they were slowing him down. "You always depended on the Sanbi to win your battles, right? That's why you fight like an amateur!"

The monster roared, and the duo entered a dance of life and death among the blazing ruins of the building. Kazama threw the Kusanagi like a kunai at the raving madman's face. His head jerked to the side and avoided the blow, but the world wanderer took the opportunity to ram a Rasengan into his fangs, shattering them. The monster staggered in rage and shock. _**"Why the hell is happening? Why am I losing?"**_

"Your demon's chakra and healing factor won all the fights you were in, right?" Kazama mocked him. "You never truly trained, because you never needed to. You have incredible power and are using it in the simplest, most wasteful way possible… for you never fought someone that could truly harm you!"

In a way, Yagura was exactly like Naruto himself behaved in his youth. Relying on a few powerful jutsu and his demon's boons. Kazama progressed and worked on perfecting his skills… whereas Yagura never bothered to.

Zabuza, Haku… none of them had any jutsu able to pierce his chakra armor. And if they had, it was useless when Yagura entered a full-Bijuu rage. Now that he was facing someone that could match him, he didn't do so well anymore.

_**"You… DIE!" **_Yagura snapped, opening his muzzle and gathering chakra. _**"Bijudam-"**_

Kazama's chakra chains caught his muzzle and forcefully closed it. The unfinished green sphere of power faded away. "I'm a former demon vessel, idiot. None of your tricks will surprise me." Kazama searched under his robes and brought his special weapon.

A black spike extracted from Nagato. How ironic.

"This is for killing Yahiko." He impaled the monster's chest with it, and the weapon went straight through the chakra cloak. Yagura tried to squash his attacker with his claws, but the chains pushed them away. "This is for all the people you hurt in Kiri." Kazama punched the rod, letting it progress deeper through the bastard's flesh. "This is for all the Ame-nin who drowned thanks to you." Another punch. The Mizukage tried to scream, but the chains kept his mouth restrained.

"And this is for _Nagato and Konan_!"

He formed a Rasengan and slammed it against the rod. The weapon spin on itself, pierced the monster's heart, and flew out of the Mizukage's back like a bloodied arrow.

In the madness of the pain he was experiencing, Yagura found the strength to break the chains and screamed bloody murder.

The sheer power of the roar pushed Kazama away, but he kept his ground. The bastard was dying, holding his wound. Even the Sanbi couldn't heal a destroyed heart. "I believe you forgot something about the food chain, Yagura," the blonde mused. "_Man _is always at the top. Not _beasts _like _you_."

_**"You… you…" **_He coughed and stumbled on the ground. _**"Isobu… avenge… me…"**_

He covered his chest with his palms, and apparently ripped his seal apart.

The resulting shockwave propelled Kazama down the watered streets. The surprised blonde rose up, only to be welcomed by a horrible sight.

Yagura's body was _burning_. Green chakra was consuming the corpse, twisting it to fuel the Sanbi's return. It transformed into a building-sized, turtle shaped _monster_. The surrounding streets collapsed to leave it space, as flesh was covered with green scales.

The resulting creature was both horrifying and full of majesty. It was a gigantic turtle, with green crab like shells over the limbs, human like arms, and three long tails. It had only one, red eye, multiple horns, and a vicious maw.

Slowly, the Sanbi turned his head and glanced at the blonde below. **"It seems,"** the monster spoke with a faint, human-like tone, **"you killed my friend."**

Kazama could only feel_dread_at that moment.

**"Well, it was entertaining while it lasted."** The Bijuu cracked its fingers. **"It feels strange to be free again. Completely free... Yet I have the distinct impression of lacking something. It is quite a strange sensation."** It stared at the spot where its container used to be. **"This feeling… is it sadness? Loneliness? I have never experienced it before. It's… it's painful."**

Its lone eye glanced at Kazama.

**"Maybe killing you will appease my wounded heart."**

The turtle waved its tails and attempted to squash the world wanderer. The Heat Wave propelled him in the air, allowing him to dodge the blow and land safely on a roof. _Crap, how am I supposed to beat a Bijuu?,_he thought, making hand seals. "Fire Re-"

"Water Release," the Sanbi spoke, crossing its claws, "Aqua Jet."

Much to Kazama's horror, the murderous Bijuu was surrounded by water that moments later flew at incredible speed toward him. A kawarimi with a rock a few meters away barely saved the world wanderer's life, allowing him to watch as the water missile destroyed not only the building he was previously standing on, but _the entire street as well_. "Bijuu can use Ninjutsu?!"

**"Do you truly believe I would spend years inside a ninja without picking up a few tricks?"** The Sanbi shot back, upon nullifying the jutsu.

_Crap, I need it out of Ame before things get even worse, _he told himself, leaping roof from roof, hoping the creature would follow…

**"I am not going anywhere, and neither will you. Water Release: Rain Dance." **The Sanbi joined palms again, and the clouds above the city blackened, turning the previous drizzle into a downpour. **"In fact, finishing you off after destroying Ame would be just as good as the opposite."**

_Shit, it's transforming the area to suite itself. Fighting here is suicide. Fighting here…_

Fighting here was the only option left.

"I have the power of a god, Bijuu!" Kazama snarled, mostly to regain his confidence than intimidating his opponent. "And I will not back down!" He extended the Kusanagi, turning it into a spear.

The Sanbi used a kawarimi. To switch with a_building_.

**"Mere boasting will change nothing. The Grass-Cutter is powerful, but you are nowhere powerful enough to-"** The Sanbi caught the blue chains that almost hit its eye. **"Sneak attack… good, scion of the Uzumaki."**

"You met my clan?"

**"I convinced Yagura to kill the remaining survivors in Kiri. Your kin was too weak and feeble to be ignored. They were weighting Kirigakure down."** It chuckled as the chains vanished. **"Strange. Your hair indicates the blood should be dormant. How did you manage to awaken your power?"**

"I had to beat a madman of your container's caliber. Didn't work, but still," he replied as he unleashed a Cold Wave at the turtle. The wind grew strong, _almost _fazing the beast. _I used all my arsenal and it's not working. The Storm Flail could damage it… nah, it's not going to let me close the gap, and it can use Kawarimi._

**"Mad? No, enlightened."** The Sanbi shrugged, so goddamn casual in the middle of a battle it wounded Kazama's pride. Madara's apprentice was nothing more than a flea in front of the demon, and it showed**. "Yagura strived so hard to become Mizukage the pain he felt upon realizing his dream was worthless gave him new perspective. I wonder why you are facing against your kind. Why protect people you do not care about? Why not rule?"**

The teen scowled. "In my childhood, people were in my current position and did nothing to help me. I am not going to be as selfish as they were." He shrugged his shoulders. "If I am to prove myself better than others, I will have to prove it. If I can protect people from monsters like you, I will. Inaction would prove I'm just as bad as you."_Or Konoha. Or Namikaze._

**"You are fighting me… to prove you are different?"** The Sanbi rasped incredulously. **"Foolish, demon vessels are cursed to share their pain and misery. You cannot run from your own nature. No, you cannot run at all. Water Release: Hydro Pump!"**

The rain swirled under the beast's muzzle and turned it into a powerful, pressured, incredibly fast torrent of water. The blast destroyed countless houses in its wake, reaching Kazama in mere seconds despite distance between the two forces. The young man barely had the time to blink. _Oh crap… seal, I need your help! _He inwardly begged, as the water hit with his face.

Well… _almost _hit.

Much to Kazama's shock, space swirled around his heart, turning it into a black hole. The water blast swirled, entirely swallowed. A few seconds later, the danger nonexistent, the hole closed.

The teen's surprise couldn't match the Sanbi's. **"What is it? A space-time migration technique?"** The creature sounded somewhat frightened.

Kazama instantly recognized Madara's absorption technique. Could the seal replicate it? Maybe he could turn the battle's tide?

**"It seems I will have to take you seriously."** The Sanbi's killing intent skyrocketed. The creature opened its muzzle, chakra gathering into a swirling green sphere. Kazama watched horrified, as the projectile quickly reached the diameter of a building. The sheer power emanating from it was making the earth tremble. **"This Bijudama will turn this city into dust, and you along with it."** The creature roared. **"Farewell, weak one."**

The Bijudama was launched as fast as menacing cannonball towards its target. Kazama's eyes widened in fear as he realized that he didn't have enough time to attempt to take in this attack like the previous one…

"Shinra Tensei," a voice whispered from behind the wanderer's back.

An invisible force pushed the sphere back into the skies. It exploded among the rainy clouds in a green fire.

The world wanderer tilted his head and glanced behind him. "Sorry for the delay, big boy," Izanami spoke, giving him the nice guy pose. "I had to bring reinforcements!"

"Sorry, we're late…" Nagato whispered, Konan carrying him on her back. He glanced at the devastated city, and then at the Sanbi. His scowl deepened. "I suppose it is time to take it down before it does any more damage."

"What are you doing there?" Kazama frowned. "I told you-"

"I already lost a friend," Konan cut in, depositing Nagato on the ground. "It won't let it happen again."

At the speed of the wind, thousands of explosive tags descended from the skies upon the surprised Sanbi. In a large inferno, they all exploded, and the creature shrieked in pain. A good part of its shell fell to the ground from the overwhelming attack, broken and shattered from the damage.

**"You miserable prey…"** The turtle rolled like a ball, advancing forward the group at incredible speed, smashing people and ruins down the road. **"Die!"**

"I have a jutsu that can take it down," Nagato spoke, a black sphere forming between his palms. "I need time. Try to slow it down."

"Easier said than done," Kazama whispered, elaborating a plan. "Konan-san can you pull that stunt again?" The girl nodded, and the blonde glanced at Izanami. "Can you teleport us close?"

"Nami can do anything!"

"Good. The second we're near it, Konan-san, use your jutsu, and I will use one of my own."

The mysterious masked woman grabbed both of them, space twisting around them. The feeling seemed different than Madara's own teleportation, but honestly, Kazama couldn't care less. In a flash, they found themselves a few seconds away from death. Summoning clones, he proceeded to create a Storm Flail. "Now!"

"Right!" Konan joined her hands, explosive tags blowing up next to the monstrous bouncing ball. The sheer power of the explosion immobilized the creature, long enough for Kazama to complete his technique. In a swing, he smashed the destructive flail against the creature's broken shell.

The powerful explosion threw the teen on the ground, and he wasn't the only one. Izanami and Konan barely kept their footing, and the Sanbi dropped like a massive shelled fly, stunned at the massive blow that was dealt to it so suddenly.

At that point, the world wanderer noticed Nagato's black sphere among the clouds. Gravity seemed to weaken then, and the Sanbi started to levitate. Slowly, buildings, bricks, Kazama himself, they started to fall up, attracted to the black sphere. "Grab my hand!" Izanami's voice ordered, as she grabbed Konan and offered him her free limb.

Kazama extended his arm, as space convulsed around him.

…Only for one of the Sanbi's tails to slither around his waist, drawing him away from the shocked women and closer to the creature's muzzle. Izanami and Konan vanished from his view, the teleportation technique kicked in.

**"If I'm going down, it won't be alone."** The Sanbi's lone eye glared at Kazama. **"Yagura will be avenged."**

They crashed against the black star, which was slowly being covered with bricks and rocks. Kazama shrieked, his body starting to be crushed, and the Sanbi foaming in pain. Both were being buried alive_. It can't end like this, _the wanderer told himself. _It can't end now…_

He opened his eyes. _Seal, give me power! Give me more, give me more, __**give me more!**_

And the darkness answered.

And the Sanbi's scream was swallowed by it.

The world shook, as all around the world, eight demons and their vessels screamed in unison.

Their brother was gone forever, never to return.

_**Madara Uchiha**_

Water could burn.

"Amaterasu!" Madara roared, upon summoning the black heavenly flames. The artificial ocean around him was vaporized in a blink, replaced with an equal amount of steam. Ignoring the heat, Madara focused, waiting for Hanzo to come.

Hanzo switched place with a raindrop in the white air, beheading Tsukiyomi with one swift motion. Not that the Uchiha did not see it coming. Activating Izanagi and sacrificing one of the Sharingan implanted in his arm, the fallen lord rewrote reality itself, emerging behind his enemy. Hanzo barely had the time to curse as a fireball impacted on his armor, blowing it up.

"Ibuse! Come!" Hanzo growled, the huge black salamander popping up under him. Madara wasn't truly impressed as the creature unleashed poisonous mist at his summoner's enemy. The Uchiha absorbed it all, unaffected.

"I killed you, how can you be still alive?" Hanzo growled, joining his fingers. "Water Release: Tsuna-"

"Tsukiyomi," Madara whispered, teleporting right in front of Hanzo's face, locking eyes. The samurai was instantly trapped in an illusionary world, subjected to three days of horrendous tortures in the space of a single second.

Or he would have if he didn't break out of the illusion.

Madara could only gasp as the man punched the Uchiha's chest so hard it went past the heart, tearing apart his insides in an instant. Only a second Izanagi saved the Uchiha's life as he materialized a few feet away. "Impossible…" Nobody ever negated the Tsukiyomi so easily. Many great men survived the illusion's tortures and continued fighting, but none ever managed to break it.

"Your illusions cannot work on a mind of steel hardened by pain. I live with nightmares every day, do you truly think I can't resist such an unimaginative one that you have fabricated?" Hanzo dropped his kusarigama for a katana that was on his waist, and Ibuse flew through the air at incredible speed. Channeling chakra inside his blade, the samurai cut the wind in half, alongside Madara's body.

… Or so would he have, had the Uchiha not activated Susanoo. The ethereal armor blocked the attack, though not without some effort. In the distance, Yagura had apparently unleashed the Sanbi. "I cannot afford to stay any longer," Madara spoke, as the Susanoo punched the Summon's skull, shattering the brain and killing it in one blow.

Hanzo jumped, and impaled the Susanoo's stomach with his enhanced katana. The blade broke past the armor, stopping within an inch of Madara's mask. This, while impressive proved to be a mistake, and Susanoo seized the ruler of Ame preventing him from getting away. "I commend you for killing me two times. It is more than anyone else has accomplished in the last fifty years, but my apprentice needs me." Madara made a genuine reverence. "Goodbye, Hanzo of the Rain."

Susanoo tightened its grip, shattering bones and making Hanzo gasp, before tossing him at a building.

Leaving Hanzo to his death, the Uchiha teleported to an intact roof and stared at the artificial planet forming in the skies, sensing his student's chakra signature inside. He couldn't teleport and save him without being crushed himself. He was well aware of the severe nature of the technique being used after all.

"This is bad." Madara was surprised himself. Was his student truly going to die today? No, he decided. He was too resourceful. He would find a way. Either his seal or Mikaboshi would save the teen.

A second later, a familiar shiver in his spine told Madara it was the latter.

It first began with time stopping. The flying debris was immobilized, as if the mini-planet's gravity had been nullified.

Then, the planet imploded. It became smaller and smaller, until it vanished from sight altogether.

After that, a black hole opened in the sky. Literally. A black spot tainted the tapestry of creation, swallowing the clouds, the ozone, the air, growing bigger. Madara could already sense the pull increasing, the hole attempting to devour the entire planet in its hunger. It was a gate to a pocket dimension, similar to the Uchiha's... except the gate was growing, and would keep expanding.

"Congratulations, Naruto Uzumaki," he whispered. "You have just started the end of the world."

_**Naruto Uzumaki**_

He was alone, floating in the darkness.

Kazama Arashi was standing on a platform made of rock, extracted from Amegakure. He was surrounded by a void full of stars. Under the platform, Amegakure itself. The destroyed city was nothing more than a ruin from his point of view. If he wanted, he could end it here and now.

"So this is a god's power?" Kazama moved his palm, buildings immediately crashing down below. "The power to create and destroy with a swing of the hand? The power I wield now?"

It was intoxicating. With a mere thought, he could control this darkness. The teen had no illusion he could do anything now. He had unlimited power at his disposal, and he knew it.

_**"Tempting, is it not?"**_

The tone made Kazama shiver. He stared around him, only to realize the voice was only a distant echo of Kazama's own. "Who is there?"

_**"I have many names."**_ The stars lightened, making the blonde's eyes widen. _**"I am the beginning and the end of all things. I am power. I am your power."**_

Some people would doubt this claim, but deep inside, Kazama knew the thing spoke the truth. The voice was power, far beyond anything from the human world. "This… this is like Madara's pocket dimension, right?"

_**"Yes. A place where you control space, time, energy and matter. A place where we rule almighty. A place I used to free you from the Vault, to transport you to Yahiko's death."**_

"You are the will of the Shinigami?" Kazama whispered. "You are the will of the seal?"

_**"I am the will of a god, yes. I have been with you all along. I have been growing, strengthening you, reinforcing you. I improved you."**_

It took him time, but he understood. "You were messing with my mind all along! You were the one who sealed my memories!"

_**"I put a psychic block on your mind to prevent you from considering I might exist. I did the same, although more subtly, to your companions. Sasori had seen changes in your behavior since the beginning."**_ The voice stopped. _**"I sealed memories that could compromise my secret. Vague images of my pocket dimension, hints the power offered had a will of its own. I apologize for the deception, but you were not ready to face me yet, and neither was I."**_

The wanderer gritted his teeth. "So Yami Naruto lied all along?" He blinked. "You were influencing my behavior?"

_**"Yami Naruto is nothing more than a puppet of my will. I absorbed him ever since we met for the first time. I figured feeding you true information and letting you misunderstand yourself would be the safest course of action."**_ The voice went silent. _**"As for your behavior, I simply allowed your hidden feelings to resurface."**_

"All this time… all this time, you have been twisting my thoughts? You were the one that kicked Kushina out of my body, isn't that right?" Kazama glared at the starry emptiness. "I was just your puppet!"

_**"Your mother was keeping us down. My power does not work this way. I cannot seal memories unless you want them gone. I cannot have you reject conventional morality unless you yourself did not believe in it deep inside your heart. I never forced you to do anything against your will. You subconsciously wanted me to show you the way. I simply allowed your true feelings to resurface, nothing more."**_

"This is a lie!" Even so, Kazama couldn't deny the being had struck a nerve. He had wanted power to save his friend, and he loathed most people. However, he pointed a finger at the destroyed city below. "I never wanted this devastation!"

_**"Of course you did."**_

Kazama shut his mouth.

_**"You hate the world. You always did. You hated it for causing you suffering since you were born. You hated it for denying you any escape to your condition. This is why you befriended criminals like Sasori, why you were obsessed with Sasuke. Because you wanted someone, anyone, to show you this world was not hopeless. To show you love. You would have forgiven even Madara if he had told you he was proud of you."**_

Kazama clenched his fists, but the god didn't leave him finish. _**"You do not believe the philosophy you preached to him. You simply wanted his approval."**_ The blonde felt as if he had been slapped. _**"You have closed your eyes on Sasori's activities because you couldn't stand losing someone you considered a friend. You hold no moral ground, and you cannot care less about it. Deep down, you are a selfish being. With your power, you could have saved billions, and yet you used it to save alternate versions of yourself. You honestly cannot see a grander purpose past your own happiness."**_

"Then why did I try to help Wave, Konoha, Konan and so many others?" Kazama shot back.

_**"For the glory and to deny what you are. You wanted people to look at you as a hero. You wanted to convince yourself you weren't the same as the self-centered enemies you fought all your life. You wanted the world to tell you your struggle wasn't hopeless, that your pain would end. Yet, nothing changed."**_

"I helped save Wave from Gato!" Kazama shot back. "I redeemed Gaara! I saved Konoha from the Shukaku! I freed Kumogakure from Orochimaru! I changed things!"

_**"No one can deny the great work you did."**_ The stars' light grew stronger. _**"Yet, have you been rewarded? Your life never became better. Gaara was forgiven for his psychotic behavior by the very people who were murdered at his hand. You? You stayed a demon. Wave did nothing to acknowledge your efforts. Kumogakure will forever hate your group for striking down their beloved Raikage. All your efforts were for naught, as shall be yours today."**_

Kazama glanced at the destroyed city below, leaving another opening for the voice to strike where it hurt. _**"You will be blamed for this destruction. You will be called a destroyer, the ultimate evil. Heroism will bring you nothing of lasting worth. What is left for you to protect?"**_

Easy, Kazama thought. "My friends. My family. My world."

_**"Your 'friends' will abandon you. Let me show you a vision of your future."**_

Images flashed in his mind. He saw Kakashi, Haku, Yugito, returning to their worlds. He saw Sasori and Chibaku turning their back on him to practice their art. He saw Kitsune and Gaara leaving, their insanity cured, to follow their own path. Naruko stayed the longest, but in the end, she left as well…

_**"Once Madara is gone, they will have no reason to stay with you,"**_ the voice whispered. _**"They only stick with you because you share a grudge against the Uchiha Lord, or because they need to stay together to survive. Once the threat has passed, they won't need you anymore. The Arashi clan will die. This is why you never used me, the power of the gods, to destroy Madara. Because you needed him as an excuse to keep your false family together. You wanted to be with them, no matter who would have to suffer."**_

The voice became soft. _**"You are alone."**_

He wanted to deny it. He so wanted it. Kazama struggled to reply something, anything, but the voice had struck the right nerve. Yes, deep down, the wanderer had feared such an eventuality._Is this… is this the truth? It can't be the truth._

He seized his temples. "This is a lie!"

_**"I am right. I have seen it repeat again and again, through the veil of space and time."**_ The stars grew in brilliance. _**"But I am here. I will never abandon you. You do not need anyone else. I will never betray you, and together, we will realize all your dreams. Together, we will be unstoppable. We can destroy Madara. We can be gods. We can do anything, extinguish the sun, turn oceans into blood, return mankind back to dust. Nothing would be impossible for you anymore."**_

Kazama clenched his fists. "That's why you want me?"

_**"I want you because you are unique, Naruto Uzumaki**_." The darkness filled his thoughts with visions. He saw alternate versions of himself, with differences ranging from hair color to ambitions of world domination. _**"The possibility of a human acquiring the power of a god is unique. In thousands of worlds, both you and Orochimaru died the day he twisted your seal. Or you survived with no power, or the Kyuubi was released to ravage the world anew. Every possibility led to the creation of a world. What happened to you Naruto, shall never happen again. You are a miracle and a disaster, a possibility that shouldn't exist and yet do."**_

The stars ceased to brighten. _**"By handling the black hole with care, we can alter weather, trap the earth in a winter without spring. We can alter gravity to remake the landscape as we see fit. We would emerge from the pocket dimension as supreme rulers of this devastated land, enforcing our order. Or, if you deem this universe a failure, we can make this black hole grow until it swallows this universe, restarting the process in another. With enough time, we could destroy the invisible barriers between parallel world and force them to collapse, bringing back the time of true nothingness. But we can be more creative. We can create a new earth where there will be no flaw, no weakness. We can make a perfect world where everyone is like us, where mankind is finally free from its petty limitations."**_

"At the cost of ravaging the old world?" Kazama whispered weakly. "Why would you want to do this? Because you're death?"

_**"The worlds took Sai, Sasuke, Zabuza, and so many others from you. The world is nothing but pain and injustice. Nobody will miss it. Wouldn't it be mercy to end its eternal agony? Why not be its savior? There is a time to create, and there is a time to destroy. You simply have to say you want it, and it will be over. As for why I do this? Do you ask why a fire burns? Why a plague kills? I seek order and I consume, because this is what I do. There is no why, only my nature."**_

The stars vanished. _**"No one will judge you. No one will ever know. All you have to do, is to pronounce one single sentence, and this will be over."**_

Kazama Arashi closed his eyes and pondered. For the first time in his life, he actually considered crossing the line. He considered his options.

Accepting would give him he ever wanted. With this power, he could create a world free of pain. The blonde would never be weak ever again. He could kill Madara permanently, get a do over, make sure there would be no more demon vessel, no more injustices.

Refusing would leave the world as it is. He would be called a monster, doomed to fail. He would have to live knowing his power is destructive, that his friends would abandon him, that his life truly was without value.

Kazama Arashi opened his eyes, and spoke.

_**Izanami**_

"Shit," Izanami whispered, as the black spot grew. "What is that thing?"

"I don't know, it's not part of my technique," Nagato replied, focusing on the black hole. His Rinnegan probably allowed him to see past the darkness. "Our friend is inside. No…" His eyes widened in realization. "He's causing it!"

"How is it possible?" Konan's paper was floating, used to restrain civilians to the ground. It looked painful, but better than annihilation, in Izanami's humble opinion. "This power is beyond even the Rinnegan!"

"This is…" Izanami had once felt the embrace of death, and it was nothing compared to this thing. It wasn't the death of the world, it was pure oblivion. If this thing was allowed to grow even further, the masked woman had little doubt there wouldn't even be a planet left to salvage. _Madara, this is why you wanted him? To have a pet god at your disposal?_

She shrugged. Madara wasn't the only one that could play this game. She wanted to keep her ace for later, but the situation called for it…

"I would advise against it."

Izanami and her companions turned around, facing one very unpleasant masked man. "Have a little more faith in my apprentice." Tsukiyomi stared at the black hole. "As I mastered my own power, so shall he. Naruto will resist."

Izanami raised her eyes at the growing darkness, and for once, considered praying.

The hole continued to grow…

And vanished.

In a blink, the supernatural gravity ended. Chunks of rocks and dead bodies, formerly floating, dropped like dead weight. The skies slowly returned to normal. The rain stopped.

Space twisted, and Izanami shivered upon seeing the blonde materializing in the same manner as Madara without any discomfort doing so. The teen nodded at the group, before glaring at the Uchiha Lord. "You knew all along my power was evil, didn't you?"

"I wouldn't call it evil. It would be more accurate to refer to it as alien, but yes, I guessed it had a will of its own." Madara crossed his arms. "I suppose its promises have been tempting. Why did you refuse?"

The blonde narrowed his eyes, and Izanami paid extreme attention to what followed. "It begged me to kill you. It could have. It could have made me into a god, I could have changed the entire multiverse within a blink. I did consider accepting, I wanted to. But… something stopped me." He shrugged. "I would have had to accept being a puppet."

"I'm not going to depend on a power that isn't my own. One that has its own plans and wants to use me to further them. I'm going to change the world, yes, and make it a better place. But it will be on my terms, by my own efforts. I will not let anyone else decide my fate ever again."

The teen turned his back on Madara, and focused on everyone else. "I've destroyed the Sanbi. Sorry for the damage." He bit his lips in shame. "I wanted to help you take over Amegakure, and I only managed to destroy it."

"You have done everything you could," Konan spoke, putting her hand on his shoulder as a show of comfort. "You prevented the Sanbi from doing anymore damage."

Upon seeing the blonde's still crushed face, Izanami decided to change the subject. "Where is Hanzo by the way? Is he dead?"

"Hanzo? Oh, he is alive, just… not well." Madara shrugged just as another person leapt onto the roof. "Speak of the devil."

That was an understatement. Hanzo had lost his armor, broken up to the belt. His massive kusarigama was shattered in two. Most of his ribs were apparently broken, as he walked like a half-dead man. Yet, his face was full of determination. "Keep your sick sense of humor to yourself, Cruel Ruin," he rasped, upon glaring back at Nagato, Konan and Kazama. "I hope you are happy. Everything I tried to protect is gone."

Kazama narrowed his eyes. "You called for war, you got it."

"I never wanted this to happen, fool," Hanzo menaced. "I wanted to maintain peace and stability… and you destroyed everything. You killed thousands and wiped my village from the map! Don't you feel any regret for what you've done?"

Kazama glanced away, his behavior answering for him. "Do you?"

Much to Izanami's surprise, Hanzo imitated the blonde's action. "There is nothing_but_regrets left in me. And they will change nothing."

Nagato opened his mouth, closed it, and joined his palms. "There is a way… to undo the destruction."

As realization hit Izanami's mind, Konan paled and grabbed his hands. "No, don't! You'll kill yourself!"

"This is the only way, Konan," Nagato shot back, gently pushing her away. "My death is the only way to fuel this technique."

"What are you doing?" Kazama asked, receiving no answer. "Answer me!"

"The Rinnegan possess the power to bring the dead back to life," Izanami whispered, attracting Hanzo and the blonde's attention. "However, there is a price to pay. Nagato is not the sage: he will not survive it."

Kazama paled and opened his mouth… only for Madara to firmly put his hand on his shoulder. "You said you won't let anyone control your fate? Then do not try to control another's." The masked man took his breath. "He has made his choice. Respect it."

"Why didn't you use it to save Yahiko?" Hanzo narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Did you plan this all along?"

Nagato gritted his teeth. "Yahiko would never have let me waste this technique on him. He wanted to save Ame. This is what I'm doing. This is what anyone should do in my place."

Hanzo wisely fell silent.

"Konan," he whispered, his body radiating with power. A large creature materialized in the center of the city, its shape vague for human eyes. Izanami herself could only see its shadow. "Konan, I want you to watch over Ame for me and Yahiko. Please… take my Rinnegan as your own once I'm gone. Promise me you will."

"I do," Konan nodded, tears falling from her beautiful face. "I promise."

"Thank you, Izanami-san, for having extended my life." Nagato then turned at Kazama. The redhead was aging so fast his hairs were already white, his skin withered. Everywhere around them, the dead returned to life, their bodies healed and healthy. "Kazama-san… I hope you will change our world. No, you will change it. It's a foregone conclusion."

"I will." The blonde smiled. "It has been an honor, Nagato-san."

"Sorry…" Nagato smiled, dropping into Konan's arms. "Yahiko… is waiting… for me."

As the last soul returned to its owner, Nagato closed his eyes, never to open them again.

Yet, this powerful sacrifice didn't even phase Izanami. Her former master's curse hadn't been undone. _Maybe he can help me,_she mused, observing Kazama. The teen was trying to comfort Konan with words. _If his power can destroy a Bijuu, maybe can it free me from Madara's Jutsu?_

"I am afraid to say Nagato's funeral will have to wait." Hanzo cracked his fingers. "I am still the ruler of Ame. If you want my post, you will have to beat me." He glanced at Madara and Kazama, and then stared at the mass of people. "I will take both of you on, in front of everyone."

"You have little to no chakra left, and you can barely stand," Kazama replied back softly.

"My student killed a Bijuu. You have no hope of winning. Ame_shall_be ours."

"It's not about winning." Hanzo chuckled. "It's about names. I still haven't found a name for you, Kazama Arashi. And I intend to find one."

_**Kazama Arashi**_

People were scared of him.

No, the term was correct. They were scared shitless. They stared at him as if he was a new kind of boogeyman, the devil walking among men. The voice had been right on this point. In this street, they were observing from the sidelines, away and frightened.

"It feels intoxicating, isn't it?" Tsukiyomi's voice snapped him from his thoughts. "Having people fear and recognize you as what you are: unstoppable."

Kazama snorted. "I couldn't care less anymore. I'm following my own path from now on. I will follow my own moral, my own nindo." He noticed Izanami and Konan staring from the sidelines. Both nodded at him, giving him courage. _Nothing is hopeless,_he realized. "No fate but the one I make."

"Good resolve," Madara nodded. "Let see where it leads you."

"I have a sentiment of déjà vu," Hanzo stated, a few feet away from the duo, "yet, things aren't the same anymore. They never will."

Much to Tsukiyomi and Kazama's surprise, Hanzo dropped his broken Kusarigama on the ground.

"What happened," he asked, adopting a fighting pose, "to the nobility of unarmed combat?" He scoffed. "No jutsu. No chakra. No weapons. Nothing but our fists."

Madara narrowed his lone Sharingan. "Tell me, Naruto, do you trust me?"

The blonde shrugged. "You had faith in me all along, as you said. Even if it hurts admitting it… yes. Yes, I trust you. For today at least."

Tsukiyomi nodded, pleased. "Then let us make this battle one that will never be forgotten."

For the first time Kazama had ever seen, Madara deactivated his Sharingan.

The lone eye was as black as night, turning the mask's hole completely dark.

"Forget the people," Hanzo whispered, "Today, we fight for the fight itself. The battlefield shall be our only witness."

With a wordless agreement, the battle began anew.

Despite their mutual wounds, the fighters moved fast. In spite of being half-dead, Hanzo was still the fastest of them all. He quickly closed the gap between them and attempted to punch both his enemies at the same time. Kazama dodged, whereas Madara caught the wrist. Pulling Hanzo closer, Madara gave him a kick between the legs.

Hanzo grunted, replying with a headbutt. Madara's mask resisted the hit, but the Uchiha staggered a bit. The Salamander turned around, giving a roundhouse kick to Kazama. The blonde lowered himself to dodge, following with a punch from his left arm.

Hanzo caught it with his palm and didn't even flinch. "Fifty years of physical training will do that to you," he whispered, strengthening his grip.

When Kazama felt his hand breaking, he gritted his teeth and hit Hanzo's face with his still valid fist. The attack hit the gas mask, stunning the Salamander long enough for the blonde to punch the man's forearm, freeing himself.

The Uchiha appeared between them, and his feet hit Hanzo's chest with the strength of a cannonball. The Salamander flew through the air, however landing on his feet and keeping his momentum. He roared, charged, and unleashed a storm of lightning fast strikes.

Madara and Kazama started a dance of swift moves, perfectly synchronized. They dodged, punched, kicked, and kept their ground. Hanzo might be stronger and faster in spite of his current state, fighting two enemies at once proved to be too hard.

"Now," Madara ordered, and Kazama nodded.

Both raised their fists. At the same time, they punched the gas mask, shattering it into pieces.

The crowd gasped, as their former, invincible leader, dropped onto his back like a stone. "It's over," Kazama whispered, watching as Hanzo coughed blood. "You have lost. Give up."

Hanzo rose up.

Kazama closed his eyes and opened them again in disbelief. Hanzo's body was a mess, covered with bruises and wounds. His ribs were broken, his muscles damaged, his mouth coughing blood. He shouldn't be able to stand, let alone fight now.

The world wanderer realized chakra wasn't the reason why Hanzo was still up. The Salamander's body wasn't fueled by strength anymore, only sheer _willpower_.

"Give up on making me give up," he roared, raising his left arm. The duo barely dodged, as he hit the ground where they had been standing. The rock underneath shattered in a cloud of dust. The loud, sickening sound that accompanied the moment clearly indicated that if there was still a bone intact in this arm, it wasn't the case anymore.

Ignoring Madara, Hanzo focused on Kazama, swinging his last arm at him. With a roundhouse kick, Kazama pushed it back, breaking it. Without hands, Hanzo attempted a bite, only for the blonde to punch his nose. Not leaving the enemy any opening, Kazama kept punching. Hanzo's chest received one, two, three, four hits, and yet he refused to fall.

Kazama broke his hand at the eleventh hit.

In the end, Madara's hand posed on his shoulder, snapping him out of his frenzy. "Naruto," he whispered, "it's over. You have won. No need to keep going."

Hanzo was struggling to stay standing. "Beautiful…" he whispered, blood dripping from his mouth. "It was… painful… I guess I kind of… had it coming." He chuckled, coughing up more vital red fluid in the process. "I never wanted your friends to die… I had to… for the good of my country… or at least… I thought it was."

The Uchiha Lord and his apprentice stayed silent.

"I'm… I've done my time… I guess all my sins have finally caught up… with me." Hanzo struggled to breathe. "The names… I told you I would… give you one, Arashi? I will give… two."

He narrowed his eyes. "August Star… yes, the _August Star _is fine… for he who can turn the skies asunder. But… I prefer the second nickname… people will howl in awe upon hearing it... this one shall be feared and respected for ages to come..." The samurai smiled, and whispered his last words.

"Farewell… Kazama of the Maelstrom_. _It had been an honor."

Hanzo loudly fell on his back, never to rise again.

Surprised and shocked, the bruised Kazama stared at Madara, then at the crowd surrounding him. They did the only thing reasonable.

They knelt.

They knelt. They dropped on the ground in submission and adoration. The citizens of Ame kept their breath. Most refused to raise their head. Those who did stare at him, Kazama read their mind on their face.

Through a mix of power and fear, he had become a god in their eyes.

Kazama came to a scary, terrifying realization upon witnessing this true act of worship.

He liked it.

_**Three Days later,**_

_**The Amekage**_

Hanzo's room was fairly simple. A window. A door. A bed. A mirror. A desk. A chair.

Kazama felt somewhat uncomfortable in the latter. Not physically,_mentally_. To think Hanzo had sat there made his temporary successor squirm. These white Kage-like robes were warm, more so than his former clothes. The Ame headband on his forehead was a nice new addition to his outfit, as well.

Months ago, becoming Kage had been Naruto Uzumaki's dream, a life-long one. Kazama Arashi could see past that point. Naruto Uzumaki wanted to be a Kage for the sake of being a Kage. Kazama Arashi was a Kage to improve things, as long as he would stay in power.

"Konan," he spoke, the woman approaching to listen to him. "When I'm gone, if you ever need help, I will return."

"You do not need to." The woman's newly implanted Rinnegan glittered under the window's light. "You have already done much for us, for this country. It's me who will return to help you whenever you will need it."

The temporary Amekage chuckled. "I see. Does… does it hurt?"

"I will attenuate to the pain in time," she replied softly. "I will never be as strong as Nagato, but I can protect this country without you. Not that I need it. Ame will be safe for at least a decade."

She was right. The entire ninja world was avoiding Ame like a plague. The diplomats present in Ame, who had witnessed to the fateful tag battle and what followed had spread the word. Summoning a black hole, defeating the Sanbi, and killing Hanzo in front of Rain itself had earned Kazama the rank of SS-Rank ninja and the nicknames of 'August Star' and 'Kazama of the Maelstrom' had become synonymous with 'run away from really fast'. The presence of Madara Uchiha, the single most dangerous missing-nin on earth, added another reason for foreign nations to keep their distances.

According to Madara, the Bijuu and their vessels had sensed the annihilation of their sibling, informing their superiors. Raikage A had personally declared Amegakure a forbidden place to his men, never to be approached under any circumstances.

His brother told him an evil god ruled the place.

A belief many people shared. Konan had reported the existence of a growing cult around Kazama himself, deifying him. He had mistaken it as a joke, until one of his Shadow Clones spotted dozens people bowing down before a picture of their 'glorious leader' or 'savior'. It entertained the blonde, and saddened him at the same time.

Were they so despaired they had to convince themselves their new leader was a god, to have faith in the future?

Of course, adoration helped bring stability, and it was good. Madara had been right all along. Fear was the ultimate tool to keep order, and divine laws were scary. The Villages' and demons' reaction had accredited the thesis further, reinforcing Kazama's grip over the land.

Which, of course, led to today's meeting. "Have these two arrived?" Konan nodded, and Kazama pondered what would he say to his guests. Last time hadn't ended in his favor, and he was looking forward to showing them just how far he had progressed.

The voice had been right on one account: he had had small, selfish objectives, caring only about himself. No more. He could see the big picture. Having meditated for days, the world wanderer had found a coherent, ambitious, and more beneficial goal.

Things were about to change, and in a big way.

"They already have, and are waiting for you." Konan bowed slightly. "I will leave you the time to prepare."

Thanking her with a nod, the Amekage sighed. He was alone in his bedroom, for now.

_**"You are never alone. I am always there for you."**_

Kazama's eyes widened in horror, and his head tilted to the side.

The mirror didn't reflect his face. Only pure, undiluted darkness.

_**"We both know how it will end. We both know the real reason you refused my offer, the one you did not reveal to anyone."**_The voice went silent._**"Your family will betray and abandon you. You have denied this truth, hung to a lie. To the idea your bonds are real. For how long will you cling to this madness? Once your hope is inevitably crushed, once you finally realize I am the only one that shall eternally be at your side, you will embrace your nature. This is inevitable…"**_

"I won't use your power," Kazama replied, mostly to convince himself.

Stars lightened in the darkness._**"That is **_**your **_**power, Uzumaki Naruto. My power is your own, and your future is in your hands only. No fate but the one you make."**_

The lights died out._**"You know you have only delayed your final choice. I have waited for eons for this moment. I can wait a while longer. Remember, there can only be peace through power, and who has more power than you?"**_

Kazama shattered the glass with a punch.

"Most people would label you as insane for talking, and attacking, your reflection." Izanami's voice chilled the blonde to the bone. "But not being sane myself, who am I to judge?"

"I'm not in the mood for your mind games," Kazama turned around only to freeze. His jaw dropped.

She didn't have a mask on.

"Surprise!" It was. Her face was that of an angel. Pale, beautiful, and with an aura of dignity and gracefulness. Kazama found it incredibly familiar. He was certain he had never seen her before, yet... Maybe in another world? This woman looked in her mid twenties, maybe he met her descendants? "Face it, tiger: you've earned the jackpot."

Regaining his composure, Kazama groaned. "You're a drama queen, aren't you? Still, thank you for healing my hands."

"My, this world is so dark, I enjoy the spotlight," she chirped, adopting a childish tone. "You're welcome. You deserved a reward for such an awesome show of determination." Izanami took his arm and approached his lips from her own, stopping within an inch of actually kissing him. "I could reward you with far more…"

Kazama prevented himself from blushing. "Sorry, I'm not interested. I'm pretty sure you're only doing it to mess with my mind, in fact."

"Of course," she replied, still disturbingly close. "Acting like a clown or an enamored damsel make people underestimate me. Anyone learns you and Madara are to be feared at first glance, for you radiate with power, aggression and determination. Me? Nobody is aware of just how deadly I am until it's too late."

"Interesting tactic." Suddenly, he realized why the face felt familiar. "Do you happen to be related to an Uchiha prodigy called Sasuke?"

Izanami's expression and aura didn't change. "I know no Sasuke Uchiha. Unless you're talking about some random shinobi in history like Sasuke Sarutobi, you're out of luck." She locked eyes with him and smiled. "You want to learn my real name? My former identity died, her body never to be found, just as Naruto Uzumaki vanished long ago. Kazama Arashi is a fine name. Izanami, less so, yet better than my former name. Tobi was a good name too. I don't really care which one is used." Izanami glanced at the broken mirror. "I used to be a friend of some Uzumaki, long ago."

"That's why you saved me from the Sanbi?"

"Partially. I had a debt to repay, and I tried to help you as much as I could. Otherwise, it was mostly out of curiosity. I wanted to learn why Madara was so obsessed with you, and I have." She took a step back. "That power… you can't control it, can you?"

"It's… complicated. Let say the price to pay was too ghastly." It was a lie. If the voice… if the voice happened to be _right_… "If you want to use me to conquer the multiverse, as Madara plans to, you can forget it."

"Not at all." She sat on the couch. "Conquering is rather overdone if you ask me, regardless of the scale. Let's be honest. I have an illness. An illness no one has been able to cure yet. I thought either you or a person from another universe could help me. Of course, you will be rewarded." The dark lady locked eyes with him, her Sharingan blazing. "I can help you kill Madara."

Kazama clenched his jaw. "How?"

"I have an ace that can help defeat him, and his counterpart." The blonde didn't bother to hide his surprise. "I believe that you know that there is another, called Susanoo, working with him. I tried to make him dependant on me, but he turned out to be more dangerous than I imagined. I lied to both on my motives and infiltrated their triad, but it's only a matter of time before they turn on me. An alliance between the two of us would be wise."

"I-"

Tsukiyomi opened the door, making both occupants startles in surprise. The Uchiha stared at the two, and shook his head. "Student, we need to talk. It cannot wait."

Kazama narrowed his eyes in annoyance, but nodded. "We will continue this discussion later," he told Izanami, who didn't bother to hide her displeasure. She glared at Madara, who shrugged.

Once outside, in a corridor, Tsukiyomi glanced at his apprentice. "August Star, please do not let this viper poison your ears. She will tempt you, only to better bite."

"Stop calling me this way," Kazama snapped. "And you are the one to talk."

"I simply ask of you to be more prudent. You wouldn't be the first man to fell under an older woman's charm, and suffer a cruel betrayal." Madara crossed his arms. "One week. Two at worst."

"One week?" The blonde clenched his jaw. "Does _Ame_ need me that much? Because my_ friends_ do." Dark thoughts whispered he shouldn't care, only to be pushed back in some dark corner of the blonde's mind. "Can't I leave tomorrow and let Konan take my place?"

"You have to be around a little more time, or otherwise, people will think you died of your injuries, and Ame will fall," Madara spoke. "Leaving now would be unwise. As for your friends... if you truly trust them, you will be confident in their ability to take care of themselves. The thousands of people dying of hunger in this country need a powerful figure to show them the way."

**_"The flow of time differs from a world to another," _**the dark voice whispered. **_"Days here will be seconds on another world, where your 'friends' are staying. Do not concern yourself with such a trivial matter."_**

Kazama didn't appreciate his situation. Unfortunately, Madara had a point, and if the voice could be trusted... "So... Amekage for a week?"

"This should prove to be an enlightening experience." The Uchiha stopped in front of a door. "Go, Kazama. Your past is waiting."

Kazama took his breath and confidently entered Hanzo's main hall.

"Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki," he began, his parents staring at him. "Welcome to Amegakure."

**_Susanoo_**

Opening the Forbidden Scroll of Konohagakure, Susanoo quickly found his heart's desire.

Edo Tensei. A jutsu created by Tobirama Senju to bring a dead lover back from the dead. It had worked perfectly, until the resurrected lady learnt she could not age, bear children, or feel pain. She had ceased to be human, doomed to walk the earth long after her family was dust, and her condition drove her to madness and destruction. Tobirama was forced to seal her away and end her agony, the experience traumatizing him. He labeled the technique a forbidden jutsu, keeping the blueprints in case a threat would be so great, that there would be no other option than bringing back dead heroes to fight it.

What an idiot.

Stealing the scroll undetected hadn't been easy. Robbing Hashirama's grave had turned out to be even harder. Yet, the end goal would be worth the effort. He would reverse-engineer Izanami's technique, denying her any control, any hold, over his Paths of Pain.

Susanoo had seen it. Observed it. The battle for Amegakure. He had watched the destruction, the evil, the future. Izuna's prophecies had become clear, in the face of Armageddon. Madara was the chosen one, and his fate was waiting for him. No one would stop him. Not Izanami, not his counterpart, not anyone.

Susanoo knew what had to be done.

It was his fate.

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: _**I'm back.

Yes, sorry for the wait. Unfortunately, my free time was very... limited. And it will stay that way until December. Add that little overworking problems and side activities, and here is the result.

About the chapter... I admit, I didn't quite plan it this way at first. I had a scene in mind where Madara would use his 'war fan' to push back the Sanbi's Bijudama, but as it looks like the manga won't elaborate on the fan's abilities (for a wood dragon of all things, which I find quite interesting, truth to be told), I scrapped the idea, and it might be recycled later. I also planned to have Susanoo's plan revealed at the end, but it will be moved to the new arc's beginning on ABitterPill's suggestion (indeed, it would make a big cliffhanger). The second title was going to be Amekage or _Pain _(for extra irony), but Third Fang found them lame and I agreed. Long life to the Maelstrom!

Also, the sealed memories were going to be revealed to be Shisui's work, but I've decided to re-use/recycle the original conspiracy idea for a later use in the Reunion Arc. Hence, I altered the reason a bit. Although the psychic block was planned all along. Even now, Kazama is still unable to guess the voice doesn't belong to the seal, because Mika don't want him to... for now.

That, and the black hole was going to be a reality consuming blaze. I thought the black hole would fill the void analogy way better.

Anyway, on the characters. I wanted Yagura to be portrayed as an evil, warped mirror of canon Naruto, down to the abilities. Yagura is like canon Naruto over-dependent on his Bijuu for super abilities, and doesn't have many skills to compensate. When you can cause mass destruction, learning side skills wasn't high on his priorities... with known results. It was also to highlight just how much Kazama had progressed over the story: from a guy having troubles handling Chuunins to a Shinobi able to fight a Kage and win handily. As for his reaction to Mika's offer... as you can guess, his choice is only delayed.

Overall, Kazama is the embodiment of the anti-hero: extremely flawed, with issues and cynicism, but with the ability to do some good and overcome his personality flaws. He's _trying_ to be a better person, or at least not to give up to his darkest urges and become the nihilistic megalomaniac Mikaboshi wants him to be. Which side on the fence will he end on... you will have to read to find out.

Hanzo... I wanted to have him go down in a blaze of glory, the complete opposite of Yagura. He saw the mistakes he made, and calmly accepted what he felt he deserved.

Guess who Izanami is!

Yes, I totally used Squirtle's attacks for the Sanbi's techniques. Because they're both turtles.

A reviewer asked what I thought of the 'Tobito' reveal... I like the reveal in itself, in that Kishi foreshadowed it for years and it was masterfully done. However, I have troubles with the revelations that surround it: we do not know what truly happened to Spiral!Zetsu, I don't see how the statue could be freed from the moon and return to earth, even with the Rinnegan, and Kakashi...

Why didn't he use the Mangekyo pre-timeskip if he had it all along? I mean, it would have helped a lot against Zabuza or even Orochimaru. I believe Kishi didn't have that in mind in his early plans. Just my personal opinion mind you. Next chapters may explain all the previous nitpicks.

Next time, the end of Naruko's mini-arc. Just to make it clear: all the characters that will survive the battles are going to take a level in badass by the end and get a LOT of character development. There will a common epilogue for all four worlds (including Kazama's talk with his parents), a short timeskip (few weeks), and then the Reunion Arc will start. After this arc, will begin the final, longest, and most epic arc of the story, 'War World'. An epilogue would then leave open the possibility of a sequel, in case I'm motivated. If not, it would at least give you readers satisfaction.

On a side-note, I have started a second Naruto fic, _Atlas_, dealing with a 'Badass!Normal' Naruto, a la Batman (although this Naruto is certainly NOT going to be a god mode sue). It's going to be less dark than Echoes and a lot shorter, but it should be a pleasant experience. Check it out if you're interested. Second chapter of it will be out soon.

Well, thank you readers for reading this, and would you kindly put a review? It helps with the motivation.


	35. Chapter 32: Lost Innocence

Thanks ABitterPill and Third Fang for their work. Thank all reviewers and people who follow this story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 32<strong>_

_**Lost Innocence**_

_**"The heavens will rain death…"**_

From the false skies, rays of malevolent red light fell. Up close, they seemed to be more like massive columns of fire that would incinerate anything in their paths. Itachi's Susanoo was barely strong enough to resist the blasts, shielding the rest of his team the best it could in the process. Mikoto, Fugaku and Shisui returned their family member's favor with a dozen fireballs aimed to deflect if not stop what Susanoo could not.

_**"The wind will carry screams of agony…"**_

Kyuubi roared, the sheer power of its breath alone enough to start a hurricane. The new overpowering wind blew away the fire and sent the stunned group flying through the air. Shukaku's sand swirled up quickly in response and caught most of them, while at the same time releasing a tsunami of sand at the murderous Biju.

_**"The earth will burn, burn, burn to ashes…"**_

The fox opened its maw and unleashed a cone of fire, transforming the sand into glass, which it shattered a moment later with a swing of its tails. As it did so, one of the attacking appendages reached the Ichibi's head and whipped it, shattering the Tanuki's jaw with a loud, brutal sound.

"Mother!" Gaara screamed, rushing to the beast's side.

Itachi's wrath grew in an instant. _Amaterasu, _he mentally commanded, trying to roast the monster alive. The Kyuubi instead moved out of his range of vision, somehow managed to dodge around the dark fire and charged at his assailant. Its claws sprung forward, piercing the Susanoo's ethereal chest and stopping within an inch of the Godaime's head. It took all of the Uchiha's focus to prevent the demonic nail from piercing further into his defense and skewering his skull.

"Let go of my son!" Mikoto shouted, adding a massive fireball to her command.

The fire didn't get past the creature's fur. In fact, the fox became _angrier_.

_**"The world shall die to sate my growing hunger…"**_

Seizing the Susanoo with its massive deranged claws, the beat tossed it and the man inside at the mother's head, knocking her out. The monster was only toying with them, and it showed with the sadistic look of glee on its face as it watched the chaos ensue in front of it.

Shisui attempted to exploit the beast's moment of amusement. With a body-flicker, he appeared right in front of the fox's eyes. With his genjutsu, all the Uchiha there understood that he could paralyze the monster long enough for Naruko to return and-

The Kyuubi closed its eyes.

_**"Sight is not needed to kill you worm."**_

Shisui cursed under his breath, speeding away from the cruel claws that nearly tore him to pieces. "You… I won't let you harm Naruto ever again! Release him!" With a quick blur of his hands, the illusionist unleashed spikes of earth from the ground at his opponent's underside.

The projectiles shattered against the Kyuubi's fur.

_**"Harm him? Come now, pitiful meatbag, you have harmed him more than I ever could!" **_Shisui froze on place, barely dodging a tail's swing. _**"I am protecting **_**him **_**from **_**you**_**! You are the threat here!"**_

"You're wrong!" The ghost shouted, though sounding unsure of his statement.

The Kyuubi snickered as Itachi struggled to regain his footing._**"Who ruined his life? **_**You**_**. Who ruined his childhood so badly he had to turn to **_**me **_**of all beings **__**for help? **_**You**_**. You think you can atone for your sins? Don't make me laugh! You're a coward who hides in an illusion instead of facing reality!"**_

The Bijuu roared and unleashed a barrage of small, yet deadly, fire blasts on the illusionist, who dodged them._**"If you had an ounce of courage, you would have killed Fugaku and Mikoto yourself and faced the consequences! Yet no, you ordered your cousin to kill your entire clan, men, women, children, innocents and sinners alike! And you don't feel regret for it! Who is the biggest monster of us two, Shisui? At least I am honest with myself!"**_

"I-"

Shisui wasn't fast enough. The Kyuubi wasted no time and caught the Uchiha with its claws, drawing blood and restraining its prey. Without opening its eyes, the creature grinned.

_**"Ah, the weakness of the human mind… with few chosen words, your very spirit breaks."**_

Shisui could only pale in dread as the Kyuubi fangs reached his face.

_**"Your land shall learn pain and misery. Oceans will boil, and grass shall be red with the blood of billions. Nothing shall remain but ashes and silence. Carry this vision of death to your grave, Uchiha!"**_

"No, Naruto-"

The Kyuubi breathed fire, incinerating the man into ashes. His scream resonated through the mindscape, echoing Inoichi's own. As the former Uchiha's ashes fell to the ground, the Kyuubi moved on to finish the rest of the group. Its eyes opened once more, glowing with hellish rage. _**"No last words, fools. No heroic last stand. No hope. Only my eternal **_**laugh**_**."**_

Itachi grit his teeth, deciding to go on offense. Making hand-seals faster than eyes could follow, he utilized all the strongest offensive ninjutsu he collected over his lifetime.

All of them.

Blasts of fire powerful enough to destroy streets. Water blasts capable of shattered hills. Spikes of rock that had made Madara run in the past. A hurricane of tremendous power. Thunderbolts which lightened the entire mindscape… all fueled by the wrath of the death of his cousin.

At his side, Fugaku gave him support, unleashing waves after waves of fireballs. Gaara, standing up and mad with anger, fired arrows of sand the size of buildings for good measure.

Finally, the Shukaku opened its broken maw and shot the strongest air blast Itachi had ever seen.

The combined bombardment of attacks would have been enough to destroy at least third a hidden village in a single go had it taken place in the real world, and as such it was understandable that when they met their target the attackers were blinded and deafened by the rapid series of explosions that occurred far too close to where they were.

When the dust finally settled, the mindscape was half blown-up. Itachi hoped, on some level, that the Kyuubi would be at least dizzied if not stunned. He didn't think the creature that fought the full force of Konoha would be killed this easily, but at least, their efforts would yield them some boon…

Much to his and the other's dismay however, the Kyuubi was still standing and unharmed.

Not, it wasn't completely right. Its fur was somewhat damaged, covered with cuts and holes… which its healing factor was taking care off. What they had could be best described as simply _stalling _the fox's advance.

_**"It was supposed to hurt?" **_It mocked them while opening its jaws. Much to the Hokage's horror, chakra swirled around it. _**"Too weak!"**_

Shukaku hastily built a wall of sand to defend them from the oncoming attack… and it clearly wasn't enough. The Kyuubi's red sphere exploded upon contact and unleashed utter hell upon those on the other side. The blast was partially contained due to the Ichibi's efforts, but it was clearly not enough to handle the full load of the explosion as it tore apart the structure in a matter of moments. The resulting shockwave instantly knocked everyone save Itachi out through sheer force, and the Shukaku was tossed to her back.

Susanoo glowing, Itachi raced forward through the cover of the dust without even hesitating or getting distracted by the state of his comrades behind him, and reached the Kyuubi as it marveled at its own power. A sword of chakra grew out of the armor's arm, extending forward to impale the monster's chest.

The Bijuu screamed as the blade pierced its flesh… and exploded into smoke, much to Itachi's shock.

_**"Like my Kage Bunshin? Picked that from my former hosts."**_

A blow to the Susanoo's back shattered it, throwing Itachi forward and making him skid a good distance before finally stopping. Claws seized the Uchiha prodigy, bringing him within an inch of a huge fang. Half-conscious, the Hokage watched as Shukaku was lifted in the air, its limbs restrained by the Kyuubi's tails.

_**"How disappointing." **_The Bijuu licked its lips in sadistic glee. _**"I expected… more… from Madara's lineage. Maybe your **_**brother **_**will a better plaything."**_

Itachi frowned, pure anger ruling his heart. _AMATERASU! _He thought, summoning the black fire inside the monster's eyelids. The Kyuubi, understandably, roared in rage and pain as the cursed flames invaded his skull, and the Godaime Hokage used the last of his reserves to produce Susanoo's arm. The ethereal fingers penetrated the burning eyes, carving their way forward into the beast's head.

In one strong wild motion, the Kyuubi smashed its captured enemy to the ground, releasing him in the process. Itachi barely had the time to put Susanoo's arm in the way as the demon kicked him with the strength of ten thousand men. The arm broke, and the aftershock shattered more than a few of his ribs.

_**"You little piece of shit." **_The Kyuubi's eye was healing. Ten seconds later, it was functional and glaring at the Godaime with unholy fury. _**"I will rip you limb from limb, slowly, painfully… then I will cut your tongue and break your-" **_The murderous fox shut its mouth, and glanced behind his back. _**"Took you long enough."**_

"Indeed. We are _so _going to kick your sorry butt."

Itachi's relief was palpable, as he watched his saviors.

"Keep some for me," a red-haired woman grinned, standing atop a second Kyuubi's head, next to Naruko herself. "I love fox hunting… er, sorry Kyu'."

**"I do not mind." **Naruko's Kyuubi locked eyes with its demonic, warped copy. **"Shukaku was correct. Contact with humans changes us for good or bad. They saw you as a monster, and you became one yourself."**

Kitsune's Kyuubi snorted, turning its back on the defeated Godaime. _**"Apologies, meatbag. I will finish you off later." **_The creature cackled, laughing insanely. _**"Humans did not change you, traitor… they **_**tamed **_**you. How can you lower yourself to slavery, I have no idea… no matter. If you stand with the humans, you will die as one: broken and humiliated."**_

**"You sound way too confident for an outnumbered foe," **the allied Kyuubi shot back calmly.

_**"Outnumbered? Your allies have all fallen before my might. Who stands behind you? Your former jailer, and a miserable pile of secrets! You yourself are a minor annoyance, nothing more. Ants are no threat."**_

_**"**_These ants are going to trash you," Naruko menaced. "Everyone, let's go!"

Both Kyuubi roared, as Itachi fell into unconsciousness due to exhaustion.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Naruko<strong>_

Naruko was confident.

Well, as confident as one could be when facing a demonic, sadistic _bastard _that could destroy entire mountains at a whim. Of course, she knew it would end well. She had Kurama and her mom. Not only that, but she also had good motivation: saving her friends from death.

They _would _win.

"It will be alright," Kushina whispered, filling her daughter's head with hope. "We will kick its ass." Briefly looking down at her unconscious allies she noticed Mikoto laying on the ground. The redhead's face twisted into anger. "You are _so _going to pay for this."

"**Grab my fur," **Kurama ordered, the two girls obeying. **"Bijudama!" **It shouted, opening its muzzle and firing a black sphere the size of a house toward its counterpart.

Not looking the slightest bit worried, Kitsune's Kyuubi yanked Shukaku into the Bijudama's path, turning the Tanuki into an improvised shield faster than anyone could react.

"MOTHER!" Gaara shouted hysterically from the sidelines.

Naruko's eyes widened in horror as the bomb of chakra impacted its new target, setting off another powerful explosion. The mindscape trembled, and Shukaku shrieked in pain as half its body burned. Moments later the Ichibi was promptly tossed to the side as the corrupted and insane Kyuubi charged at its opponents.

Kurama wasn't stunned in the slightest and opened its mouth to fire off another bijudama while chains of chakra materialized out of Kushina's tailbone, extending in the enemy's direction with blinding speed.

The monster managed to avoid all of the constructs sent at it and reached Kurama without so much as a scratch, intending to tear its counterpart apart with its claws. The sane Kyuubi didn't have the time to finish accumulating chakra or dodge the oncoming assault…

… So it headbutted its counterpart instead.

The surprised fox staggered a bit and in doing so gave Naruko an opening. Breathing in deeply and tapping into her Bijuu's chakra, the blonde Uzumaki formed a rasengan which burned red with power and grew to the size of a small building. Once the jutsu reached the desired size, the genin jumped into the air and slammed her technique as hard as she could on the monster's muzzle. The crimson orb broke the beast's momentum, blasted it away onto the opposite direction, and crashed it on its back.

However the counterassault was not done there as blue chains swirled around the monster's limbs complimentary of the other Uzumaki there, pinning it on the ground and enraging the beast further. Naruko landed on the mad Kyuubi's stomach and proceeded to ram a second rasengan into its body with satisfactory results. Despite the damage done however, Kitsune's Kyuubi merely grunted in pain from the assault and looked down at the blonde girl who locked eyes with it. "Release Kitsune. Now."

The mad Kyuubi grinned. _**"Or what?"**_

"Or you will suffer dearly," Kushina threatened.

The insane Bijuu laughed at their face. _**"Tick tock… the more time spent, the weaker my host becomes, and the stronger I get. You're running out of time, not I. Shisui may have been able to salvage the situation… but he shall annoy me no more."**_

Naruko paled, her eyes drifting to the battlefield. She saw Itachi, Mikoto, Fugaku, laying on the ground unconscious, and Gaara, trying to wake up her wounded Bijuu… but no Shisui. Kurama confirmed her worst fears. **"I cannot sense anyone else's chakra…"**

"You monster!" Naruko roared in anger. "He was turning good and trying to save Kitsune! How dare you?!"

_**"Oh please," **_the monster chuckled. _**"Don't be so all-mighty with me! As if your sins were lighter! You brainwash people into being your loyal pets, and you're calling me a monster?"**_

The blonde face paled and her heart sunk into her stomach. What the beast said made no sense, and yet… she feared the words it spoke more than anything it had previously stated for some reason. "What?"

_**"Do you wish me to show them all?" **_The Kyuubi laughed. _**"The real Naruko? The one you desperately try to hide under a fake mask of cheerfulness? Haven't you always wondered WHY everyone always agreed with you, against their better judgment? Let me tell you how meaningless your victories were."**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kitsune<strong>_

"Failure. Murderer. Child killer."

Kitsune clenched his jaw, pain racing through his body with each new hit. The werefox's assault continued, unrelenting, brutal, merciless.

The worst thing though was not the pain or the insult that were constantly being thrown at him. It had been the fact that his attacker had switched from its former deep, inhuman voice, to Kitsune's own.

"Poor, poor Kitsune… where is your confidence?" Claws slashed the boy's face. "Where is your courage? Oh, I forgot… you're too much of a coward to talk back." Yami Kitsune lifted his other self, before slamming him against the ground, repeating the process twice in a row. "What did you say… ah yes! I am going to defeat Kurama! I would laugh if it wasn't so pathetic! You can't even beat yourself!"

Kitsune closed his mouth. _Endure, _he told himself. _Endure. _"I mustn't run away," the boy told himself. "I mustn't run away," he repeated, upon rising to his feet.

"Oh, so brave of you!" The werefox adopted a primal stance, like a predator toying with a wounded prey. "Come on, come on, come on! Strike me! Fight me! Hate me!"

Kitsune raised his fist, which the dark self dodged easily. The hybrid kicked his human counterpart in the torso, knocking the boy onto his back. "Joking!" The bastard gloated, seizing the blonde's head and throwing him across the battlefield. "Honestly, what can you do to me? I'm the one who won all your fights for you, moron."

"I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away-" Kitsune gasped, as the werefox placed himself above his other self, bringing it's fang-filled grin just above Kitsune's ears.

"So… you mustn't run away? That's it? You think a mantra is going to help you win?" Yami Kitsune proceeded to lick his counterpart's ears, making him squirm in humiliation. "Running away is the only thing you're good at, genius. In the end, you're always begging _me _to solve your problems. Soon, I'm going to solve _all _of them. You know why you're opposing me? It's not to protect others, or hell, because it's the _right thing _to do. It's because you're afraid of what's going to happen next. So, why can't you just lie down and let it go?"

Kitsune grounded his teeth. "Because… because I have had _enough_!"

The werefox opened his mouth to mock his prey, only to get headbutted for his trouble. It wasn't enough to throw him off, but it was the thought that mattered. "I have had enough of being a coward! Enough of being Kurama's toy! Enough of living this hell, enough of supporting you, enough of my guilt! I can't take it anymore!"

"Oh, little boy is getting angry?" The werefox chuckled as he wiped is nose and glanced at the tiny amount of blood coming from it. "What? You get one hope of escaping and suddenly the anger you accumulated is out? Open your eyes: what are you gonna do? You can't beat Kurama! No one can! Your struggle is hopeless!"

"I don't care if my hope is built on lies," Kitsune told his Dark self. "For my struggle... for my struggle is real. My family is real." He glared at the werefox. "They came for me! They put themselves in danger for me, after everything I've done! And… and I won't let you hurt them! I'm the only one that should be punished!"

"Oh, you will… but everyone else will suffer first," Yami Kitsune shot back. "Don't you remember the pain? The loneliness? Hinata? How can you forget her?"

Yami Kitsune had, unknowingly, made the biggest mistake of his entire existence at that point.

The slightly less insane blonde remained quiet for several seconds before a sense of calm seemed to grab hold of his body. "Because… because Hinata never wanted this," Kitsune spoke. "She never wanted us to waste our life like that. She… she just wanted us to live in peace, to do good! And… and we spat on her memory." The blonde tilted his head to the side, locking eyes with the dark self. "I forgive mankind."

The werefox's jaw dropped. "What?"

"I forgive mankind. I don't want revenge anymore. I don't need _you _anymore."

"Yes as if-" Yami Kitsune stopped talking. He stared at his paws, decomposing. "What the hell?"

"I don't want revenge anymore," Kitsune repeated, each word hastening his dark self's destruction. "I don't want revenge anymore. I don't want to cause pain anymore. I don't want you anymore."

"No! Don't… don't reject me!" The werefox was turning into dust. "You can't reject me! You _need _me, you little piece of shit! Don't-"

"VANISH!"

He did.

Finally alone, Kitsune took his breath and focused. "I don't want to do this," he told himself. "I want to be with my family. I want to wake up. I want the nightmare to stop. I want the pain to end. I want no more pain."

_**"You are too late."**_

Kitsune's mind was suddenly assaulted by the Kyuubi's will. Foreign memories replaced his own, pain filled his heart, rage and hate overcame his resistance.

For a brief instant, Kitsune saw the Kyuubi's life through its eyes.

Kurama didn't begin as a monster. Born by the great sage's hand, it was a fox with a playful, gentle heart. Kurama liked to pull pranks on humans, who interested it to no end. With his power of empathy, it became a benevolent spirit, helping nomads to find their way or toying with children.

Then Konoha came.

Enslaved by the Uchiha and the Senju, Kurama was hypnotized and turned into a glorified attack dog for Konohagakure. It gained a reputation as a living disaster, and struggled from the inside to free himself. His captors were too strong, and in the end, the fox was sealed inside Mito Uzumaki.

It only got worse from there.

If years of mind-control had been a terrible experience, it couldn't compare with _sixty years _of solitary confinement inside a seal, working as a glorified battery and exposed to its hosts' subconscious thoughts. By the second decade inside Mito, Kurama had been warped into an engine of hate and destruction, absorbing all of the held back malignant emotions that were silently generated by the normally polite woman through the years. While the Uzumaki was at heart a good person, the life of a noble in a culture ruled by shinobi and daimyo was more than stressful enough to generate such thoughts in such quantities.

Kushina's subconscious hadn't been a better prison.

When it was transferred into Kitsune, whatever remains of its previous gentleness had vanished. Its host's unbalanced mind caused Kurama's spirit to grow more insane, splitting it, destroying its sanity completely. The friendly fox had evolved into a terrifying demon.

Only misery, and the desire to spread it, remained.

_**"Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate."**_

Overwhelmed, Kitsune's mind started to unravel into a chaotic mess. He was a mere human, and Kurama was the personification of madness. The contact alone was too much to handle. The demon vessel began to agree with the Kyuubi's desires, with its will of destruction. Mankind deserved nothing less than annihilation for its crimes. Hate was the solution.

Yet, Kitsune resisted.

"I'm not you," he said. "I'm not you, I'm not you, I'm not you, I'm not you, I'm not you, I'm not you, I'm not you, I'm not you-"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Naruko<strong>_

"Hey," a voice whispered. "Hey, wake up. Naruko, wake up."

The girl groaned, as she opened her eyes. Kitsune smiled, helping her rise up. "You were shouting in your sleep. Were you having a nightmare?"

"I was reliving the day… the day we beat_it_," she explained, as a scowl briefly passed over Kitsune's face. Naruko squirmed. "Sorry."

"Nah, it happened so long ago it doesn't matter anymore." The boy smiled. "It was nothing compared to Madara's mental breakdown."

Naruko couldn't agree more. When the Uchiha had been confronted with the full might of the Arashi clan and on the verge of defeat, he had… lost it. The madman had died ranting and screaming insanely, doing his best to kill as many people as he could before going down. The whole deal had been terrifying, and even if nobody had died in the final battle, Madara had come within an inch of beheading Gaara.

Speaking of Gaara… "Have they returned?" Kitsune shook his head, creeping Naruko out. "Two days!"

"Two days and the villain has razed another village this morning," the boy spoke gravely. "They say he has captured everyone, which leave only the two of us."

Naruko narrowed her eyes in fear, remembering how they found themselves in such difficult situation.

After Madara's final defeat, the group had continued to walk the multiverse, fighting injustice for months. It had lasted until Kazama mysteriously vanished one day, without a trace. The team had done its best to discover what happened, but weeks passed without result.

One day, the Arashi clan had arrived to a region terrorized by some mysterious criminal with phenomenal powers and cruelty. Hiding his face under a mask, he had ravaged the countryside and turned it into a hellish land of fear and pain. The Arashi clan, save Naruko and Kitsune, had left to deal with him two days ago.

They didn't return.

"We will beat him, like we defeated Madara." Naruko smiled. "We will prevail."

The duo arrived to the razed village, burning down. The place was silent, empty of noise and life.

Susanoo was waiting for them.

Naruko's heart briefly stopped in sheer shock. The monster stood silent, viewing the kids as beneath his notice. "It has been a long time. Years? Centuries?"

"Where are our friends?" Naruko asked, her voice full of confusion and anger. "Free them!"

Without a word, the revived Uchiha pointed a forest in the horizon with his index. Both blondes stared in the direction.

They had been hung.

Gaara, Haku, Chibaku… hung from branches, expressions of abject terror written on their face. They had never been captured… they had been _executed_.

"They never stood a chance, and neither do you."

Susanoo's voice was deep and sinister. Inhuman. Cold and devoid of any emotion, of any joy. Kitsune glared at him. "You bastard… you will pay for this!"

"Doubtful. I crushed them alone. What can you do, children?" Susanoo raised his head. "Step aside and you will live. Your sister is the only one I wish to kill."

"We can beat him Kitsune!" Naruko shouted, trying to encourage the despaired boy. "Together, we can do it!"

"Together? No." Susanoo's voice didn't falter. He was a statue of steel and flesh. "You have never stood together. You, Naruko Uzumaki, forced others to stand for you."

The Uchiha lowered his dark gaze. His eyes were two black holes of pure darkness. "The Kyuubi has the power to sense emotions and exploit them. An ability it passed to its hosts. Subconsciously, you manipulated people's emotions to make them agree with you. You instinctively knew what to say to convince them."

"That's a lie!" Naruko denied, doubt growing in her heart.

"Who did you convince to your point of view? Emotional wreaks, vulnerable to mental assaults. Gaara, Haku, Shisui. The charisma you possess is unnatural, and the loyalty you inspire artificial. You never earned trust, you stole it. You forced them to agree with you. You never had friends, only thralls. The bastard stared at Kitsune. "You do not have to stand by her. Flee. Flee and live."

"Kitsune, it's a lie!" Naruko shouted, despair filling her mind as the boy glanced with disgust at her. "Do not believe him!"

"Everything makes so much more sense now," Kitsune spat, taking a step back. "I… I _hate you_!"

"No!" The girl screamed, as he turned her back on her and fled. "No! Don't leave me!" Tears formed in her eyes. "I thought it mattered…"

"Obviously not." Susanoo chuckled. "You are alone. You were born a loner, and you shall die as one. Ironic, isn't it? Your ultimate desire was to have a friend, someone that would love you. Yet, your quest was an utter failure."

Naruko glared at him. "I'm not afraid of you! Rasengan!" She shouted, but the man caught her wrist and lazily deflected the blow, backhanding her to the face. The riposte threw her on the ground, but she rose up. "Kurama!" The blonde girl asked, trying to tap in its chakra.

Nothing happened.

No response. No chakra. Nothing.

"The Kyuubi will not save you this time." The revived villain seized her by the neck and lifted her above the ground. "Not so easy anymore? Have you ever won a fight without relying on a demon's power? You are weak. A feeble doll having lost her strings. No salvation, no friend. You fear me... but you keep denying it. You keep lying to yourself. No matter. I will obliterate you, and your lies shall not protect you."

"I…" Naruko forced a grin on her face. "I have a friend. Sensei. He always come when I need him! He always come to save me!"

"No." Susanoo locked eyes with her. His iris… his iris was _blue_. "Not anymore," he whispered with a frighteningly familiar voice.

Naruko paled in dread. "No… impossible… it can't be possible!"

"Yes. Yes it can," the monster spoke with her mentor's voice. "The Kazama Arashi you knew never existed. It was all a lie. You were nothing but a tool, of which I grew tired of. I never loved you." He tossed her on the ground. "A broken tool has no purpose."

"No!" Naruko rose up and ran away, tears of betrayal and fear rolling from her eyes. She had to run away, she had to run away, she had to run away-

"How long will you keep fleeing from me? I am your nightmare. What you fear the most. You will never escape me."

"Help!" She shouted at civilians and ninjas observing the scene, but they kept passing by, ignoring her. "Help me!" The girl attempted to catch a sleeve, only to phase through it.

Susanoo's hand covered her lips, preventing her from screaming. "No more prince charming," he said with Kazama's voice. "No more fairy tale hero coming to save you. No more smile to hide your fear, once I am done with you. You will die screaming."

Naruko tried to struggle, unable to hurt her captor, as he dragged her into the darkness.

"You shall learn fear, and pain shall be your tutor." The voice somehow turned even colder. "The beatdown I handed you in Kitsune's world, I will make it worse. The hits will not stop, and neither will the tears. I will not rest, and neither will yo-"

Naruko awoke, crying.

"Naruko…" Kushina whispered, holding her daughter's arm and forcing her chakra through it to break the Kyuubi's illusion. Despite the fact that she had managed to gain some time to aid her daughter, it had not been without effort as her face was clearly bruised and wounded. Gaara was standing next to her, was in even worst shape. "Naruko, wake up! It's… it's not real! It's a nightmare! An illusion!"

Naruko said nothing as the light barely returned to her eyes. She simply couldn't manage the strength to move her own lips. In the distance, Kitsune's Kyuubi was beating the crap out of Kurama, clawing and biting its counterpart. Kushina glared at the monster. "What did you do to my daughter?"

_**"I unleashed all the fears, anxieties, and worries that she had been repressing upon her mind, breaking it." **_The bastard fox seized its copy's head, and smashed it against the earth, repeatedly. Kurama groaned in pain, unable to free itself. _**"I assaulted her psychically in the worst way a human can experience. Call this justice for what your kind put me through for decades." **_Stomping on its defeated opponent, the monster stared at Kushina. _**"Do not worry… I shall grant you a painful death. I owe you so much for keeping me imprisoned."**_

"Take my daughter with you and flee." Kushina ordered calmly upon summoning her chains to restrain the monster. Gaara nodded, seizing Naruko by the waists. The blonde remained a dead-weight, completely catatonic.

"Naruko… please, please, it's coming, get up." The redhead gritted her teeth, her efforts unfortunately in vain.

"It will kill us all," the blonde whispered.

_**"How true!" **_The Kyuubi laughed, catching a good number of Kushina's chains, yanking them back to pull her towards him, and stomping on the woman with overwhelming force and glee. The sound of broken bones echoed in the mindscape, as the Uzumaki groaned in pain. _**"No, don't be sad… your daughter will die first before your eyes. I could squash you like a bug, but your despair… your despair will fill me with such wonderful joy."**_

Upon realizing her friend wouldn't stand up, Gaara roared in frustration while turning around and unleashed arrows of sand at the monstrous creature. The projectiles grazed its fur, and the Kyuubi bared its fangs. _**"Be patient, your time will come." **_Its eyes narrowed at the catatonic blonde, and it raised its claw. _**"On a second thought, I believe I will kill you now, in the same way I killed Kitsune's parents, and complete the set. The father, the mother... and now the child."**_

"NO!" Kushina screamed in anguish. "I beg you, please!" The Bijuu did not listen, and jabbed out its claw in sadistic glee. Naruko watched unflinchingly as death came...

… and saw Gaara push her out of the way, impaling herself in her stead.

To Naruko, time stopped for a split second. Her friend's blood fell on the ground, mixing with sand. Gaara's face was trapped in an expression of despair and dread. She crossed gaze with her blonde friend, who finally snapped out of her paralysis.

"GAARA!"

The Kyuubi callously tossed the corpse next to the blonde. _**"I told you not to be impatient. You ruined my mood. I had planned to kill you in a completely different fashion than the girl. Doing it twice in a row now will kill the thrill. Bah. I will deal with the disappointment later. Now where were we… ah yes," **_it raised its claw once again and stared at Naruko. _**"Second time the charm!"**_

A tail of sand smashed into its skull and broke it.

_**"My daughter…" **_Shukaku shrieked, its stance turning feral. _**"My daughter…"**_

_**"If I had known killing one child would affect you this much, Shukaku, I would have killed billions more years ago." **_The demonic monster rose up to its feet, its head recovering ridiculously fast. _**"Your pet is dead. Deal wi-"**_

A paw shattered its maw. Before the surprised fox could retaliate, the Ichibi jumped on it in a mad, insane frenzy. _**"BRING HER BACK!" **_The Tanuki clawed, bit, smashed the source of its rage with a ferocity that put wild animals to shame. It had gone completely berserk with rage and grief. _**"BRING HER BACK!"**_

As the Bijuu started eviscerating the mad Kyuubi and beating the crap out of it, Naruko, tears in her eyes, rushed at her dying friend's side. Gaara was lying in her own blood, in agonizing pain if the look on her face was anything to go by. "Naruko?" the redhead asked. "I… I can't see anything… I'm… I'm scared…"

"It's…" Naruko bit her lips. "It's alright. You're just going to sleep."

"But… I can't go to sleep…" The sand witch whispered, confused. "I… I never sleep… I hear… no sound…"

"Yes, we're winning," Naruko spoke, holding her friend's hand. "It's alright. Everything always gets better. When you wake up later, everything will be okay."

At that point, Gaara couldn't listen anymore.

As it became obvious her friend had passed away, Naruko stopped talking, and thinking. Only one compulsion remained.

_Kill it._

_**"Enough!" **_The Kyuubi shrieked, its body covered with wounds, as it seized restrained the berserk Shukaku with its tails once again. Or at least, managed to stall the assault off for a time. The fox opened its maw. _**"This time, I blast your skull and obli-"**_

Within a split second, the Kyuubi noticed the two dozen Naruko clones jumping on him, each of them forming a demon powered Rasengan. The orbs impacted on the creature, destroying its fangs and eyes. The shock loosened the pressure on the Shukaku, which freed itself and returned to beating down the fox.

At the same time, the genin kept attacking the monster's muzzle in blind fury. "You ruined everything!" She shouted. "You ruined Kitsune's life! You killed Gaara! It's all your fault!"

_**"No, it's yours!" **_The mad Kyuubi chuckled through its broken fangs. _**"The loyalty she had for you? All your fabrication! If it weren't for you, she wouldn't have died! You should have died instead! You sacrificed your pet to save your skin!"**_

"SHUT UP!" Naruko screamed, obliterating its jaw. The words were both enraging and hurting her. "SHUT! UP!"

A human hand emerged out of the Kyuubi's decaying flesh that had moments before served as its throat.

Regaining control of herself through the sheer bizarre appearance of the appendage, Naruko realized what was happening. "Grab the hand!" She shouted, more to herself than the human underneath. With all her strength, the girl started pulling out her friend. At that point, the mad Kyuubi shrieked.

"I'm not you," Kitsune whispered, once out of its captor's ruined body. "I'm not you, I'm not you, I'm not-" He kept repeating the same sentence over and over again, like a broken record. The insane Bijuu exploded into a roar of rage and pain, the shockwave propelling Shukaku and the two blondes into the air. Still holding her counterpart, the Uzumaki managed to land safely on her feet.

Meanwhile, Kitsune's Kyuubi adopted a four-legged primal stance, clearly in pain as its medium was wrenched from its body. Its very flesh was melting, its body starting to break down. _**"NO! You can't reject me now! Not so close!" **_It rambled, extending its arm toward its former container. _**"I… **_**we **_**were trying to help you! Come back!"**_

Sharp teeth impaled it from underneath.

Much to everyone's amazement, massive scales started to cover the ground, shark's fangs impaling the insane fox and shredding it into pieces. "Samehada," Naruko gasped.

**"It is probably fusing with Kitsune's body and siphoning our nemesis' chakra as fast as it can." **The blonde turned around. Kurama had risen, and was gathering power around its muzzle. **"Pinned this way, I can blast it into oblivion."**

_**"Everything we did, we did for you!" **_The mad Kyuubi screamed in despair at Kitsune. _**"You are us! We are you! You can't abandon us! Not after what we went through together! You can't, you can't! Come back! We beg you! Please come back!"**_

"I'm not you," Kitsune kept repeating to himself. "I'm not you."

"What's happening?" Naruko asked, completely bewildered by the bizarre but thankfully beneficial turn of events.

**"You separated them when they were about to fuse, when they were almost one and the same. They are both having a mental breakdown as a result of the scission at such a critical moment." **Kurama finished forming its dark sphere and swallowed it. **"Good riddance."**

_**"This is not over!" **_Kitsune's tormentor shrieked, unable to escape its doom. _**"We have no beginning, and no end! In this shape or another, we will return! Do you hear u-"**_

Kurama fired a blast of pure power.

The red beam of light illuminated the entire mindscape, and vaporized the insane Kyuubi. Flesh, then bones, then dust. Nothing was left of it once Kurama ended its attack and retook its breath. **"Well," **it spoke, **"that was a close call."**

Naruko nodded, staring at Kitsune. "It's gone. The Kyuubi is gone. Forever."

"It… it's gone?" Kitsune repeated, his eyes barely devoid of sanity as he slowly returned to being lucid. "It's gone?"

"Yes, forever," Naruko consoled him, putting a fake smile over her face. It wasn't as if she wasn't used to it. "We have won. It's over." _But at what price? _She thought.

Kitsune fell silent. Suddenly, without warning, he started sobbing and crying tears of joy.

A years long nightmare had ended, and his most instinctive, natural reaction was pure euphoria.

Leaving her counterpart to his temporary happiness, Naruko went on to visit Gaara's corpse. Shukaku was cradling it, as if it was a baby, a very tiny baby considering the size difference between the two. _**"Gaara…" **_The Tanuki whispered. _**"Please… please come back…"**_

Naruko lowered her head, tears in her eyes. "It wasn't supposed to happen!" The blonde cursed. "We were supposed to win and get out alive together! It's… it's all my fault." The genin clenched her fists. "I am… I am weak. I should-"

"Naruko." Kushina stepped in, covered with bruises. The Kyuubi was walking behind her, holding the unconscious Uchiha within one of its paws. The blonde gawked, as her mother hugged her. "It's… it's not your fault. Life is sometimes cruel, and we have to keep going."

Naruko didn't reply, as Kushina released her. The redhead touched Gaara's arm, the Shukaku as silent as a stone. "Sometimes, Naruko... sometimes, we cannot save everyone. Sometimes, there are sacrifices to make."

Kushina radiated with chakra.

Naruko's eyes widened. "What are you doing? She's dead…"

"Our family's chakra has very unique and potent properties," her mother began, "It can cure life-threatening wounds, increase the lifespan, and so much more. If… if I give her everything I have left before this place crumbles and her soul fully leaves her body… then I might be able to save her before it's too late."

Whereas Shukaku's eyes shined in hope, Naruko felt both hopeful and despaired. "But-"

"I'm sorry," her mother faked a grin. "I won't be able to have a mother daughter talk with you like we wanted… but know this." She locked eyes with her daughter. "I'm proud of you, and I will always be."

Naruko woke up, screaming.

"Naruko," Itachi grabbed her shoulders, trying to calm her. "Naruko, it's all right! Calm yourself!"

"Ah…" Naruko took her breath, and glanced uneasily around herself. A hospital room, with a window. No Kyuubi, no mother. "Where…"

"Konoha's hospital." Itachi gently tapped her hand and sat beside her. "You slept for three days after… after the mission."

"Have… have we won?" Naruko fearfully cringed. "Is… is the Kyuubi gone?"

"What your Kyuubi didn't destroy was either consumed by Samehada or dissipated into the air. My doctors didn't find any residual chakra in this Kitsune's body. Your friend's demon is gone… and it will not return." Itachi gave her a warm smile. "I guess we can call this a victory."

"But… and the others?"

Itachi's smile faltered. "Inoichi died with Shisui. The strain of obliteration caused a cardiac arrest in his 'sleep'. I will preside over the funeral tomorrow." He glanced at the window. "I woke up first, followed by my parents a few hours later. Except for a few nightmares, we are fine. Nothing we can't handle."

Naruko bit her lips. "And… and Kitsune? And Gaara? Did she survive?"

"Kitsune is fine… physically." Itachi joined his fingers. "Mentally, the experience with the Kyuubi has left scars. Some of his demon's memories were apparently transferred to him, which he experiences through nightmares. He also shows signs of post-traumatic stress disorder and manic episodes. A friend of mine, Kurenai Yuhi, is helping him go through a therapy. With time, he may grow to live a somewhat normal life."

Naruko cracked a smile. Finally good news for once.

The Uchiha scowled. "As for Gaara… she is alive." Naruko beamed in happiness, stopping when she noticed Itachi's somber expression. "She is perfectly fine physically. Mentally…" He closed his mouth, and stared at the window.

Slowly, fearful, the Kyuubi's container walked out of her bed, and reached the glass. Watching through it, the girl saw plants and trees, probably the hospital's garden. Gaara was there, playing with a pink-haired girl Naruko recognized as Sakura Haruno. Much to the blonde's astonishment, Gaara was wearing a large, genuine smile.

Suddenly, Gaara raised her eyes and glanced at Naruko, sensing the gaze. To Naruko's horror, the redhead's expression was one of pure incomprehension.

She didn't recognize Naruko.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kurama<strong>_

In their shared mindscape of an endless desert, two Bijuu were discussing of their respective misery.

_**"She doesn't remember me." **_Shukaku's voice was full of sadness, and did little to hide the pain underneath. _**"She didn't even remember her own name, not to say my own. She is… she is a blank slate."**_

**"Kushina may have brought her back, but something was lost along the way." **Kurama narrowed its eyes. It could sense Naruko's presence trying to break past her personal darkness to join them, in vain. **"I doubt she will ever fully recover, unfortunately."**

_**"There has to be a way!" **_Shukaku shrieked. _**"There has to be one!"**_

**"Even if there is one… was it such a terrible fate for her?" **Kurama preemptively cut Shukaku's angry remarks. **"Imagine. She has forgotten her terrible past, and can finally experience a normal life. Maybe… maybe deep down, she doesn't want to remember. Maybe is this her chance to restart back from zero."**

The Ichibi fell silent, unable to process an answer. She chose to switch the subject. _**"And Naruko?"**_

**"She… I underestimated the weight of her problems." **Kurama stared at the skies, images forming on the clouds. Naruko was running in dread, pursued by an hallucination of Susanoo. **"She… Naruko is still a child. Children do not often willingly confront their fears and problems, let alone recognize them. They subconsciously repress them. Her purity, her bravery, was a front she presented by pushing back her insecurities and anxieties, burying them as deep as she could. This resulted in the creation of a dark self."**

_**"This thing is her dark self?" **_Shukaku narrowed her eyes. _**"It's… quite different from what I had expected."**_

**"This is not a dark self. Not anymore." **Kurama observed, as the illusion's iron hands seized Naruko's neck. **"A dark self embodies repressed negative emotions. This abomination is the amalgam of her fears, anxieties, insecurities, and unhappiness. Her fear of being rejected, her fear of being exploited and abandoned by her mentor, her fear of Susanoo… It's everything she pretends doesn't exist in her heart."**

Kurama winced, as Naruko screamed in dread_**. **_**"Now that it has been unleashed, I am afraid it will not cease to haunt her until she deals with it. Worse, our link is strained, obstructed. This darkness is blocking the access to the mindscape and indirectly, my chakra. As long as Naruko will not deal with this creature, I am powerless to help her. My means of communication are cut, and she cannot draw upon my power. I could infuse her with chakra anyway, but... I'm afraid such action could damage her body and mind. It would be a foreign substance, a poison, instead of an enhancer."**

"I am your nightmare," Susanoo spoke, breaking Naruko's neck in a gruesome, callous manner. "I will not rest, and neither will you."

_**"How could this happen?" **_Shukaku lowered her tail. _**"She was so warm, so radiant with energy, so smiling…"**_

**"Naruko had always been alone, until she met the one we call Kazama." **Kurama shrugged. **"It is her way of trying to keep people from abandoning her and coping with her subconscious fears, or events such as Susanoo's vicious trashing. After we started working together, she unwillingly used my emotion sensing powers to guess what she needed to say to convince others. How much were her victories her own or my unwilling work, I cannot say. Gaara may have indeed sacrificed herself for a fake, artificial loyalty."**

Shukaku shook her head. _**"My daughter… her sacrifice, she did it out of her free-will. That, at least, I can assure." **_She narrowed her massive skull. _**"Our containers are both alive, this Kitsune is alive, and the worst Nine-Tails of all time is dead. Why does this victory feels so… bitter?"**_

**"Victory often comes at a heavy price," **Kurama spoke with wisdom. **"Shukaku, we are alive. What was destroyed, we can rebuild. Things may change, we may feel sadness, but we can also experience happiness. The hardships we faced, will pave the road to a better tomorrow."**

_**"Nice speech."** _The Ichibi snorted._ **"Since when did you get so good at them?"**_

Kurama grinned wickedly.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kitsune<strong>_

The Academy was a nice place.

Children were waiting, discussing, laughing. They were happy. Jounin were teaching them Taijutsu, organizing spars between their students. From the roof, Kitsune was watching, silent and still. He had been offered a replacement orange jumpsuit, one that wasn't torn apart after multiple transformations. At his side, Samehada was purring against his hand.

Hinata's turn came.

The Hyuuga was beautiful, smiling warmly, as she stepped forward. Naruto and Sasuke were cheering her on, and her face beamed with confidence. Sakura cracked her knuckles as she rose up, ready for-

_A dark alley with blood. A girl on the ground, life leaving her eyes. Savage fangs and claws, red and cruel. He howled, savoring the pain and despair and misery of Haruno, relishing in her family's ruin and sadness and-_

"I'm not you." Kitsune closed his eyes and vainly tried to banish the horrible flashback from his mind. "I'm not you." Samehada clutched to his back, her warmness alleviating his anguish more than his mantra.

No voice taunted him. No urge to transform into a monster took over his mind. Kitsune was alone in his head, and it was a strange, if welcome, experience. Yet, the truth was clear.

The Kyuubi's ghost would haunt him for a very long time.

Kitsune jerked to the side, upon picking up a noise. He eased up upon recognizing the newcomer. "Naruko?"

"Hi," the girl attempted to grin, failing so hard it was painful to watch. She was obviously distraught. "Can… can I sit with you? I need to talk to someone."

"O-Of course," Kitsune nodded, as they sat on the roof's edge. For a few minutes, they struggled to start the conversation, before the former werefox spoke. He did his best not to watch at the school below at the same time. "You look… depressed."

"Gaara doesn't remember me." Kitsune had never been friend with the girl, having been reduced to a beast the moment they met, but she and Naruko were apparently close. The total memory loss had shaken up the blonde very hard. "I get nightmares of Susanoo killing me repeatedly. Kurama, _my _Kurama, doesn't talk anymore, I can't reach my mindscape, and I can't get its chakra. Without it… I'm weak."

"Don't say-"

"I'm weak!" She cut in angrily. "If I had been stronger, Shisui would have had a chance to redeem himself, Gaara would still remember her life, Susanoo wouldn't have beaten me time and time again, Wave would be still standing, and we wouldn't have been separated! If I had been stronger, none of this would have happened! But I'm weak and I fail time and time again!"

Kitsune shut his mouth at the bitter rant. He had never imagined Naruko could feel this way.

"Without Kurama, I am _nothing_. A dead-weight." The blonde girl massaged her temples in despair. "That's the way it is. I'm weak, and it will never change."

Kitsune locked eyes with her. "You're wrong. Dead wrong. Someone weak would have… left me to die, or fled upon facing the Kyuubi. But you… you braved Shisui and my demons. You risked your life for me. This… this is true strength."

"But-"

He gave her a hug.

Naruko briefly gasped, as Kitsune tightened his hold. "You know… I thought I stood up to my demons because I had found courage. Because I had enough. I was wrong. I fought because you came. Because I understood I wasn't alone. I realized I had a family willing to risk their life for me. And… and it gave me strength. It _taught _me strength."

He released Naruko and locked eyes with her. "True strength… isn't about muscles, chakra, or Ninjutsu. It's about determination. It's about willpower. It's about risking your life when everything seems lost. This is why we won. It's why we will find our friends, and why we will defeat Madara once and for all."

A sigh caught him off guard.

Readying Samehada, he adopted a battle stance, glaring at the newcomer with concern. It was a man in his forties, with black hair. The one who had welcomed the boy and his friends to his compound. "Fugaku-san?" Naruko asked.

The Uchiha nodded, and handed the kids two objects. Kitsune briefly stiffened in dread, until realizing the man was offering ice creams. "I thought you might appreciate these," Fugaku smirked faintly as the blondes accepted the gifts. The Uchiha sat between the two almost casually, but still with an air of authority around him. "I have been told you were having… episodes. If you want to talk, I'm all ears. I already faced a similar ordeal after the last war."

Kitsune nodded sadly. He refused to explain his nightmares, as he had no idea how the man would react to learning the kid he was taking pity on had more blood on his hands than most veteran Shinobi. The kid had a question, however. "Will… will it end one day?"

"No." Fugaku shook his head. "Scars heal, but they never vanish. Sarutobi still has nightmares about his teacher sacrificing himself to save his students, fifty years after the event. However, you can learn to live with them and still enjoy life. Time is a good anesthetic." He scowled. "You want to defeat Madara, if I heard you correctly? This is both foolish and insane. Right now, you have no hope of winning."

Kitsune almost spat an angry reply, only to be out cut off. "Madara is the strongest Shinobi our clan ever produced, behind my son. He has a century of experience, learned incredible techniques, and possesses unmatched ruthlessness. You two are haphazardly trained kids, far more experienced with the cruelty of the world than most humans will ever be, but still nowhere near strong or wise enough to use your skills properly. While your courage and willpower is admirable, it will not be enough against an expert with the might of the Sharingan. Madara has all advantages… except one."

Both Naruko and Kitsune raised their head in curiosity, as Fugaku took his breath.

"Madara never understood the new generation will surpass the previous one. Hashirama did, and left this world, trusting his successors to carry on his ideal. Madara trusts himself and himself alone. This is why he clings to a parody of life, seeking tools instead of successors. Because he cannot trust anyone else to carry on his values and twisted goals. This is why he failed and will fail. The day Madara will pass the torch to someone shall be a dark one, I can assure you, but it is not for tomorrow."

Fugaku crossed his arms. "With each new era, a new generation surpass' the older one, for good or ill. The Sandaime Hokage surpassed his teacher the Shodaime, and the Yondaime surpassed Sarutobi. Itachi's might puts mine to shame, and Sasuke will grow to rival him. In a few decades, a new threat to the world shall rise, whose feats and crimes shall be greater than Madara's. Heroes will be driven to greater heroism, villains to greater villainy. This is why, in spite of your shortcomings, I believe, with the right training, strategy, and determination… you may surpass my ancestor. And who can better teach how to kill an Uchiha, than the Uchiha themselves?"

Naruko's jaw dropped. "You're going to teach us?"

"The _Uchiha clan _shall teach you," Fugaku corrected, his stoicism not having faltered. "As the clan's head, I will make sure you both feel welcomed among us and receive the best training, from the best teachers. I will honor both your parents' memory and your heroism the best I can. If you are willing, of course."

"It's…" Kitsune nodded vehemently, Samehada mimicking him. "Of course we accept!"

"Thank you, Fugaku-san." Naruko bowed slightly, tears of joy in her eyes. "We will not disappoint."

Fugaku cracked a smile. "We will start tomorrow. You better not be late."

Kitsune licked his ice cream and savored it. And stopped, upon looking at his hands.

His nails were turning into claws.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Naruko<strong>_

Finding Gaara hadn't been difficult.

Unlike Naruko and Kitsune, the redhead hadn't been transferred to the Uchiha Compound. According to Fugaku, it had been a demand from her part, as she had befriended the owner's daughter, Sakura Haruno. Her parents and the Hokage gladly accepted.

Back in her home world, Naruko had never been close of Sakura. The bookworm disliked her antics and overactive personality, and the blonde didn't share her obsession with Sasuke. The closest conversations they had were insult exchanges. Perhaps this world's Sakura was nicer?

Arriving in front of a large house, Naruko stood still, as her redhead friend watered some flowers. This was a strange sight, to say the least. Gaara noticed the newcomer, and locked eyes with her. "Hello. How may I help you?"

Outside the lack of recognition, Naruko was bothered by another thing. What could she say? That the Uchiha Clan proposed her training, and she wanted to invite Gaara? That the redhead had forgotten her best friend? "I..."

"Wait," Gaara raised an eyebrow, and for a split second, the blonde thought perhaps she had regained a vague memory. She was sorely disappointed. "You were that girl in the hospital. I saw you through the window."

Naruko nodded, doing her best to hide her sadness. "You are new in town?" She asked, unable to switch subject to what truly mattered.

"Apparently. I don't remember a thing." Gaara massaged her forehead. "The doctors say I got amnesia, or memory loss. They say I'm called Gaara, but to be honest, I have no idea if it's true or not." She noticed Naruko's sad expression and smiled. "Don't be sad. People here are nice, a friend and her family welcomed me with open arms. I'm scheduled to join a genin team next week, so... it's not that bad."

_She's enjoying herself, _Naruko realized. _She's enjoying herself more than she did with us._

"Anyway, you wanted something?" Gaara asked.

"I..." Naruko closed her mouth.

Could she explain the truth? Could she be selfish enough to deny Gaara a normal life? Could the blonde bring her former friend to the fight with Madara, train her to defeat a master criminal they had only a very small, nearly nonexistent chance of beating? Upon seeing the redhead's expression, Naruko made her decision.

"No. It's nothing." She stepped back. "I... I should go."

"But... you didn't tell me your name." Gaara narrowed her eyes. "At least give me your own."

Naruko gave her a thumb up, putting a fake cheerful smile over her face. "I'm Naruko Uzumaki. I make everything possible." One last lie.

"Enchanted," the redhead grinned with a nod. "I hope to meet you again someday."

_Perhaps in another life, _Naruko thought, upon saying goodbye and leaving her former friend. As she left, she noticed sand on the ground, assembled in a small, almost imperceptible message.

_Thank you. For my daughter._

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Godaime Hokage<strong>_

"How did this happen?" Itachi asked, walking forward through a corridor. The medics bowed in respect, and he hastily returned the nods.

"According to the witnesses, a hole in space opened precisely where our former visitors landed, when they crashed the council's last meeting." Danzo tightened his hold on his cane, following his leader. "He stepped out, fainted, and the breach closed behind." The implication was clear.

They had a new world-hopping visitor.

"He was in critical condition: third degree burns, broken hands, skull fractures, blood loss, and someone removed his left eye… our doctors stabilized him, and I called Tsunade to operate him." Sarutobi sighed. "Analysis of the blood confirmed he was the biological son of Minato Namikaze and Mikoto Uchiha. Genetically closer to Naruto than you, but he has the Sharingan and the Kyuubi. His healing factor greatly helped his survival."

Itachi's eyebrow raised in shock. "My half-brother?" Both his advisers nodded, and stopped in front of a room. "Is he conscious?"

"He is comatose. How long, I cannot say. Tsunade might be able to wake him up, but she won't be here before long." Sarutobi opened the door. The Godaime stepped inside, and glanced at the man.

He was indeed close to Naruto in appearance. The man, around eighteen at first glance, had whiskers-shaped scares over his cheeks, short spiky black hair, and a deathly pale skin. His face was a combination of Naruto and Sasuke's face, a fusion Itachi found beautiful, if unsettling. A black band covered his left, empty eye socket. His body was bruised and broken. Whoever got his or her hands on him didn't go lightly.

"Boy…" Itachi whispered. "Who are you? And who did this to you?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>In another universe...<strong>_

"You lost him? What do you mean by you _lost him_? You were _four _against _one_, _morons_! How could you lose against one half-blinded, half dead Uchiha handicapped _vermin_?"

The teen was truly furious. _He _had done the job with ruthless efficiency. _He _had beaten that Naruto wannabe to a pulp and left him to the Sound Four, so they could extract his Sharingan. Yet, they had failed. Jirobou, Sakon and Ukon were dead, and the two others wouldn't live much longer. While Kidomaru wisely kept his mouth shut, Tayuya couldn't repress a snide remark. "Shit was stronger than-"

Predictably, Orochimaru's 'top henchman killing machine', as the men called him behind his back, seized her head and crushed it into a bloody pulp.

The problem with Oto-nin was that they tended to die by their superiors' hands more than the enemies'. "Rule one: I make them! Rule two: people will die as long morals don't improve! Rule three: anyone talking back to a direct superior will be executed! HINT?"

Kidomaru cowered in fear, as Orochimaru's right hand glared at him. "The guy has the _Relay's _plans in his head, you moron! And he has escaped to another dimension, perhaps he's warning the natives alr- oh and screw it. You're FIRED!" With a casual movement, he stomped on the terrified Sound-nin and killed him on the spot. "Kimimaro you were right. We're surrounded with frickin' idiots. Why did the best of us have to be the _ill, dead _one? There's no justice in this world!"

Hebi-Sennin and his partners would be very, _very_ angry upon learning of this disaster. The apprentice had to get a scapegoat. "You! Whoever you are!" He pointed a finger at a random Oto-chuunin. "You're promoted! Happy? Because _I'm not_! You're responsible for this operation and you failed!"

Realizing how screwed he was, the ninja turned to run as fast as he could.

Naruto Uzumaki, right-hand-man of the Otokage, sighed. _Why are things always so difficult for me? _He thought upon pursuing his scapegoat.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Omake: Why Sasori should NEVER have the talk<em>**

"Sasori?" A ten-years old Chibaku stared up at his mentor. "Where do babies come from?"

Sasori briefly considered his options. If his student was already interested by the subject, then his libido might increase in the near future. Which was bad, as it would divert his concentration from subjects that truly mattered, like puppetry and spying. Perhaps was it the occasion to scare him straight. "I will show you."

Ten minutes later, Chibaku was tied to a log, screaming, as Sasori prepared the show. "Here is Macho Puppet and Girly Puppet," the redhead revealed his masterpieces. The first was a copy of Raikage A, and the second a duplicate of his secretary. "First, babies are born from an ancient ritual called mating..."

**One minute later...**

"Then Macho Puppet uses the spear of masculinity on Girly Puppet."

"YES, MACHO PUPPET!" Girly Puppet shouted, Sasori playing ventriloquists.

"My eyes!" Chibaku screamed in horror.

**One hour later...**

"This concludes the different mating rituals. Then, Girly Puppet will suffer a biological transformation as she produces the most horrifying biological weapon known to man: a-"

"Sasori, stop! Please! I beg you!"

**Two hours later...**

"This concludes the biology lesson." Sasori stared at his apprentice. The blonde had fainted when they had reached the_ 'giving birth to a biological weapon of mass annoyance'_ step. "I'm sure he's going to recover... and grow well-adjusted."

Indeed, what could possibly go wrong?

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's Notes: <em>**

I had another idea in mind for the omake, but this one caught my fancy and I went with it. The horror.

As for Naruko's hidden depths, I'm pretty sure they're the same as Canon Naruto: smiling and repressing worries due to fear of being abandoned and coping with the crap thrown in the way by denying it affects them. You might note the similarities with a previous scene in the Wave arc... except this time, repressing fear don't work anymore.

As for the deconstruction of the plot talk no jutsu... I think it is canon, in a way. I mean, a twelve years old Naruto managed to convince people like Tsunade, Inari, Gaara and the like to go against their former life with a few words and determination, and it's canon Kyuubi can sense emotions in others and exploit them. Charisma/empathy might be a passive ability.

In a way, Naruko and Alpha are pretty much mirrors of the other in term of abilities and will. The main difference is that Naruko can admit her flaws and change, whereas Alpha has made her mind a long time ago and never evolved.

Some might be intrigued Kitsune found strength to snap back at his tormentor, but think this way: he has difficulties standing up for himself. But he didn't hesitate to stand up for Hinata in his back story. He lacks self-confidence, but if someone else is threatened, his reaction isn't the same. And as I have strongly implied in his POV, he still has issues and the Kyuubi's legacy will linger.

The next step of these two's story will be about training and developing their own abilities instead of relying on Bijuu to do the work for them, and dealing with their respective traumas.

About Gaara, do not worry, she isn't written out of the story. In fact, she will have a pretty important role later on. It's just her staying in a world where she has a normal life for a time would be good for her character development.

Finally, the next scene. It's a pretty strong foreshadowing for the 'War World' arc of the story. The one-eyed Uchiha is the Uchiha!Naruto, and the guy who crippled him is the Sound!Naruto. The fact they met is already a reveal in itself.

Next time, Sasori and co get their badass moments. Please add a review, it's always nice and helps with the motivation.


	36. Chapter 33: Distant Utopia

As ever, thanks Third Fang and ABitterPill for their betaing work. Thanks yournameandnumber for inspiring the omake. Big hugs to all readers and reviewers.

Disclaimer: guess what I don't own.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 33:<strong>_

_**Distant utopia**_

A large part of the art of puppetry's strength is dependent on formation.

Puppets were rarely efficient alone if they did not possess any unique or outstanding characteristics, lacking the dexterity and adaptability of humans to perform some of the more advanced movements that higher level shinobi could on reflex regardless of how well trained the puppeteer was. It was why human puppets were so efficient. Their adaptable and chakra infused bodies added incredible versatility to their movements and functions.

In contrast to Sasori's rather morally absent solution to this issue, Chikamatsu Monzaemon long ago had found a different way around the weakness of a lone puppet: creating automatons with the ability to combine their strengths and weapons to magnify their efficiency, a lesson he applied to his own creations to great effect.

Three white puppets adopted a triangle formation, and conjured a powerful tornado of wind that sucked everything in its path between them, and in turn altering the path of a blast of chakra from Alpha that would have otherwise destroyed their controller.

The fake demon vessel groaned as her body contorted like living clay, her sick excuse for flesh morphing into long chakra arms that smashed the puppets within an instant. In response, another puppet, this one wielding two large swords, proceeded to cut through the arms.

Sasori's experienced eyes could only distinguish a vague black and white blur taking advantage of the opening as Orochimaru bisected Alpha's torso horizontally at blinding speed, with his _bare hands_. The combination of speed and power was impressive and proven just as effective as the tyrant's upper body fell on the ground. It was a fortune to most that the more malevolent Snake Sannin never discovered, or at least achieved Sage Mode…

A second later unfortunately, two limbs had grown from the downed body, and the mad dictator rose to her feet, seething with rage. No words werespoken however as she moved on to attack Sasori up close. A wise strategy, as defeating the puppeteer would end the threat of the others puppets.

_She still has enough control over herself to fight tactically, _the redhead thought, sending his two taijutsu-expert puppets to intercept her. A barrier of purple light shielded her from their fists, and although they managed to shatter it, both puppets were massacred by Alpha's vicious claws in the process.

She obviously didn't have a vast array of ninjutsu besides shielding techniques, fitting her role would-be as protector. With the Ten-Tails' power backing her up, however, her lack of skill was balanced by her colossal strength.

White snakes sprung from the ground to chain her up, restraining Alpha's movements with intense difficulty as her strength easily dwarfed their own to the point that many of them were already being torn apart in her efforts to free herself. Exploiting the opportunity, Sasori sent his sword wielding puppet to attack once more, backed up by Orochimaru who had released the Kusanagi from his mouth and seized it with his right hand. The duo proceeded to decapitate the fake demon vessel with a combined move, propelling the head ten meters above them.

A string of chakra sprung from the head and united it with the rest of the body once again. _**"Kill you," **_Alpha cursed, losing her mind to the power flooding her being. _**"Kill you, kill you, kill you…"**_

With a roar, Alpha unleashed a shockwave strong enough to free herself from the snakes and force her attackers to back down. The embodiment of the Ten-Tails had dozens of mouths opening all over her skin, each firing a beam of chakra in all directions. Tails formed out of her tailbone, which her opponent took as a bad omen. The woman was pumping more chakra to balance her lack of skill, and it had a nasty effect on her psyche.

Sasori struggled to avoid them, activating his artificial wings to dodge. Orochimaru's supernatural agility saved his life, whereas the puppets, lacking speed and their puppeteer's full focus, were quickly destroyed one by one. The last remaining dummy managed to save itself by hiding behind rocks and debris, clearly outmatched.

_If __this continues, our__ defeat is assured, _Sasori thought. _I expected her to be dangerous, but the Ten-Tails' power… is unlike anything I have ever seen. _Puppets were made to face ninjas and skilled humans, not walking forces of nature. Alpha didn't need skill to win: her brute strength was enough to overcome most obstacles.

At blinding speed, a chakra arm caught the redhead's legs and whipped him against the ceiling hard enough to embed him in it. Quickly regaining his bearings, the puppeteer watched as a roaring Alpha jumped toward him, claws ready. In a blink, Sasori shot her back with a jet-stream of water from his right arm that pinned her beneath him, launched himself from the ceiling while holding her down, reached her, put his left hand over her face, and activated his flamethrower.

The dictator roared in pain, her demonic visage being burned into ashes. In the mean time, Sasori activated Chikamatsu's final puppet and opened its mouth, releasing an orb. The projectile grew into a man-sized lion head, with jaws wide open. It pinned Alpha to the ground, a seal expanding over her body.

"Sealing Technique: Lion Closing Roar," Sasori whispered to himself while backing up as the jutsu started neutralizing Alpha's Tenkentsu…

… Or would have, if the woman hadn't been so resilient. She started breaking out of the lion's fangs, pointed a finger at Sasori, and unleashed a beam of light from it. The redhead blinked, unable to dodge at such a short distance.

So it should be expected that when a wall formed out of the soil just in the nick of time, shielding him from the blast, it surprised the man greatly.

Seconds later, the terrain itself started moving, animated by Senjutsu. The earth restrained Alpha's arm, and then the rest of her limbs. "Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation," smirked Orochimaru as he landed next to Sasori.

_**"You… you insane filth!" **_Alpha cursed. _**"How dare you infect this heaven and ravage it? Everything I did, I did for mankind! We clones are the solution to your problems! So why **__**fight**__** us? Why **__**destroy**__** this utopia?"**_

"Because you've done too much damage and need to be put down." Orochimaru's words were flat and unemotional. "Nobody wants your utopia. It's not worth the cost. Alpha, it's still time to stop this madness."

The dictator laughed insanely, breaking down before her defeat. Or perhaps the Ten-Tails' chakra was messing with her mind. _**"You… you cannot understand… what we feel. What we clones feel at being nothing but copies."**_

Alpha tried to free herself, but the seal unraveled her chakra system, and the Ten-Tails' power started to leave her bones. The ground swallowed her limbs, burying her alive. _**"We are **__**nothing.**__** We have no future, so I thought… I thought we could do something good and meaningful before we ended! I thought we could offer others a bright future! So many of us have nothing to live for, I**_**had**_**to give them hope and purpose! You think I didn't care about those who sacrificed their **__**lives**__** for this place? If I stop, they would have died for nothing, you hear me? I will **_**not **_**allow this!"**_

Her chakra reserves skyrocketed. Sasori, whose skills as sensor were minimal, could easily feel the depth of oppressive power Alpha was calling upon. Her tenketsu reopened, the seal started to unravel, and the ground _melted_.

The puppeteer and Orochimaru wisely retreated quickly as a surge of chakra vaporized Alpha's surroundings. Among smoke and dust, a humanoid figure rose. The duo put itself on guard, ready to strike. Surprisingly, the clone did not radiate any killing intent, nor hostility.

**"At last, I have taken over. I thought she would never ****use**** enough chakra."**

The voice wasn't Alpha's. It was cold, unfeeling, inhuman. The sound was a whisper, a deadly unnatural noise that pierced the ears and minds alike.

**"I have returned." **The possessed Alpha cracked her neck in delight. **"This body is too small, too weak, too feeble, ****but mine none the less****."**

The process lasted seconds, but the mere sight of it was sickening. The creature multiplied in size, a bulb grew out of its back, one massive purple eye formed on the head, shining with malevolence. The legs became slender, inhumanly so, ending with claws. Ten tails grew out of the back, with hands at their ends. The body was covered with skinless grey flesh that did _nothing _to hide the bones. The creature was a pure nightmare, and easily towered over the entire landscape, a twisted parody of a humanoid.

For the first time in his life, Sasori briefly felt genuine dread. The creature was wrong, abominable. Primal instincts he thought overcome decades ago resurfaced suddenly.

_Fear, _Sasori thought upon recognizing the emotion. _I feel fear._

**"My, this vessel is weak, but suitable to carry on my mission." **The creature's lone eye stared down at the two ninjas. **"It appears you are to thank for my release. You have my deepest gratitude."**

At that point, Sasori and Orochimaru were too frightened to muster a reply.

**"Do not despair, sons of man. You face Datara the Ten Tailed, the One-Eyed Kami, the Giant Deity, the Dark Progenitor." **The hands-like tails swirled. **"I usher the birth of a new world, devoid of imperfection, as Kami of the Stars commands. Those deemed worthy will be purged of all weaknesses. The unworthy shall be granted the gift of oblivion. A new world shall rise from the ashes of the old, and order shall be enforced over the chaos of existence."**

The Kusanagi hit its eye, although the blade didn't pierce it.

Sasori finally snapped from his terror and stared, amazed, at Orochimaru. The Sannin cursed as his sword retracted. In the puppeteer's opinion, it was the thought that mattered.

Sadly, the Ten-Tails was far from amused. **"If you prefer oblivion over survival, I shall grant this wish. Vanish."**

"N-"

The monster's eye shined brightly, and Sasori's world was swallowed by purple light.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Haku<strong>_

It became quickly clear Haku wasn't going to hold her ground for long.

"Lightning Chakra races through my brain and nerves, allowing for faster information analysis and reaction time than should be physically possible for a human," Five explained, easily dodging Haku's senbon and replying with bolts of white chakra. The mirrors allowed the young ice woman to travel at superior speed, and she avoided the attacks. "I can easily determine your movements and adapt."

Haku pondered about a solution. At this rate, ninjutsu was her only option. Unfortunately, it involved deadly force, and some part of her didn't want to kill the troubled, lonely clone.

In a flash, Five smashed her torso in midair hard enough to break past her armor of ice, his palm reaching her chest. The next second, he kicked her with enough power to hammer her against a mirror. Haku regained enough momentum to dodge a new punch. She was silently glad that she managed to escape the attack as she watched the clone's arm went past the dome of ice.

Taking advantage of the opening, the former Kiri-nin turned the mirror's ice into kunai and threw dozens of them at her opponent. Freeing his arm, Five groaned as a few projectiles pierced his flesh. Moving incredibly quickly, he deflected or avoided the following strikes, closing the gap between him and his opponent.

"Chidori!" Five shouted, a sphere of thunder gathering between his fingers as he struck forward. The lethal blow missed, Haku exploiting her superior agility managed to deflect the clone's arm in another direction. The Chidori shattered an icy wall, the dome crumbling on itself in the process.

Faster than the eyes could follow, Five moved at a new level of speed and caught Haku's neck, lifted her, and smashed her back against the cracking ice. The ice woman was brutally thrown past the artificial arena, but managed to roughly land on her feet regardless. In the background, fire met water and rocks, Kuebiko and Omoikane trapped in a deadly battle with the other clone commander, who was ruthlessly unleashing seas of fire upon their heads.

A roar snapped her out of her thoughts. A bolt of lightning almost fried her had her reflexes not kicked in at the last instant. Five ran faster than the wind and engaged her in taijutsu, putting Haku in a difficult situation. "Senbon won't get past my thick charred skin," the clone taunted her, his blows heavier than cannonballs. "My punches, however, will get past your bones in no time!" The missing-nin was a distance fighter, and keeping her ground at the moment was a feat in itself.

A roundhouse kick put an end to the trashing, sending Haku crashing to the ground. Five's hands grabbed her back and lifted her above his head. "I broke the mind…" he whispered, preparing his execution. "And now I'll break the back!"

A projectile hit his skull and came out from the opposite end, drawing blood. Releasing his grip, he fell to his back, leaving Haku to land on her feet and take a few steps backward. She stared in the projectile's direction.

"I broke the guy, and I broke the brain!" Chibaku joked darkly, wielding an iron rod. At his sides, two of the clones were laying on the ground, knocked out. "You're alright, Haku?"

"Did you kill-"

A bolt of lightning blew up the musket into pieces. "That." Five rose up, blood all over his mask. "Was." He cracked his neck. "_Unpleasant_."

"Oh, great, another new toy blown up. This is really starting to get repetitive." Chibaku summoned chakra strings, which promptly wrapped around the enraged Five to restrain him. The clone snarled and grabbed them, spun on himself, and sent the puppeteer crashing into Haku's chest.

"Two-on-one seemed to be good odds," Chibaku whined, as red chakra covered his body. Both he and Haku stood up, the ice woman producing a short blade of ice. "Wait, you know kenjutsu?"

"Zabuza-sama taught me as much as he could, but I never got past the basics," she replied softly, hoping the length would give her an advantage over the unarmed Five. She was average at best, but a sword in a taijutsu battle always helped unless you were really THAT good with just your fists.

"That's not gonna be enough!" Five shrieked and charged, his movements turning wild and unpredictable. He quickly closed the gap and engaged the duo in close combat.

"I shot you in the head, so why don't you die, you brain-dead dumbass?" Chibaku attempted a kick, which the clone caught midair. Three tails of chakra swung, like red savage whips. The clone propelled his prey away, dodging the attacks. Haku seized the opportunity and struck horizontally. The insane ANBU jumped, avoiding the blade, and retaliated with a roundhouse kick. This time, the ice woman saw it coming and took a step backward.

Chibaku didn't waste time. When Five landed on one foot, he was welcomed with a mighty punch. The clone caught the wrist, and his second, free foot connected with Chibaku's jaw, tossing him to the ground. The ANBU's hand lit up with a blue glow, and he stabbed the puppeteer's torso, drawing unhealthy amounts of blood. "Nothing will save you, puppeteer! I'm gonna hit you again and again until you're red with your own blood!"

Sasori's apprentice hissed in pain, helpless as his enemy struck a second time, this time in the stomach, and prepared to deal a final blow.

Haku's blade interrupted him, the ice slashing the man's torso and stopping when it hit the ribs. Enraged, Five hissed like a beast, pushed the sword out of his flesh, and his elbow broke the ice woman's nose. The surprised girl's neck was quickly caught by fingers.

"Kiss your teacher for me in the afterlife. He's not gonna save you this time."

He electrocuted her. Haku screamed, as her body convulsed in agony. She dropped her blade, and the pain increased…

An iron hand seized Five's grip and ruthlessly shattered his arm. The ANBU released the ice lady and hissed, receiving a punch to the jaw for his trouble. His new opponent then proceeded to kick the clone's balls and toss him a few meters backward with strength alone. "Water Release: Water Dragon!"

A powerful dragon-shaped torrent blasted Five away. Haku sensed strong hands holding and examining her. "You're fine," said Kuebiko. "He didn't damage the vitals… I think. A medic will be able to patch you up in no time."

Haku's eyes widened, as Five rose up. "Behind!"

Kuebiko slowly spin on place and faced his enemy, putting himself between the crazy clone and the former Kiri-nin. Haku struggled to move, but simply making hand-seals proved to be painful and difficult. Five's shocking had messed with her nerves.

"You think you can take me on alone?" Five raised his functional arm, which sparked with lightning chakra. As the clone released a powerful attack, Kuebiko pointed his arms in the bolt's direction and opened his palms. The bolt of chakra reached the gauntlets, swirled around them… and switched direction.

Five roared, his own attack hitting his chest and burning it. Flames appeared on his outfit, slowly burning his clothes and flesh. "I think I can manage," said Kuebiko, as the clone charged. In a blink of an eye, the former Nidaime Hokage moved behind his opponent and welcomed him with a kick. "Surrender, and I promise you will be spared."

"Die, die, die, DIE!" Five's fist swung, the move erratic and careless. In Haku's opinion, the meds' effects had worn off, returning the clone to his raging madness. The fire wasn't helping.

"I am faster and stronger," Kuebiko stated evenly upon deflecting the blow and unleashing a storm of lightning-fast strikes at the ANBU, whose hits were either dodged or ineffective. The difference in skill and power was tremendous. "Your comrade isn't doing any better. You have lost."

He was right. It was only a matter of time. Five would be beaten into submission or consumed by the flames of his own outfit, and Three was being backed into a corner by Kuebiko's partner, snakes and rocks winning over fire jutsu.

"If so… I'm not dying alone!" Five noticed Haku, the blood over the mask creeping her out. He wasn't seeing her, but he could probably sense her heartbeat. He raised his arm at her and shot a bolt at her face.

Kuebiko outmatched it in speed.

It happened so fast Haku almost thought he had somehow teleported. In a blink, he was in front of her, catching the thunderbolt once again and redirecting it.

This time, Five didn't wait, and jumped at the surprised world traveler, clutching to his helmet. "If I go down, you go down!" His body released bolts of lightning, making Kuebiko shriek in pain, as the armor fried. He vainly attempted to push back his attacker, without avail.

"Say goodbye to your future…" Five's body brightened with a blue haze. "I'M GONNA KILL IT!"

Haku clenched her jaw and joined her palms.

Five's mouth widened in pain and surprise. The haze left his body, blood fell from his torso, and the lightning shocking Kuebiko vanished. The clone slowly stared at the icy spear impaling his heart, before moving his gaze to Haku.

"Why… did you take so long?" He asked upon falling to his side, Kuebiko recovering. "I was… getting restless…"

"It didn't have to end like this!" Haku shouted, more to herself than her agonizing enemy.

"Ha… I'm dust, and I will return to dust… that's just the way… of this cursed universe…" He kept staring at her. "You said… you would not give up… to despair? Fool… despair is all…" He chuckled, coughing up blood in the process. "All you have… in the end…"

Haku narrowed her eyes. "What about Hope? You said you had no name…" She took her breath. "Why not Hope?"

"A name, eh?" Five asked, his mask red with blood. "I think... a name does not matter. In the end... nothing really matters, beside our actions." He chuckled one last time. "Still… it's a good name… gotta… remember it."

Five closed his mouth, and fell into eternal silence. His outfit's flames finally reached the mask and started to burn it. Soon, the whole body became a funeral pyre.

Kuebiko offered his hand to Haku, helping her getting back on her feet. "Is everyone alright?" asked the latter.

"Well…" Omoikane stomped on the defeated Three's face. "Not everyone." She stared at Chibaku, and her expression darkened.

He was covered with blood. The red chakra surrounding his body was starting to dissipate, unable to mend the wounds. Kuebiko rushed at the boy's side, examining the wounds. "The first blow damaged an artery and the second the spine," the former Nidaime stated. "The Kyuubi's chakra won't flow enough to prevent a hemorrhage." A grey aura covered the boy. "This stasis should preserve his life until… until we find-"

It happened.

It was sudden. It was brutal. It was a sour noise that pierced the minds, took over the thoughts. It was a cold sensation that paralyzed the bodies, it was a surge of malevolent chakra spreading in her bones, in the blood.

Haku struggled to remain conscious, but neither Omoikane nor Kuebiko seemed affected, although the latter appeared to have a harder time at maintaining Chibaku's stasis. "Oh shit…" the armored woman said.

"Yes." Kuebiko raised his head. "The Ten-Tails is free."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sasori<strong>_

He could feel his limbs.

It should be impossible. They weren't alive. They were wood and steel. Yet, Sasori could feel them. He could feel his fingers, his face, his hair. He opened his eyes, and stared around himself. Orochimaru was standing at his side, still holding the Kusanagi. Alpha's garden had been reduced to a sea of dust and bones. They were the only people alive, Alpha's thralls having been consumed by the monster's chakra.

The Ten-Tails was sitting in the center of the devastation, in a lotus position. It radiated with power and malevolence. Its mere proximity should have ended Sasori's life.

Yet, he had survived, and he could feel his limbs.

"The Inorganic Art infuses inorganic matter with Senjutsu, giving it a life of its own," Orochimaru whispered. "This natural energy is currently shielding you from its chakra, as it protects my body."

Sasori glared at the monster. "What is it doing?"

"Spreading its chakra and warping earth into its own image, I guess." The Sannin narrowed his eyes in despair. "Nothing in my arsenal can take it down."

The redhead frowned. "The beast isn't free yet. It's still contained inside the statue, and merely using Alpha as a proxy body. I have a seal that can unbalance the chakra control of an individual so… maybe could it disrupt the bond."

"Are you certain it can work?"

"I'm not sure. I applied it to a puppet made to be sent into a pocket dimension and unbalance the jutsu user's chakra control. I never tested it against a demon vessel." It worked on Madara, but could it disrupt the link between a pseudo-Jinchuuriki and the Juubi? "It may work… if I manage to put it inside the Ten-Tails' body."

"You aren't going to do it. In fact, being even near it will kill you once you get close. I'm the only one of us with enough control over Senjutsu to survive such action." Orochimaru handed Sasori his blade. "Put the seal on it. I can infuse it with enough Senjutsu to get past the flesh and activate the seal… if I get close enough. Extending the Kusanagi would dilute the energy and it would be for naught."

Had he gone mad? "Your range of vision won't allow you to dodge all incoming attacks. Unless…" He smirked. "Unless we cheat."

Orochimaru apparently understood, and he smiled back. "It has a hundred-to-one chance of working, but it's still a chance."

**"I am afraid ****not****."**

The Ten-Tails stared in their direction and opened its mouth. **"****Stay dead**** this time," **it said, firing a sphere of purple light in their direction. Orochimaru in turn quickly bit his finger, made hand-seals faster than the eyes could follow and slammed his palms on the soil.

A cloud of smoke covered the duo's vision, and the sphere exploded against… something. _Probably a snake summon, strong enough to survive a small Bijudama, _the redhead thought. Once the dust settled, Sasori looked up.

And up. And up.

It was a _colossal _snake.

Sasori had never seen such creature. It could easily tower over buildings and small mountains, and as long as a river. Its scales were black and purple, its eyes as green as grass, and it had fangs the size of fully grown humans. "Orochimaru…" The beast hissed. Its skin was a bit singed, but the summon didn't seem harmed. "Did you just use me, the Mighty Manda, king of all serpents, as a glorified meat shield? _Who do you think I am_?"

"Well…" the Sannin grinned. "A glorified _snake _shield."

Silence. "You sneaky, ruthless, _magnificent bastard_!" Said the snake. "That was an awesome and cruel stunt! I heartily applaud!" It noticed the redhead puppeteer. "Oh, nice to meet you. Orochimaru, is that your new bodyguard? And…"

It finally noticed the earth-destroying abomination hissing in front of them. "What do you want, you little ugly… thing? A royal ass-whipping from _my royal Highness_?"

"Manda, would you kindly try to restrain it?" Orochimaru asked. "We may have a way to defeat it, but we need time." He handed Sasori his bloodied finger. "Here is your ink for the seal."

The snake snorted. "Couldn't find a pen? Blood is dramatic, yet unpractical."

**"Enough babbling." **The Ten-Tails prepared to fire a new sphere. **"Die-"**

A tail whipped its face, and threw the sphere against the ceiling, destroying part of it. "Manda's Wonderful Tail Whip!" Manda roared ferociously, winding around the surprised Ten-Tails' limbs and pinning it to ground. "Manda's _Fabulous_ Binding!"

Sasori's jaw dropped, as he finalized the seal. "How can it survive direct contact?"

"Who do you think taught me Senjutsu in the first place?" The Sannin snickered, as the redhead finished his work. Orochimaru waved his Kusanagi. "Ready?"

"Always," Sasori replied, linking his strings to the Sannin's limbs. "A hundred-to-one chance of survival? Good odds, given the situation."

Orochimaru nodded and charged.

With a powerful roar, the Ten-Tails freed itself, propelling Manda into the ceiling. The Bijuu rose up and its eye shined brightly. Hundreds of fire blasts were launched from it, each deadlier than the last at the two humans. Combining his agility with Sasori's precision, perspective and guidance, Orochimaru dodged them all. They all missed, and he continued advancing.

**"Stop," **the Ten-Tails ordered, its hand-tails vainly moving to smash the Sannin. Orochimaru continued his advance, untouched. **"I command you to stop." **It opened its mouth and released a new sphere at the Snake Sannin, exploding into a sea of fire.

Not only did it miss, but the rebel leader proceeded to _outrun the blast_, dodge flying debris, and reach the Ten-Tails, his face as serene as ever.

**"What? Impossible." **Orochimaru jumped toward the creature's torso. **"Stay back. I comm-"**

With a roar, the Sannin stabbed the monster's flesh.

In an instant, it was over. The Ten-Tails exploded into purple light and smoke. Orochimaru gracefully landed on the ground, as gently as a feather. The Kusanagi fell to the ground, next to Alpha's body. The malevolent chakra quickly dissipated, vanishing as quickly as it spread.

Slowly and carefully, Sasori joined the Sannin, the duo observing Alpha's body. Her clothes had been partly torn to shreds by the Ten-Tails' chakra, and she was frankly half-naked. "The end of the link caused her death," Sasori suggested. "The chakra regenerating her was the only reason she could survive the possession. When it ended, it was ove-"

Alpha opened her eyes.

Years of advanced reflexes saved Sasori's life, as he instinctively dodged an incoming blade of wind. How could she still be alive? The puppeteer wondered, genuinely astonished, as the woman rose once again, furious, harmed, and ready for a fight. "I will not… surrender… I refuse."

"Woman, you are a mess, broken, bruised, and against two super-mammals and one awesome master of snake-fu," Manda replied. "It's not amusing."

Sasori nodded in appreciation, observing as new figures reached them. Kuebiko and Omoikane were followed by three restrained and bruised clones, and Haku was carrying a kid covered with a grey haze.

Sasori's eyes widened in dread, and in a foolish fit of worry, turned his back on Alpha and reached his apprentice. "No," he whispered upon examining the wounds, "no, no…"

"I will keep the stasis until he gets medical attention," Kuebiko whispered to the puppeteer. "However… I'm afraid it might not be enough."

"It's over Alpha," Orochimaru declared.

"As long as I stand, it will never be over," the priestess snarled, gathering wind around her palms. "Alone or not, I will continue the fight."

Haku snapped at this point. "To fight for what? For a grave and ashes? Are you truly this _selfish_?"

Sasori didn't see her expression, nearly completely focused on his apprentice. He didn't need to. The voice was all he needed. "Hundreds died today because of _you_! For this garden of bones! When will it stop? When everyone but you is dead? Five died for nothing because he loved you! Because of your actions, Chibaku is at death's doors and who knows how many the Ten-Tails killed upon awakening! You do nothing but bring pain and death to others! You… you're just as bad as _Madara_! You use people as tools and you have them killed without care! You say you want to bring peace and unity, but have you brought beside war and destruction?"

Sasori slowly turned around and glared at the dictator, hesitating between gutting her on the spot for threatening his apprentice or worrying over his apprentice. However, her expression was, to put bluntly, surprising. It wasn't rage, it wasn't denial.

It was regret.

"There truly is nothing left… is there?" Alpha stared at the agonizing Chibaku, then at her captured men, and finally at Orochimaru. "If… if I surrender, will you spare the clones that fought today?"

"You are in no position to negotiate anything, but… yes. Those who surrender will be spared."

Alpha bit her lower lip, and the winds around her fists vanished. "Utopia was my idea, my responsibility," she said, offering her hands. "I'm the only one to blame for the work camps, and everything else. The others were just following orders."

"Alpha, you're under arrest for genocide, crimes against mankind, homicides, torture, and a dozen other charges I haven't memorized." Orochimaru transformed the soil into chains and restrained the woman with them. "Your men will be given fair trial." The Sannin then glanced at Chibaku. "My best medics will work on him."

It was a fool's hope, and Sasori was well-aware of that. The damage was too great. The body would not survive.

There was however, one solution still available.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chibaku<strong>_

The second he regained consciousness, the blonde was aware something was different.

His vision was greater than before, better, more precise. He couldn't close his eyes. His limbs felt… well, he couldn't feel them. He knew they were _there_, but they weren't warm. They weren't alive. He didn't even feel the air in his mouth.

In fact, he didn't sense any mouth.

For a split second, the puppeteer wondered if he was dead, and attempted to glance around him. Surprisingly, he managed to move his head without problem.

Chibaku was in a hospital room, white. No windows, one door to get out. And Sasori. Sasori staring over him.

"Good morning, Naruto." He forced himself to smile. It was supposed to be reassuring, but Chibaku found it creepy. "You returned from a long journey."

Yes. He remembered. He remembered Five, his parody of a Chidori. He remembered the pain and the blood. "How long was I… out?" His voice had changed. It was deeper. "What… what happened to me?"

"You were asleep for four days. Many things have happened in the meantime." Sasori interlocked his fingers on his lap. "You should have died. Your vital organs were a mess and your spine was crushed. The Kyuubi vainly attempted to save your life, but the wounds were too severe."

_You tried to save me?_

…_**Yes. Yes I did. **_The Kyuubi's tone was different… warmer. _**I… I was certain you would die, to be honest.**_

"Your body was failing you. The resistance's best medics did their best, but they only could stall the inevitable. Tsunade herself would have given up. I didn't." The redhead searched under his robes. _A mirror, _Chibaku thought, suspicions filling his still beating heart. He had a pretty good guess why he couldn't feel his limbs. He stared into his reflection and contemplated his new body.

Steel. It had to be steel, or an alloy. His shape was humanoid, his body made of assembled red and black plates. His limbs were big, thick and strong. His visage lacked any features, replaced with a glowing orange, triangle shaped screen. He looked like a bulky knight with a heavy armor. His chest was golden, and deep underneath, a human heart was beating.

"I will add hair later, alongside fake skin. It should make it easier for you to adapt-"

"Sasori," Chibaku cut in, "Honestly? As a living puppet? _I look awesome_. Even if I don't have a nose." He moved his head and stared into his master's eyes. "The design isn't yours, I guess? You favor wood over steel."

"Technically, some of the components are made of titanium, but that's beside the point. Kuebiko and his comrades helped with the design and construction, whereas Orochimaru provided most of the materials and resources."

Chibaku nodded to himself, before mentally frowning. _Ah, yes, I don't have eyebrows anymore. I have to get used to it. _"Wait, did you just say _Orochimaru_?"

"It's a long story." Sasori scoffed. "As you guessed, I salvaged your heart and replicated the same procedure I used on myself to turn you into a human puppet. It was the only way to save your life. I…" He struggled to utter his next words. "I apologize."

"For what? Turning me into your masterpiece? Wasn't it your goal all along?" Chibaku chuckled. "Look, I'm alive. No big deal. Just need to get used to my new body, and it'll be fine."

_**You're strangely happy for someone turned into a killing machine. To think I was worried for you…**_

_Really?_

…_**Did I just say that out loud? **_The Kyuubi cursed. _**Forget these words, meatbag. They certainly don't mean anything.**_

_I think you're cute when you're embarrassed._

_**I'm not! How can I? I'm still linked to your soul and put into a junk body! And you're still alive! I don't feel warm inside, you dream!**_

_I never said you were._

The Kyuubi wisely decided to shut up and stop digging itself in further.

"No." Sasori's voice snapped Chibaku out of his thoughts. "No, Naruto. You aren't my masterpiece. And you aren't my apprentice. When I operated you, when Kuebiko brought you dying to me, I… I felt something one does not feel for a student, or an life achievement. I felt something more."

Sasori's hand seized Chibaku's own.

"I felt how a father feels for a son."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Haku<strong>_

_Here lies Zabuza,_

_He lived to fight and fought to save lives,_

_His tales shall be told for the ages to come._

Haku thought it was a nice epitaph. Orochimaru had promised he would take care of the tombstone and make sure no one would disturb him. Staring at the nocturnal sky, the young woman wondered if stars were observing her, watching her struggle as a spectacle. "Are you watching, Zabuza-sama?" She whispered to the dead, as she deposited flowers over the ground. "I will make you proud, I promise…"

She stared at the second tombstone and placed flowers next to it, as well.

_Here lies Hope,_

_His name was the one thing he had,_

_It will not be forgotten, and neither shall his life._

Picking up the sounds of someone walking in his direction, Haku moved her head. "I apologize if I disturbed you," Chibaku spoke, with his new deep voice. He was carrying roses. "I can come later if you prefer."

"No, go ahead." She lowered her eyes. "Sorry, Chibaku-san."

"For what?"

"If I had gone for the kill since the very beginning, you would still be normal."

"Haku-san, I ceased to be normal since the moment I was born. I see it as a metamorphosis, another stage of my life. No big deal. And if I remember well, you stopped him from landing a killing blow, so you saved my life instead of ruining it. The guy was easily good enough to rival Jounin, I doubt going for the kill since the get-go would have changed the situation." He placed flowers over _both _graves. "Why did you bury his ashes here?"

"To remember." Haku briefly glanced at her friend's body. He was close to eight feet tall, and even if his movements were clumsy, they had a lot of strength behind. The ice lady had little doubt he could shatter stone if he wanted to.

"You know… I have every reason to hate him, and yet I don't." Chibaku crossed his mechanical arms and faked a cough. "In many ways, he's what I would have become had Alpha found me instead of Sasori. I would have been loyal _and _bitter. He needed to be put down, but… the fact gives no pleasure."

"I never enjoyed killing." Haku stared sadly at Zabuza's grave. "It is necessary from time to time, but when you start enjoying it, there is no turning back. My teacher taught me that, and… he told me to follow my own path. I think I have found it."

Chibaku silently listened. "The world shouldn't produce people as miserable as he was. If he had had a little more support and guidance, he wouldn't have fallen into self-destructiveness and despair. The world is full of sadness and suffering… and I intend to fix it as much as I can. To make sure nobody else ends up like he did. But for this, I need to be stronger." She took her breath. "From now on… nobody dies under my watch."

"Not even me?" Chibaku couldn't repress a bad joke. "You have grown, Haku-san. Zabuza is proud of you, wherever he is."

"Thank you," Haku smiled and lent him her hand. "You're taking your transformation surprisingly well."

"To be honest, becoming a human puppet is something I intended to do, albeit not so soon." He chuckled at the lady's astonished face. "The prospect of turning into what I am may disturb you, and I can understand it. I mean, I won't be able to start a family, I won't be able to feel the most basic physical pleasures... but I can theoretically live forever, I will never grow old and sick, and I'm one step closer to my goal. I try to be optimist. As for a family?" He chuckled. "I already have one."

"Your goal?"

"One day, once I have surpassed my master in all fields, I will find a child on the roads. One with no future but incredible potential. I will look into his or her eyes, and if I like what I see, I shall take this kid as my apprentice." He briefly laughed. "Does it sound familiar?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Rebel<strong>_

"Are you absolutely certain of your decision?" Orochimaru frowned in disappointment as Kuebiko nodded politely. Finishing his meal, the Sannin stared at the word travelers. He had cordially invited them to share this feast, and had hoped they would stay. "You will be treated as the heroes you are. I will do everything in my power to reward your efforts."

"As much as I find the description of _heroes_ ironic, we must insist." Sasori coughed. "We have comrades to find."

"We are honored by your offer, but our… our family, needs us," Haku added politely.

"Well, it was fun as long as it lasted." Manda shrugged, resting lazily on an oversized throne. The snake was too proud to settle for anything less. He had previously suggested having a feast at his '_shiny snake kingdom' _instead of the rebellion's former headquarters, but his summoner had rebuked the offer. The story had started here, and so it had to finish here as well. "Still, we're going to miss you. We need more strong willed mammals around here."

Orochimaru couldn't agree more. "If your decision is final, at least allow me to offer you a reward for your precious help." Joining his palms, the Sannin summoned a scroll. "This… is the summoning contract of the snakes, which I modified with Kuebiko's assistance. If you sign it, you will be able to call upon the snakes of this world… or even me, if you ever need my help. I will come."

"… Let me get this straight," Chibaku started, "you altered a summoning contract within, what, three, four days, and enhanced it simply with vague theories and information?"

Manda chuckled. "Orochimaru is many things, but a retard he isn't. He's the smartest mammal alive in my book."

"You're too kind." The Sannin reddened in embarrassment. "I simply have a special talent for summoning."

"Special talent? Surely you jest." Kuebiko snorted. "After decades of research, my knowledge of summoning contracts and arrays is vague at best. You on the other hand have cracked the theory behind them and discovered secrets seal masters never imagined existed in the first place. If you could help us, I'm sure summoning anyone to other worlds would become child's play within _months_."

Orochimaru smiled in embarrassment The armored man overestimated him. "After I fix my world, it would be with pleasure. I first have to handle the transition toward a new, non-despotic regime."

"Speaking of it, what are you going to do next?" Sasori raised an eyebrow. "Build a new Hidden Village?"

Orochimaru shook his head. "In a theocracy, the people belong to the gods. In a ninjacracy, the people belong to the nation. In oligarchies, the people belong to a minority. In a despotism, people belong to one person. I have rejected those solutions and created my own. The people will belong to the people." The Sannin chuckled. "Democracy. It sounds good, isn't it?"

"That's interesting but…" Chibaku tilted. "You're a nice guy and a hero. If you ruled alone, you could have greater results and everyone will applaud." He chuckled. "I can't believe I said that of Orochimaru, of all men."

Orochimaru was beginning to wonder what his doubles had done to deserve this kind of reputation. Surely they weren't all total bastards, were they? "You simply have to look outside these walls to see where the last _benevolent dictatorship_ lead us to. As for ruling... I was born to work in a lab, not to lead, but circumstances decided otherwise. I have no intention of staying in power longer than necessary."

The Snake Sage took his breath. "Alpha's words convinced me she started as someone you could relate to. An idealist with her head full of dreams and wanted to offer a better future to this devastated land. She was in the same position as I was, leading a revolution to depose tyrants. She used to be a rebel once… but power… absolute power corrupts absolutely. It is easy, to _force _people to share your ideas instead of _convince _them. It is quick, it's efficient, and it ultimately ends with extremism and another revolution, and the whole horror restarts anew. I will break this cycle once and for all by making sure no one can gain absolute power ever again."

"A wise decision," Manda nodded. As the others stared at his throne, he hissed. "I am the king because I lead my species during crisis and wars, and because I'm _awesome_! Otherwise? Snakes are wise enough not to need someone telling them what to do. I guess it can become the same with you mammals."

"It will take time, but I will destroy our previous rulers' legacy. The clans will have to accept they aren't some kind of master race, my people will learn true friendship and peace, and the clones will be given fair trials. Some like Three will receive a death sentence for their participation in a genocide, but most will be given a chance to atone and repair this devastated planet. Your friends Twenty and Ninety have already accepted to work for the rebuilding of civilization. I suggested they choose names, to live as individuals and not gears of a machine."

"Are they-"

"Ninety is still as adorable and clumsy as ever, and Twenty…" Orochimaru took a red notebook from under his robes and gave it to Chibaku. "He wanted me to give you this. I will attempt to find a cure for the clones' defects and allow them to become people of their own right. In time, a few might start families and find happiness."

"Then… this leaves only Alpha and the statue," Kuebiko whispered. "What do you intend to do with her? Publicly execute her?"

"And make her a martyr? Unhappy people tend to lionize dead leaders, and since the new regime won't suddenly bring peace and food for all..." Orochimaru trailed off. "No, I have something else in mind for her. I will strip her of her powers, and have her see the work camps, her victims, and take responsibility for her actions. Perhaps she will try to atone for what she did… and if she doesn't, she will live a broken shell of her former self, powerless, alone." A fate worse than death, in his opinion. He couldn't settle for less.

"As for the statue, I gave it to the White Snake Sage, the spiritual leader of all serpents. He and other summons will keep it until we find a more… _permanent _solution to get rid of it. I swear no one will ever use the Ten-Tails' power again."

"You never cease to astonish me, my friend. Not many of your kind would give up on limitless power, no matter the drawbacks." Manda stared down at the world travelers. "Call me if anyone needs to fear the power of snake-fu. It's gonna be pretty boring around here now we have earned our happy ending and our enemies are gone… until they return and we kick their ass _again_."

"I give you all my blessings," Orochimaru said softly. "I hope you will find your lost comrades and reach your dreams. This is all I wish."

As the others bowed in respect and friendship, a woman chose that time to enter the room. "Finished Eon's programming," said Omoikane. "We leave whenever you want, maggots."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chibaku<strong>_

_Twenty: "New one, nothing personal I hope. I don't know who you are exactly or where you're going, but… take care of yourself."_

_Ninety: "I'm so sorry we had to fight, and… and, well, I hope we're still friends. It… it meant something to me. So… well, I hope you're fine, wherever you are."_

Chibaku silently closed the notebook and stepped outside the strange machine. The inside wasn't particularly… bizarre, or at least, not as much as he had expected from a dimension-traveling machine. For starters, it was a circular room with seats equipped with belts, and Omoikane had decorated the inside. Except a panel and computers, it looked like a dining room. The travel itself had lasted an hour, and besides some shaking, Eon had traveled undisturbed.

Of course, Chibaku had no idea what could happen when the machine was disturbed. _**Landing in a world of spandex pirates, I presume, **_the Kyuubi deadpanned.

As the gates opened, the puppeteer was welcomed by a strange, wonderful sight. They were on a beach of black sand, in front of a…

"A red sea?" Haku spoke for the puppeteer. The sky was even more disturbing, a mix of yellow and red, without clouds. In the horizon, the crew could see flying rocks, strange structures, and islands. "This…"

"It doesn't make sense, yes," Kuebiko whispered, upon exiting the traveling device. "I told you, this is the End. A dimension made of the remnants of universes long gone. The geography changes all the time, the structures you see appear and move elsewhere according to a logic we do not yet understand. There is no sun, and yet we have light. No earth core, and yet there is gravity. This whole place ignores the laws of physics."

"Toys with them, you mean," Omoikane shrugged. "I once saw a man disguised as a bat drop from the sky and falling into the sea. Nonsense doesn't _begin _to describe this place."

"The island is our Base, a location we took as our home. This," Kuebiko pointed at a yellow, metallic, tower structure standing farther down the beach, "is the center of our installation. It keeps tracks of all the worlds we discovered, gathers data, and-"

"And I will cut the sentence short _before _it turns into techno-babble," a new voice interrupted. A familiar man stepped into view, wearing a blue shirt, white shorts, sandals, and black glasses. He had long white hair, and a recognizable face. "Hello guys, nice to meet you."

"Kabuto?" Chibaku quickly corrected himself. This man was Kabuto, but with ten years more, a leaner body, and his outfit was quite un-Kabutoish.

"I used to be called that, until I attempted a space-time ninjutsu and screwed up in a spectacular way," the man chuckled. "I'm Fukuro, the overseer of our team. Can I offer you refreshments? It would be good to take some rest after your latest adventure."

"Gotta get my swimsuit later, but first, we have a bigger problem to deal with-"

"Yes, yes Omoikane, I was getting into it… the situation is not pretty. At all." He watched at his comrades. "I lost contact with Vajra six hours ago."

"And you did not inform us?" Kuebiko jumped in place. "How did it happen?"

"Hey, I thought it was just a temporary malfunction, I tried to correct it myself," the scientist protested. "He was investigating one of the worlds in danger of collapsing, and the communication ended mid-sentence. I tried to reactivate it, but the armor ceased to send me information and all my attempts were in vain. One of you will be teleported where he was to investigate as soon as possible."

Sasori scoffed, attracting everyone's attention. "We keep hearing about this Vajra for days, but the only things we have learned are his name and some of his story. Do you have a photo? We might help locate him."

Kuebiko nodded to himself and faced the trio. "You remember, Sasori, when Orochimaru had patiently explained me how that… anti-utopia… came into being?"

"I remember."

"To be honest, it's not the first time I've been put in a similar situation. I have visited a world where my brother became a benevolent tyrant and others where my clan was made of warmongers opposed to the peaceful Uchiha, although Madara was _still_ evil. I have seen worlds where the Will of Fire became a tool to justify tyrannical regimes under Danzo, one of my former students. But… it was the first world I have seen where things went _that _bad… the first place that showed me how warped and malevolent my life philosophy can become. It is painful, to see everything you believe in turned into a nightmare."

The machine-man tried to put himself in the man's shoes. If he had seen a world where puppetry had been used to enslave people instead of helping creativity, it would be a terrible experience indeed. "Why are you telling us this?"

"I want you to understand the Infinity follows some vague guidelines. In eighty percent of the known multiverse, Naruto Uzumaki exists or existed, in one form or another, be it as a male, a female, a hero or a criminal, a nobody or a legend. In nearly all the worlds he exists in, Madara became a maniac that made the life of thousands miserable and was directly or indirectly the secret architect behind countless tragedies. In seventy percent of the worlds where Konoha exists, the Kyuubi attacked it at least once. There is a pattern, similarities. It's why I assume, most often than not, that some events happened, that some people are frequently evil and others not."

Omoikane shrugged. "Vajra is the living proof these rules do not constantly apply. That sometimes, a man who _seems _fated to turn into a monster… does not."

"You imply Vajra is a villain we faced?" Haku pondered.

Fukuro searched in his pockets and brought out a photo. "I took it a year ago," he said, as he showed it to the group.

Chibaku had to admit, it was a shocking surprise. He wasn't the only one to recognize the man; Haku paled in horror and dread in understanding, and Sasori struggled to maintain a stoic expression.

The photo was banal. Four people in casual clothing taking a drink together. The fourth man was an old man in his seventies, with white hair, wrinkles, a friendly smile, and an aging, familiar face.

The face they had come to hate and fear.

"Once upon a time, Vajra used to be called Madara Uchiha," Kuebiko started. "It seems insane, but it's the truth. Think about it: if there is a world where he is evil-"

"There must be a world where he's good," Chibaku whispered. He had been used to seeing Madara as a constant, vicious threat, so the existence of a good version of him was shocking.

"To be honest, I do not consider him to be Madara, simply a person who shares the name and bloodline. He's simply too different, and the _only one_ I met that is a decent person. I'm afraid he's the exception that confirms the rule..." Kuebiko shrugged.

"I told you his world developed advanced technology using the Bijuu. Vajra theorized it was because the Sage never taught ninjutsu to mankind in ancient times, leading people to grow without it and focus on technique and machinery. Bloodline limits existed. However, their application changed: the Byakugan greatly helped medical science, and Madara used his Sharingan to advance physics and mathematics. There was no feud between Senju and Uchiha, no ninja clan era, no Hidden Villages, and Vajra never was anything more than a respectable scientist and scholar. The destruction of his homeworld by the very technology he helped design is a source of guilt and shame he still hasn't gotten over."

"Freaky…" said Chibaku. "Why do good people always suffer the most?"

**_Because they have the most to lose,_ **the Kyuubi whispered ominously.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kuebiko<strong>_

The screen room, as it was nicknamed, was the place where Fukuro spent most of his time. A large circular room equipped with dozens of screens and computers, it compiled any information gathered by the armor and allowed direct discussion and support.

Kuebiko took his seat and sat next to Fukuro, politely refusing a drink. "Worlds are collapsing, or so I have heard."

"That's just the tip of the iceberg unfortunately," said Furuko, photos materializing on the screens. It represented a version of Konoha, with four Hokage faces on the main monument. "This is Reality-23."

"Diverging element: Naruto Uzumaki and Kiba Inuzuka switched teams after previous match-ups proved disastrously inefficient. I took this photo two years ago."

"No, Vajra took it five days ago." Fukuro smiled. "Focus."

The Nidaime obeyed, and narrowed his eyebrows. The picture was nearly identical, save for a detail. A spot of yellow in the completely blue sky. "What is that?"

"A breach opening on Reality-355. The barriers between realities are weakening, and portals are multiplying. Vajra recorded dozens of them and the number keeps growing."

"Reality-355, the 'Responsible Jiraiya' world?" Kuebiko frowned. "It all started with this one."

"The breach opened soon after your battle with these three Uchiha Madara. Vajra was investigating your disappearance when he noticed it. He also interrogated Jiraiya and his godson. You will be happy to learn both are fine, although the Sannin harbors post-burn wounds across his skin." Fukuro chuckled. "They mistook Vajra for an attacker the first time he crossed paths with them. Took him two hours of explaining to convince them that he wasn't trying to kill anyone. They send you their regards, by the way."

"I will have to thank them for their help at a later date. They're good people." The former Hokage crossed his arms. "These breaches could turn out to be dangerous."

"They are. Remember that Naruto Uzumaki who organized the downfall of Konohagakure, killed the Sandaime with his bare hands, and proceeded to turn the continent into an anarchy-filled hellhole? Or that Sage possessed by the Ten-Tails? Imagine what would happen if they crossed a breach to a defenseless universe?"

The images of the possessed Sage still haunted the man's dream. Imagining that mass of tentacles and eyes appearing in the middle of Konoha was disturbing.

"That's not all. The breaches are by nature weakening the barriers separating realities. With time, the breach could grow to let one _Earth_ cross it and crash into another. It's pretty much what is starting to happen in a few cases. If the problem isn't corrected soon, I'm afraid it might start a domino effect and cause the destruction of hundreds, if not thousands, of realities."

It was a nightmare. "How can we avert this disaster?"

"By locating the guy responsible and asking for his cooperation." Fukuro locked eyes with him. "We heavily suspect the power of this Kazama Arashi to have caused it through unforeseen side-effects. How can we be so sure, you might ask? Well, we reproduced his entire travel and the worlds he visited are the most affected, and his homeworld will, if not stopped, crash into another reality in a big explosion first."

Kuebiko cracked his neck. "Fixing breaches in dimensions. Easier said than done. You reproduced his travel, you said? What prevents us from locating where he went?"

"That's the problem: whatever happened during your fight with that Madara Triad caused the travel to leave no trace. His former world-jumps were… messy. Like someone breaking doors instead of opening them and the mess he leaves in his wake by doing so makes it all but impossible to track. As of right now it's impossible to learn where he is, or if he's even alive. This leaves us with three options: try to solve the problem on our own, which doesn't look good, try to find him by exploring world after world, which might take eons… or wait until he travels again, in which case, we could locate him."

"How much time, before his homeworld is destroyed?"

"I would say… three weeks. Perhaps two. Afterward, I would advise praying, 'cause only the gods could save the day, and you know how likely that's going to happen." The man drank and sneered. "We can try to slow down the inevitable, but without Arashi…"

Kuebiko glanced at the door and interrupted the conversation. "It's not polite to eavesdrop conversations, Haku."

The young woman blushed and entered, giving the duo a polite nod. "It wasn't my intention," she excused herself. "I am sorry if I disturbed you." Haku stared at the screen. "I… none of us knew."

"What is done is done, and I doubt any of you could have realized the danger of Kazama's method without proper equipment." Kuebiko glanced at Fukuro. "Could you…"

The man shrugged. "Banished from my own office, you jest…" The scientist politely smiled at Haku and exited. Kuebiko silently offered her a seat. She sat quietly, and for a few seconds, no word was spoken.

"You wanted to talk to me, isn't it? I could see it into your eyes."

"I had something to ask, but given what I just heard it can wait," said Haku with a faint voice. "I know someone that can help solve our… our mistakes. If we can get into contact with them, they would probably be able to fix the situation."

Kuebiko blinked in surprise. "Truly? That's interesting… but we're both aware you would not pass on the occasion of seeking information on a 'good' Madara Uchiha unless it was important. What is on your mind?"

Haku smiled. "I would like to ask you to take me as an apprentice. It may not be the right time. However, I want the power to help others as much as I can. Since the situation is sour, I would understand if you refused."

Kuebiko had expected such request, ever since her former mentor died. Simply not so soon. "It's the debacle with this Five that convinced you?"

"He had a name," the teen narrowed her eyes in displeasure. "I don't want to see anyone else end as he did, broken and despaired. I want to give hope to others."

"A wise and noble choice." He joined his fingers. "I gladly accept to take you under my wing. I managed to train six people during a war, I can certainly tutor one person during such troubled times."

Haku bowed down in gratitude. "Thank you. When will we start?"

"My, you're eager to learn," Kuebiko chuckled. "Right after you explain who can help us, and were he or she can be found."

It took her half-an-hour to give the details, and yet the man still had a hard time understanding what he was hearing.

"A different multiverse? Dragons?" Kuebiko raised an eyebrow. "It's... confusing."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sasori<strong>_

"Cannon?" Chibaku glanced at Omoikane. "Kunai launcher? Jet-pack?"

"I tell you, I can upgrade your body into an awesome weapon of mass destruction in no time," the woman smirked sadistically. "By the time I'm done with you, you will be turned into an iron man, no, an iron monger! NO! I will reinforce the armor and turn you into a living tank! OF DOOM!"

Sasori had no idea what a tank was, but it sounded efficient. The offer was too good to pass up. "May you do the same with my current body? I will remake it using iron and steel, if needed."

Omoikane grinned, obviously happy to entertain her weapon fetish. Chibaku simply glanced at his teacher. "Truly?"

The redhead nodded and explained his reasoning. "The ninja world is ruled by an arms race, student. Over the ages, puppetry followed it. Chikamatsu gave it a place on the battlefield, and I upgraded his theory. However, since we started traveling through universes… we have been losing. Badly. Our puppets are destroyed one after the other. It's obvious we have reached a point where _current_ puppetry is clearly outdated against new, supremely dangerous threats like Madara or Alpha."

He observed his student's thick, strong limbs. "I think… I think you represent the new stage of puppetry. An individual controlling a puppet from within, building more advanced models and defeating enemies with versatile weaponry."

"So, you want to win the arm race?" Omoikane smirked. "Believe, with me, it won't be a race: it will be a trashing."

Chibaku crossed his arms. "Could you give me a Byakugan-vision? It would help on the field for battle and... researches."

"Naruto..."

"What?" Sasori's student feigned innocence. "I'm certainly _not_ going to use this weapon to spy on women's baths or see past their clothes! I mean, I don't have reproductive organs anymore! I promise if it randomly activates around Haku, it will be a _coincidence_, and my mind won't lust at her perfect, beautiful-"

Sasori sighed. Some things never changed.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Omake:<em>**

**_Why Kushina should never teach _**

"Time to show you the power of red spandex!" The redhead shouted, her headband covering one of her eyes. She was wearing... no, such horror couldn't, shouldn't, _ever_, be described with words. "I am... Redbeard! I fear no one, but I am feared across the seas!"

Minato put a palm on his face and cringed at his girlfriend's latest prank. _Why am I dating her, again?_

"Redbeard-sensei!" Gai jumped in place. "Why are you so awesome?"

"Because I'm shining with the fires... of YOUTH!" She tossed the genin a green spandex outfit. "With it, you shall burn with coolness! Promise me to spread the power of youth across all corners of the land, beginning with that sulky Kakashi!"

"YES, REDBEARD-SENSEI!"

"GAI!"

"REDBEARD-SENSEI!"

Somehow, Minato had the feeling Kakashi's life would become even _more_ miserable.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **first... Merry Christmas, all readers! Here is my gift for you, a bit early, but still!

On the chapter... I thought it would be funny to have the shyest Orochimaru have the most flamboyant Manda ever. Plus, Orochimaru is pretty much his world's messiah, instead of Naruto (a perspective flip), although he's a lot more cynical and ruthless than Naruto will ever be and has self-esteem problems. Nobody's perfect.

Five was originally intended to survive and become the 'Chaotic Evil Teammate' of the Arashi group, but I realized 1) it would be out of character for the cast to accept someone who tortured two of the heroes and shows no regret, and 2) his death would be good for Haku's character development, which she's currently lacking in it. I intend to make her a strong, iron-willed badass. The Evil Naruto Teammate spot will be filled in the next arc, but by a Lawful Evil character instead. For those who wonder why Five could use lightning on his brain without frying it... he didn't. It had the side effect of making him even crazier.

Yep, Chibaku is officially a new, advanced model of human puppet now. It's symbolic of him slowly surpassing his mentor. Some might be surprised by his lack of angst over the situation. The key part of his character is that he's, deep down, very apathetic: he has a few goals in life and a few people he cares about, but he couldn't care less if he were to lose a hand or about most tragedies happening around him as long as they don't affect him or his loved ones. In many ways, he's a smaller Sasori, although he hides it well.

The world collapsing/breaches is going to be the focus of the next two arcs, and as you can expect, there will be a lot of action. Vajra's story and whereabouts are going to be a main focus as well. If you wonder why Kuebiko commented Madara never changes back in his introduction, here is the reason: Vajra is the one Madara he has seen that isn't evil, hence, he considers all the others are. He gave up long ago on finding good Madaras, although they exist: he just hasn't run into them yet.

Finally, I will try focusing on my other stories more from now on, so the next update will not come quickly. Sorry.

Happy holidays everybody, and please add a review as Christmas gift!

**Edit:** for those who wonder about Sage Mode and why it is so useful against the Juubi, it's a plot point, as one of the characters will learn it in time. However, I will give you a hint: what is the Juubi if not Natural Chakra given physical form, albeit corrupted?


	37. Chapter 34: Blade of Friendship

_Tried_ to work on 'What it Takes to Win', but I'm facing a writer block with two parts of the chapter. Got a day off and managed to work on Echoes instead.

Kakashi's arc is concluded here.

Thanks ABitterPill and Third Fang for betaing my work. Thanks all story followers and reviewers. You're all awesome.

Disclaimer: if you guess what I don't owe, you get a cookie.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 34:<strong>_

_**Blade of Friendship**_

Itachi was the first to go down.

He made a valiant effort, with fireballs, water techniques, and wind blasts. His ninjutsu was flawless, his movements were quick and efficient. For a split second, Yugito thought he could defeat Kakuzu.

The impression had lasted until the bounty hunter retaliated.

It happened in a flash. The Uchiha was dodging one of the masks' fire blasts, when Kakuzu jumped on him from behind, tackled the teen onto a branch, and attempted to kill him with his bare hands. The prodigy reacted by locking eyes with the bounty hunter, his Sharingan swirling. The missing-nin stopped moving, and Yugito understood he had fallen under the influence of a Genjutsu. Itachi approached to deal a killing blow.

Kakuzu's hands grabbed his neck so fast the movement was a mere blur, and broke it in two seconds flat.

No last words, no flashy jutsu. The missing-nin executed him on the spot. "You really thought I would live for a century without having developed counters to the Sharingan? You Uchiha are all the same, prodigy or not. I play possum, you get near, I strike faster than the Sharingan can predict, and you're dead. That's what you get by fighting the most badass eighty years old grandpa on the continent," the murderer darkly commented as he stood back up and looked at the others.

Yugito would have gladly avenged him, but Hidan, no, _his god_, kept her busy.

"By the will of Jashin-sama, your life ends now!" Hidan snarled as the dark Kami started firing purple blast upon purple blast towards Yugito and Mei, forcing them onto the defensive. Each attack destroyed a good chunk of the landscape, reducing it to a series of perfectly round craters.

The Nibi's vessel and the Kiri-nin dodged as much as they could, understanding that any successful hit would be fatal. In the middle of jumping, they unleashed fire blasts on the unprotected Hidan, hoping to kill him and get rid of the Kami at the same time.

Jashin however was well aware of their strategy and moved its shadowy arm in front of his priest, shielding him. The fire died upon contact with the creature, as if it never existed in the first place. Not even smoke was left behind from their efforts.

_**It's the Kami of VOID, Kitten! It's a darkness that **_**consumes**_**, and anything touching it will **_**cease to be**_**.**_

_If Hidan dies, it will vanish, _Yugito countered, dodging a punch from the deity with a leap. The earth dissolved into dust upon mere contact with the fingers.

_**It will never let you reach **__**the**__** priest, **_the Nibi shot back, as Yugito avoided an arm swing by kissing the grass. _**Besides**__**, followers of Jashin are notoriously hard to kill. You better break out the prison and run.**_

Then, it was Tsunade's turn to fall.

She did better than Itachi. She reached Kakuzu and punched him in the face, demolishing his jaw and nose. The man flew backward through the air… and unleashed his threads. They wound around nearby trees, and propelled the bounty hunter back at full force, legs extended. He kicked the Senju in the forehead with the might of a cannonball.

Tsunade soared back to the earth, and unfortunately, Jashin caught her with its hand.

In a second, the princess was nothing. Not even dust.

"Wow... I take back what I said during... well, _the entirety of our partnership,_ Hidan. Your god is _awesome_," Kakuzu commented, putting his jaw back in its former place with a loud crack. "Still, that was anticlimactic." He gave a thumbs up to Jashin. "Nice catch, evil deity thing…"

"Jashin-sama reduced her to ashes!" The priest commented with a maniacal grin. "She was dust and returned to dust!"

"Yeah…" Kakuzu trailed off. "I didn't know you liked poetic metaphors. Why don't you entertain people for money, moron? At least you would be useful for something."

"You jerk!"

"I love you too."

Yugito rose up, and glared at the laughing murderer. "You like to kill people, right?" She growled, chakra covering her body. _**"I will show you... what it is to reduce someone to ashes!"**_

Hidan ceased to laugh, as the woman took the shape of a gigantic, two-tailed cat.

Which was preparing a Bijudama.

Aimed at his face.

The Jinchuuriki fired the ball of pure demonic chakra at her target with a mighty roar, intending to destroy her target and the surrounding area in a single blast… and Jashin stopped it with its finger.

The sphere vanished without a sound.

A flash of purple light illuminated the clearing. A second later, Yugito had returned to normal, the Nibi's chakra having receded back into its seal. _What?_

_**I told you it was useless to fight a Kami, Kitten. Run. Away. NOW!**_

"I guess you weren't as tough as I thought you were," Kakuzu spoke. Jashin's face lit up, preparing to finish her off with a last shot.

A cone of mist hit the god, surrounding it with a thick haze and dissolving grass it touched. "Boil Release," Mei explained bluntly, upon grabbing Yugito's sleeve. "It should stall it for some time. Let's get out of here."

"Watch-"

Kakuzu, his threads attached to a nearby tree, swung toward them, the arm extended and ready for a deadly punch at high speed.

Yugito reacted faster. The Nibi's Chakra fused with her blood and covered her skin. In her Version 2 state, the woman charged and clawed the bounty hunter. With luck, Jashin couldn't negate the woman's abilities without her in sight.

The sharp claws slashed through Kakuzu's stony, enhanced skin, destroying the heart underneath. The corpse crashed a few meters away, but did not stay a corpse for long as a mask instantly rushed over and fused with its master's remains. The missing-nin jumped back onto his feet, two of his thread creatures landing next to him. Without warning, they released a gust of wind and a burst of fire, combined into a fiery blast.

Mei was faster. "Water Release: Water Encampment Pillar!" She opened her lips and created a barricade of liquid, stopping the inferno. A cloud of steam began to fill the clearing. "Lava Release," she whispered, releasing a large amount of lava from her mouth, upwards into an arc, "Melting Apparition Technique!"

The idea was very good: by having the lava descend upon Kakuzu, the bounty hunter couldn't jump away and was forced to run away the old-fashioned way. Yugito seized the opportunity. "Mouse Hairball!" The blonde spat a flaming sphere of hair, which splintered into mouse-shaped missiles.

Due to being unable to jump, neither Kakuzu nor his creatures had enough space to maneuver. The flaming mice hit them all, destroying the masks, and blowing up a nasty hole in the bounty hunter's chest.

The last remaining mask showered its master's body with liquid, extinguishing the flames. The next instant, it fused with him. "I take back what I said, you're a _pain in the ass_," Yugito heard the bounty hunter whisper, as he returned from the dead yet again. He stood on his legs and frantically made hand signs, as the two women moved to finish him off. "Hidan, what the hell are you doing? Get back here and be a nice meat shield!"

"I see them, Jashin-sama!" The priest roared upon exiting Mei's mist. The god fired a beam of light, annihilating entire chunks of the clearing. The two kunoichi were reduced to dodging and retreating.

Kakuzu saw an opportunity and seized it. He transformed the nearby water resulting from his and Mei's techniques, and shaped it into dragon bullets. They hit Yugito the second she evaded one of Jashin's blasts, exploding against the Chakra cloak. She crashed against the purple wall Hidan had constructed, being forced to retake her usual appearance.

As she rose up, Mei landed next to her. They were cornered, with nowhere to run, as Kakuzu and Hidan stepped forward. "It's almost a shame to murder people so talented… nah, killing is never too good for the enemy," the bounty hunter mocked them. "Hidan? They're yours. Try to have their head intact, so we can get the bounties."

"Jashin-sama, have mercy on their soul!" The madman had used up twenty years of his life in a matter of minutes, aging rapidly. His god prepared to launch a final blast…

An earthquake shook the clearing, and the purple wall fractured. A second later, it shattered.

A barrage of black fire, water bullets, and air blasts hit the astonished missing-nins. Unfortunately, Jashin proceeded to shield them with its body. A squad of ANBU landed next to Yugito and Mei, as the purple prison started to unravel into colored smoke.

"Is everyone alright?" The voice belonged to a black-haired woman clad into a Jounin uniform, with Konoha's headband around her left arm. She was surrounded by a red, gigantic armor of Chakra with the shape of a woman with long hair, divided into nine threads. Yugito recognized the Jounin as Mikoto Uchiha, an A-rank kunoichi, and the ethereal armor as Kushina Uzumaki, a supposedly dead S-rank ninja. "We arrived as fast as we could."

"I'm afraid you are too late for half of us," Mei noted grimly, pointing Itachi's corpse with a nod of her head.

Mikoto's face turned into pure anguish and horror, then into intense wrath. "Uchiha always pay their debts," she muttered ominously.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kamui<strong>_

Kenta had done his homework.

_If only I could use Amaterasu on it, _Kamui thought upon dodging the burning dog's fangs. _What __did__ Madara __call__ it… Blaze Eater? How can the seals take my fire and leave this creature-_

Kenta's bone-blade drew near of his throat, nearly beheading his former student. The Sharingan was able to predict his movements with perfect clarity, and analyze them. The target's attack was precise, yet sluggish. The madman hadn't got used yet to his new enhancements, and it showed as it enabled his opponent to escape within millimeters of being cut and put some distance between the two.

"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!" Kamui shouted as he skidded to a halt with his palms on the ground, but the bricks below his feet didn't budge. The fiery hound flanked him, breathing a cone of flames in his direction. With a jump, the Konoha-nin saved his skin. Bone projectiles were thrown at his face, and he dodged them by tilting it to the side.

"I know you, Kakashi." He heard Kenta rant upon landing. "I prepared this battlefield. No Ninjutsu, nothing. My Byakugan can see past your illusions, the Kaguya's bones make me invulnerable to your Taijutsu. I countered all your moves before you even used them."

_The__ seals negate elemental releases… except his summons'._"I see." _Too bad you don't know_all _my __moves__._Kenta charged, wielding a blade of bone in one hand and a spine whip in the other. His dog once again attempted to flank him at the same time.

Kenta attacked first, his whip swinging toward the Copy-nin's head. Dodging it, Kamui locked eyes with the fiery hound, which had leapt at his throat. Shaping a Rasengan, the Konoha-nin smashed the beast's skull into a bloody pulp, and it vanished in a cloud of smoke. The move had a cost however, as flames covered on his fingers and his skin started to burn.

Before he could extinguish the fire, Kenta's whip wound around his neck with a snap. Moments later, lightning flooded his body paralyzing him and burning his nerves.

"I didn't negate _all _elemental releases," the sociopath whispered calmly as he made his student grovel on his face with a swift, powerful thrust. Then, he pinned Kamui to the ground by stabbing his left hand with the bone-blade. If he expected the Konoha-nin to scream, he was sorely disappointed. "You love lightning so much… I think is fitting for you to die by it. Slowly, painfully, in front of your wife."

"Cut the crap…" Kamui hissed. "If you could have negated it, you would have… you just aren't good enough for…"

The psycho's eyes narrowed in displeasure, and he increased the voltage, and Kamui finally roared in pain. His body spasmed uncontrollably, his muscles unable to respond to mental commands. He was ready to pass out, but he refused to. He couldn't offer the psycho any satisfaction, no matter the pain.

Kenta's second dog rammed into its owner's face like a thrown rock. The bastard released his whip, and the lightning stopped. The hound exploded in fire and smoke, apparently killing the sociopath.

ANBU Kakashi appeared by his counterpart suddenly, removed the bone-blade from Kamui's hand, tossed it away, and put his palms on his counterpart's wounds and chest. The limbs glowed with a green haze, and the Konoha-nin felt his pain vanishing. "Rin taught me well. You won't pass out and you will keep your hand," he said, extinguishing the flames with mere skin contact. Apparently, he had more knowledge of Fire Releases than Kamui himself. "Get up quickly. We only have mere minutes left…"

"What did you do?" Kamui asked, upon staring at the spot where Kenta used to be. The Copy-nin rose to his feet, weakened, yet still in fighting condition.

"I seized his dog, strapped it with two dozen explosive tags, and threw it at his face. With all my training with the Chidori, touching the animal was-" He blinked. The psycho was getting back on his feet, bloodied, but _alive_. "Why won't you die?!"

"The Uzumaki's chakra… is potent, it descends from the Senju," Kenta whispered. "It gives longevity, accelerates the regeneration of wounds… allows my body to adapt to foreign bloodlines…" He roared, his hands glowing red. "Like this one, for example!"

Between them and the monster at the far side was one hundred meters. A big gap.

Kamui stared at his counterpart, who nodded. _Let's kick his ass._

"Chidori!" They shouted at the same time.

ANBU Kakashi was faster, lacking his counterpart's wounds. Kenta threw balls of red light at him, and Kamui recognized Suna's fabled Scorch Release. Contact would dry the body of all water and cause instant death. The Konoha-nin predicted the attacks with the Sharingan, but missed Kenta by a few inches.

The ANBU turned around, the Chidori dissipating. In a few seconds, he bit his finger, made hand signs, and slammed Kenta's back.

Eight dogs were summoned in a cloud of smoke, biting Kenta's limbs and pinning him on place. "He's yours!" The ANBU shouted to his counterpart, leaving to help Rin. "Aim for the head, he doesn't have a heart!"

Kamui nodded and raced forward. The psycho tried vainly to free himself. The dogs' hold was too strong, and the Konoha-nin reached him.

Despite what his counterpart had advised, the Chidori pierced the target's chest, the iron bones, and the flesh underneath.

Kenta did have a heart, beating. The Chidori had reached it, damaging it beyond repair. "You've lost," Kamui whispered. In the background, the ANBU Kakashi's eye was bleeding profusely, turning into the Mangekyo Sharingan. The explosive device disappeared, space twisting and devouring it. It was awfully similar to Madara's own jutsu…

"I own… half a dozen bloodlines," Kenta cursed while coughing up blood. "I can't…"

"Possession does not mean mastery. Are you so weak you need to rely on enhancements to keep up with me?" Kamui's arm progressed inside the man's body, making shriek in pain. "Thinking about it… you have no power, Kenta. You always had others do your dirty work, and what abilities you have, you stole. You're all talk, nothing more. A pathetic puppet master hiding in the shadows that can't do anything without dolls to protect him."

Kenta smirked as the dynamite completely vanished alongside fragments of Rin's chains. The woman escaped her bindings, and embraced her husband. "Unfortunately for you… this puppet master still has a few tricks." The sociopath spat at Kamui's face, and managed to free his hand from the dogs' fangs, gripping his student's forearm. He tightened his hold and broke the bone with his remaining strength. "_Failed broken dog_…"

The second the verbal signal was uttered, the throne on which Rin was formerly sitting was covered with glowing seals.

The ANBU and Rin quickly got away as something was summoned. A dark shadow took shape over the throne, growing and destroying a good chunk of the room's ceiling and walls.

Kamui frantically removed his broken arm from Kenta's torso, as bricks fell upon him. While the psycho's body was quickly buried under rubble the Konoha-nin and the Ninken managed to escape and join his two friends.

The summon was a dog. A big, _big _dog.

The hound was easily the size of an elephant, with an orange fur and a black muzzle. Its claws were spears, its fangs swords, and its breath fire. Its eyes were yellow, shining with cruelty. It had a golden collar around the neck, with the word 'Inugami' written on it.

"I think we know what Kenta sacrificed his men to…" ANBU Kakashi whispered.

"Guys," one of the Ninken whispered, upon looking at the crumbling ceiling, "I don't want to be the one to say it, but this is going to suck."

The hell hound roared and extended its legs, kicking the nearby walls, shattering the castle's foundations. Ten seconds later, it leapt through the ceiling, making it collapse.

"It's trying to bury us alive!" Rin whispered, taking her husband's arm. "Hurry!"

However it was too late, and soon, the ruins of the castle.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yugito<strong>_

"You! You killed my son!"

"Yes, yes… do you have any idea how little that narrows down the identity of who you're talking about?" Kakuzu asked the enraged Mikoto incredulously. "What the hell with all these 'you killed my father' or 'you killed my son and stuffed his puppy dog into the toilets'? As if it was original! I killed my father and you don't hear me whining about it!"

_He's trying to anger us, _Yugito thought.

_**Nah, he's just a jerk. A **_**massive **_**jerk.**_

"But we will volley insults another day," Kakuzu said, seizing Itachi's body with his threads before anyone could react. "Hidan, we flee. Let's be brave and run with our tails between our legs."

Out of all people present, the priest was the most astonished. "WHAT?!"

"I wasted too much chakra, lost too many hearts, and since the ANBU is informed we're here, it's only a matter of time before the Yellow Flash comes to kick our ass. Your god already took, what, thirty years of your life? How long will it take before it kills you? I'm not gonna fight a battle I can't win." Kakuzu snorted. "Screw orders, let's flee to fight another day!"

"You faithless coward! Nonbeliever!" Hidan hissed. "Jashin-sama gives me the might to carry out its will! Alone or not, I will not back down!"

"Then try killing as many as you can before dying yourself," the bounty hunter shot back, jumping on trees and into the wilderness. "It would stall them and give me time to get away. In the end, that's the one thing you're good for!"

Mikoto's Susanoo extended its left arm to kill the fleeing man, but got hit by Jashin's light beam for her trouble. The hand, shoulder, torso and half the face vanished into nothingness, allowing Kakuzu to make a getaway. Whether it was the god's way of thanking the man for fighting with his summoner, or it simply missed the deserter, Yugito would never know.

ANBU prepared to chase after the missing-nin, but the Uchiha lady had other ideas. "We'll get him later, focus on Hidan first!"

"Hah! You can't harm a true believer, woman!" Jashin brightened...

And Mikoto's Susanoo punched its head with its _other_ arm.

Yugito blinked in astonishment, as the god _faltered_. The Susanoo's arm was quickly reduced to a stump, but for a brief second, Jashin didn't seem so invincible anymore.

The deity hissed.

The sound was inhuman. A frightening screech, that chilled the blood and the soul. To Yugito, it was as if her head was exploding from the inside.

**_Kitten..._ **the Nibi whispered. **_I think it is _angry.**

Jashin proceeded to launch beams upon beams on the group. ANBU managed to create walls of earth to stop the onslaught, but the protections vanished as if they never existed one after the other. Mikoto unleashed black fire upon the deity, which was extinguished before it even reached its shadowy substance.

"Alright," the Uchiha concluded, with a terrified expression. "Any plan?"

"Try to stay alive," Yugito suggested. "This thing is a deity Hidan called with a variant of the Yondaime's technique. Harming it, and the summoner… is impossible."

"Retreat!" The Uchiha shouted, turning around and fleeing with the rest of her group. "If it's anything like Minato's jutsu, Hidan will die within minutes! We just have to gain time and outlast him!"

"You will not escape Jashin-sama's wrath! The Dark Lord shall claim your sinful soul!" The fanatic snarled, his voice weaker than previously. Beams of light destroyed trees, earth, and grass. Yugito, Mei, and Mikoto managed to dodge them, although not by far.

Then, the wind awakened.

Yugito sensed it. Suddenly, a burst of air nearly dragged her backward, and grew stronger. The tempest pulled trees, branches, and rocks behind the Nibi vessel, forcing her and her comrades to lay on the ground and use chakra to adhere to the ground. The blonde woman turned her head, facing Jashin.

As she guessed, it was the cause of the storm. Its head had taken the shape of a hole of darkness, the source of a powerful vortex. Everything nearby was sucked inside, devoured. An ANBU lost grip on the ground and flew towards it as if he was falling. His body was absorbed by the darkness, as was his very _scream_.

"Do you see the darkness?" Hidan ranted madly, his voice a mere, faint whisper. "Do you see the darkness?! The darkness is calling you! The darkness will free you!"

The earth below Yugito's feet began to float, and the Nibi vessel barely managed to grab a nearby tree's trunk.

"In the darkness, we are bound! In the darkness we break our chains!" Hidan kept ranting what may have been his religion's commandments. "By breaking our chains we gain strength! With strength… we gain power…"

His voice was weakening, deepening.

"With power… we gain… **_the world_**…"

The vortex calmed down, and Yugito landed on the ground. Jashin was convulsing, its shadowy body disintegrating into purple smoke. In seconds it was gone, and Hidan fell on his back without a sound.

"You're alright?" The blonde woman asked Mikoto and Mei, who joined her, unharmed. The remaining ANBU escort silently leapt to their side.

"We are." Mei stared at Hidan's corpse, which was barely recognizable. It was the body of an eighty year old man, lacking hair, with sunken skin and flesh over bones. The dead man was smiling, a frightening, creepy smirk from beyond the grave. "What happened?"

"The Kami do not give power, they _sell it_." Mikoto wiped the dust and leaves from her jacket. "The more help they provide, the bigger the price. Jashin traded its help against his summoner's life force, and Hidan wasted it all. When he couldn't provide anything of worth, his god couldn't take a physical form any longer."

_If he had listened to Kakuzu, he would still be alive, _Yugito thought. She remembered the chilling sentiment that Jashin spread around itself. _To think such a malevolent creature was a god…_

_**Malevolence is a human concept, Kitten, and Mikaboshi is a force of nature. Is a hurricane evil? Can you call a wildfire malevolent? Mikaboshi is neither good or evil, it simply **_**is**_**.**_

_You keep calling it Mikaboshi._

_**Amatsu-Mikaboshi, Jashin, the Star of Death, Yami, the Other, the primordial darkness, so many names for a single entity. It's the Kami of stars, darkness, void, domination, night, and a dozen other **__**concepts**__** I don't remember. I think it embodies winter and cold as well, **__**but**__** I'm not certain.**_

_It doesn't sound like a good deity._

_**Mikaboshi is not a **_**nice **_**deity, but it is **_**necessary **_**none-the-less. Without night, the sun would burn the world. More than one traveler thanked Mikaboshi when the stars indicated the direction to follow. Mikaboshi is a pillar of the natural order, as loathsome and domineering as it is. I personally **_**hate **_**it, but it is filling a role that **_**has **_**to be filled.**_

"This still leaves Kakuzu," Mikoto interrupted Yugito's mental discussion with the Nibi, "There's still time to catch him. ANBU, we will track him. He killed my son, and I will pay him back with fire and lightning!"

"As you wish, captain."

"But what about Kakashi?" Yugito asked. "Kenta isn't going to die without a fight, and they need-"

Mikoto cut her with a raised hand. "Reinforcements are on their way," she started, "Surely, the Yellow Flash will be better help than all of us put together."

Yugito had nothing to say against that. "Then Kakuzu is ou-"

She saw him.

Watching from the shadows, behind brushes. A man with a fox mask. His eyes were blue and red, and devoid of warmth. For a second, they crossed gazes.

Then the ghost vanished into the wild without a word.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kakashi<strong>_

The world was dark, and Obito was waiting in front of a bright campfire.

"Oh _boy_, Kakashi, you're a _mess_!" He hadn't changed at all, after all these years. Twelve years old, raven-haired, with one eye and a cheerful smile. "And you're _so _late!"

"Picked up that habit from you," Kakashi replied, upon sitting at his friend's left. "So… I'm dead? Funny… I wanted to die for so long, and now my prayers are fulfilled when I want to _live_. Is there any logic here?"

"Karma is a sadist." Obito grinned. "But no, you're not dead. You're _three-__quarters _dead. Of course, you will be four quarters dead if you don't get up. If that happens then the best anyone can do with your body is search your pockets for loose change." He gave him a thumb up and a shining nice guy smile, a la Maito Gai. "I decided to pay you a visit, my rival! You come often enough to my grave, I should return the loyalty."

"You saw me?"

"You own half my sight, of course I saw you! Or maybe you're merely hallucinating… kidding. This might just be the result of some mystical property of the Sharingan that no one knows about… maybe some of my chakra remains in it and allows this meeting, or we have a spiritual connection, or the brain damage opened your mind. Or you're turning into a flesh-eating idiotic zombie. Or-"

Kakashi laughed at his friend's antics. "I missed you."

"Yep. You should have been a girl, we would have made a nice couple. Perhaps it will happen, if we reincarnate. Obito and Kayuri, united by the red string of fate, undying friendship, and one bloody Sharingan!" The Uchiha became serious. "But it's not time for that yet."

Kakashi nodded silently. "Can I ask you a question? Do you hate me? For failing you?"

"To be honest, I did once, back when we were alive." Obito smiled sadly. "How couldn't I? You were the genius to my failure. Sensei respected you more than me and Rin loved you even though you were a jerk. The Village worshiped the ground you walked on no matter what a colossal _bastard _you were. You made to Jounin. Me? I was a joke, in your shadow, and in everybody's shadow. How could I have _not _hated you? You were everything I wanted to be and didn't even care. When you left Rin to the Iwa-nin… I hated you more than I ever hated anyone."

The words were harsh and painful. However, Obito wasn't over. "When you came to help, my opinion changed. I realized you weren't a _total_bastard and considered us friends. I gave you my Sharingan as a token of our friendship. I died happy."

"I let Rin die. I left my sensei's son alone and he died too. I failed you so many times I lost count."

"You made Rin happy. It's Kenta's fault if she died, not yours. Sensei's son… he will rest in peace when Madara is dead once and for all. I believe he will forgive you then. As for your failures? You made up for them ten times over." The Uchiha shook hands with him. "You never failed me, my friend."

The hand was warm, and the heat made Kakashi feel better. Obito kept talking. "Someday, we will be reunited again. You, me, Rin, and perhaps sensei if the Shinigami ever releases him. Not today. Now wake up. Kill the bastard. Find your new family. Defeat Madara once and for all. And live your life to the fullest. Understood?"

"Yes."

Kakashi Hatake opened his eyes.

"Obito..." Kamui whispered, the Susanoo manifesting around him. "I will show you... that our friendship shall conquer all."

Rocks were tossed aside as the white armor emerged. Kakashi stood up, his counterpart and Rin laying at his sides. "You're alright?" He asked as the ethereal being finished manifesting. The spiritual samurai raised its sword and silently roared in the middle of the ruins.

The castle was nothing more than broken bricks and rocks. It had utterly collapsed. The ANBU's ninken were nowhere to be seen. They had probably returned to their land upon being hit by debris.

Kenta's summon however, hadn't vanished. It was observing the trio from afar under the trees. The eyes conveyed a mix of displeasure and killing intent. The predator was watching the prey, ready to kill them anytime.

"Yeah, we're fine." The ANBU raised his head and glanced at the colossal dog. "Your master is dead, there is no point in fighting us!"

The hound snorted, and started talking with a deep, grumpy voice. "I have been tasked to kill you and have been offered a hundred sacrifices to do so. I have been paid. I have been summoned. I will kill you." The beast widened its maw, and launched a blast of fire at them.

Kamui reacted quickly, shielding his friends with the Susanoo. The armor stopped the attack, but not the heat. The Konoha-nin's arm was rendered useless and covered in burns and wounds that bled profusely. _I have known better odds, _he thought, charging forward towards the beast despite his condition.

The Susanoo's sword drew near of the hound's neck, but the collar shielded the monster's skin. The dog in turn headbutted the armor before savagely biting the torso. The fangs buried past the ethereal armor and stopped within an inch of Kamui's head.

A fireball and kunai equipped with explosive tags hit the monster's eye. The ensuing inferno resulted into a bloody mess and the beast shrieked.

Kamui briefly glanced behind him. His counterpart was making hand-seals, and Rin had taken over her husband's equipment, strapping kunai with tags.

Focusing on the beast, the world wanderer mentally ordered the Susanoo to attack. The hound's back was pierced with a swing of its blade, shedding thick black blood. The creature roared, tightened its hold on the armor, and pushed it back within feet of the ANBU. Then, it opened its mouth, perhaps to fire a new blast.

A projectile hit its head.

The result was both astonishing and terrifying. A vortex of winds formed around the monster, blades of air shredding his skin and flesh and bones. The beast screamed in pain as the technique destroyed its body along with the landscape. Ten seconds later, the typhoon calmed, and the creature vanished into smoke.

"Rasenshuriken," said a blonde man upon leaping in front of the amazed trio. Minato Namikaze smiled, upon seeing they were all safe. "Izanagi have mercy, I made it on time."

"Minato-sensei?" The three ninjas whispered at the same time.

The man nodded, and stared at the Susanoo. He recognized the face and smiled sadly. "I see… even from beyond the grave, you keep an eye on us, don't you, Obito?" He whispered, as the armor vanished. "You need medical attention. My men are taking care of Kenta's bodyguards in the forest, and-"

"I will join you later," Kakashi said, glancing at the ruins. "I have one last thing to do."

Rin glanced at him in worries. "You look about to collapse anytime, surely it can-"

The ANBU put a hand on her shoulder. "I think I know what he wants to do, and it's something he has to do on his own." She looked ready to disagree, but a brief nod from her husband made her relent.

Minato glanced at Kamui and tossed him one of his special Kunai. "I will come to pick you up once I've dealt with Kenta's men," he said, grabbing the ANBU and Rin's forearms. In a blink, they vanished.

With what was left of his chakra, Kamui summoned the Susanoo and proceeded to get rid of the debris. After a few minutes, he found who he was looking for. "Still alive?" he asked, as Kenta's eyes glared at him with undiluted, intense hate. "You're harder to kill than a cockroach. Is it the Uzumaki healing factor that keeps you from passing on? Or sheer spite?"

"I made you…" The man whispered, unable to move. "You exist… because I wished it… and you will end… when I demand it…"

"Sakumo Hatake made me. Minato Namikaze made me. Obito Uchiha, most of all, made me." Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "You will die here, defeated and forgotten." The man groaned, and the Copy-nin stared at his hand. "For all your talk about bonds being a weakness, in the end, you relied on others. You were weak and needed others' work and abilities to keep up with me. The power I have? It has been _granted _to me. I _earned _it. And I have enough chakra to show you… the power of my bonds."

The Susanoo raised its hand.

"Chidori!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>No One<strong>_

The man waited until Kakashi Hatake had left to emerge from the earth. He was as silent as a ghost, a shadow among ruins.

Taking a short moment to observe the nearby damage, he wondered what to think of this event. Two Kakashi at the same time was a bit too much for his liking. Had one of them stepped out of the breach and fled to this world? Strange.

_Kabuto assured me the breach was very new, _he thought. _Could they be-_

This scouting mission had been more interesting than he thought. He wondered how the Warlord would react to the news. _Better not think about him, _the man decided, remembering the dark chambers, the screams, and the scent of burning flesh. _That old geezer must be wishing he was dead already. What did the Warlord say? Ah yes, 'I find human suffering therapeutic; you should try, it will do **wonders** for you'._

Psychopath.

The man approached Kenta's body and kicked it. As expected, he didn't react. Kakashi had wisely targeted the head and reduced it to a spectacular red mess. Not that it mattered. The mad scientists would dissect the corpse for all it was worth.

"Be thankful, I have seen what they do to _living _subjects," he mused. "It's not pretty."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Minato Namikaze<strong>_

The sun shined brightly during Tsunade's and Itachi's funeral.

Either the heavens were rejoicing or making fun of the poor mortals. In either case, Minato cursed them. It should rain, there should be thunder, there should tempests. There should be chaos. There should be a sign, anything, that these two were missed by the world.

The sun shined _brighter_.

Half of Konoha attended the funeral. The Uchiha clan as a whole honored their prodigy, and most Family Heads came to pay their respects to the last Senju. Mikoto had tears in her eyes during the entire ordeal, and Minato, secrecy be damned, hugged her in front of everyone. The survivors of the 'Rin rescue team', as they had been nicknamed, were all present as well.

In the end, most left. Obito left with his mother and father, and after one last glance at her lover, Mikoto took her remaining son away. Minato and his son remained alone, in front of Itachi's empty tomb. "I…" the Yondaime started.

"I will make him pay." Naruto raised his head, with righteous fury in his eyes. "I will find Itachi-sensei's killer… and I will kill him."

Minato's nightmares returned at full speed, but this time, he wasn't dreaming. The eyes he feared so much were right in front of him, on his own son's face. "Son, it's not your-"

"Son?" He asked with anger. "Now you remember I _exist_? On my sensei's grave?"

Minato felt as if he had been slapped.

"Itachi-sensei was more of a father to me than you ever were!" The boy snapped in anger. For a second, his father mistook Naruto's shadow for _Madara's_. "I grew up with him, whereas… whereas you were never here! Always putting your work before me! I have every right to kill that bastard, I _deserve_to-"

Minato silenced his son with a hug.

Naruto gasped. The Yondaime tightened his grip. "I'm a terrible father, aren't I? I… I promise it will change. Kakuzu will be brought to justice and Itachi will rest in peace… but not by you. I… I won't let you waste any moment of your life on pointless, sterile revenge." _Or else I would prove Madara right._

"From now on… from now on, I will be at your side. And I will not leave it."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kamui<strong>_

It was strange to see his counterpart occupying the Hokage's seat.

"You face the Godaime Hokage. Tread carefully." The ANBU Kakashi laughed at his own sentence. "I don't even _sound_terrifying. Seriously, if an emissary wants to see me, I'm _so _screwed."

"You're a perfect substitute for the Yondaime Hokage," his counterpart reassured him. "You can survive sensei taking a week off." Minato had decided to take some vacations with his son and Mikoto, for a change, and put his student in charge.

"I tried so many times to have him spend time with his family, I should shut up and accept it," the ANBU told himself. "His affair became more or less public knowledge after the funeral, and Naruto is happier than I have ever seen him. We only need Kakuzu's head and everything will be fine... well, almost." The man sighed sadly. "Sasuke lost a brother, Obito and Naruto a sensei. They will need all the support we can give, but... their parents will help them overcome their loss."

Kamui nodded. "Still nothing on Kakuzu's whereabouts?"

"It has been a few days, give us time. He eluded pursuits for Amaterasu knows how long, it will take time to locate him. We _will _kill him, just not today." The ANBU crossed his arms. "I've got to thank you. Maybe would you need something? Expensive vacations, Icha Icha, whatever you like."

"You thanked me two dozen times, I counted." Kamui chuckled. "Believe me, saving Rin was a reward in itself, in more ways than you can imagine. Seeing you happy makes me happy."

"Alright… but allow me to offer you at least one _material, tangible_reward for your services." The ANBU searched in the Hokage's desk and placed a large Tanto on it. The blade was white, and Kamui could feel the power radiating from it.

"The White Fang's Saber?" Kamui asked in astonishment upon seizing the pommel. It was as light and beautiful as in his memories. "It was destroyed!"

"It was reforged." The ANBU crossed his fingers. "I think you deserve it to wield it more than I do. When I saw you fight, I realized you are more than the Copy-nin… you are the White Fang reborn. And the White Fang deserves a weapon matching his skills."

Father's sword, Kamui thought. _I once wielded it without understanding its former owner's values and sacrifice. I won't make the same mistake again. This time… this time, I will be __**worthy **__of wielding it. _"Thank you," he said upon taking it with his two hands. "I promise… Sakumo will be proud, wherever he is."

"I'm sure he is," the ANBU replied, tossing a sheath at his counterpart.

Kamui narrowed his eyes. "I have a question… how did you get the Mangekyo? Why is it different from mine?"

The ANBU's expression darkened. "I gained it one night when Rin and I… well… got busy." His jaw clenched. "I had nightmares about the day Obito died, and when I opened my eye, it was bleeding. I… I realized I had killed Obito, indirectly. Mikoto once told me the power of the Sharingan is fueled by pain: the more traumatic the experience is to the user, the more powerful the Mangekyo becomes. I only unlocked a minor ability, whereas you and Mikoto unlocked many."

_I killed Obito _and _Rin, indirectly, _Kamui thought. Madara unlocked perhaps all the powers of the Mangekyo and perfected them. _Could it be possible to develop the Sharingan's latent abilities through training? _"How much can you teleport with the Mangekyo? I saw one of the Madara call a meteor upon us."

"A _meteor_?!" The ANBU's jaw dropped in amazement. "Are you kidding? No, I shouldn't be surprised. According to sensei, our Madara summoned a castle above the united Kage during his last stand. To be honest, nobody understands how he could do this. Simply teleporting the device you saw took a third of my chakra reserves. Madara could teleport entire buildings if he wanted, without much effort. Mikoto suggested he found a way to enhance his abilities beyond what should naturally be possible, even for the Sharingan."

"He uses a pocket dimension," Kamui explained. "He captured me and my teammate in it when I fought him for the first time. Is it the same with you?"

"No. When I use the Mangekyo, I teleport objects from one point to another. It's the same way sensei's technique works, but with no seal and a lot more effort. Kenta's device exploded in Suna's desert. Not in a pocket dimension." The ANBU crossed his arms. "There had been multiple cases of Uchiha gaining the Eternal Mangekyo through stealing their sibling's eyes, but it only stopped the eyesight from deteriorating. It never allowed them to replicate Madara's feats. It's possible Madara's Sharingan is a unique mutation, like the Mokuton."

"Possible?"

"Some facts surrounding Madara are disturbing," the ANBU whispered. "So far, he's the only Uchiha to have ever managed to control the Kyuubi completely. His brother claimed to see visions of the future and went insane from what he saw. The Shodaime and Mito Uzumaki impaled him at the Valley of the End and were convinced the Uchiha Lord was really, _really _dead. His surviving men never saw him eat, drink, sleep or use privies during the entire war with Akatsuki. Sensei pretends the face under his mask wasn't human and when the bastard died, he turned into _dust_, only his clothes and broken mask remaining."

He took his breath. "You want my theory? Madara didn't die fighting Minato. He died at the Valley of the End, and somehow, his spirit didn't pass in the afterlife, keeping his corpse moving. The Kage didn't kill him, they damaged his body so much lingering in the mortal realm had become no longer possible for his malevolent soul."

Kamui's blood chilled in his veins. "You think Madara is an undead? A ghost?"

"In Iwa's folklore, there is a story about a dying sorcerer from the time of the Sage of the Sixth Paths that called upon dark forces to escape the Shinigami, in exchange for eternal servitude to the ideal of evil. His soul was placed inside a ring, and although his body decayed and was stabbed two dozen times and burned, he kept walking and spreading misery. He was permanently destroyed when the Sage had the ring melted into holy fire, releasing his soul. The man's name was wiped out of all memories, and he was fearfully called 'the Lich' by the people." The ANBU shrugged. "The Sandaime summoned the Shinigami itself to seal the Kyuubi, and if reports were right, Hidan did the same with the freaking _god of carnage_. Is it hard to imagine Madara called _something _to gain power? Perhaps was he a Lich and his soul was destroyed with his mask, or maybe a being taught him how to cheat death for some obscure reason."

This was worrying and sounded insane, but the more Kamui thought about it, the more some things made sense. "Madara never slowed down when he fought us. In our battles, he endured attacks that would have killed anyone else. If you're right…"

"Sensei proved Madara wasn't invincible. He's just… tougher than most," the understatement of the century, "But he can be destroyed permanently if hit hard enough. Perhaps the Shinigami will be interested in his delinquent soul, if summoned."

Kamui pondered his next course of action. "Could you give me all the information Konoha compiled about Madara?"

"Of course. It would be a pleasure."

Upon exiting the Hokage office, Kamui crossed path with Rin. The woman smiled upon recognizing him. "I… Kamui-san, I was looking for you," she said. "I would like to thank you for saving my life, and helping my husband. If I can do anything…"

Kamui smirked. "… Can you give me a banjo?"

"A… a banjo?" Her surprise was obvious.

"I once played it, before I started my travels. I don't know, I want to give a new breath to my life. Try new things, enjoy myself… this mission freed me from a heavy burden. I feel revitalized." He chuckled. "So yes, I want to start a hobby beyond killing, training and fighting. Someone told me to live my life to the fullest, and I will."

Rin laughed. Somehow, it made Kakashi even happier. "Alright," she whispered, "I think it can be arranged."

At her laugh, Kamui knew he had earned his happy ending.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yugito<strong>_

"Tiger-Dragon-Snake-Monkey."

Lightning flowed through her fingers, which in turn shined with electricity. Direct contact would stun the enemy, maybe damage organs if used well. "How long can I maintain the flow?"

"Depends on your control," Mei shrugged, standing on the hot-bath's water. "I would suggest repeating the Jutsu while you walk on water. It would speed up your training and teach you to focus on multiple elements on the battlefield."

"Good idea." It had been kind of Mei to train with her. The Kiri-nin wanted to break from the monotony of her work as ambassador, and Yugito needed to get stronger. She wouldn't let anyone come within an inch of killing her like Hidan, _ever again_. "Versatility is my main weak point. Do you have any Water techniques to teach me?"

"You teach me some of Kumo's jutsu and I would gladly expand your repertoire." Mei smiled. "You're a Katon master already, so I would suggest Suiton and Raiton. The first for defense, the second for precision. Your Bijuu provides you with all the firepower necessary."

_**See? She thinks I'm awesome.**_

"Yugito?" A voice shouted from outside the hot baths. Both women blinked, upon recognizing Kakashi's voice. "I need to speak to you. It's about world traveling."

"Give me a second!" she replied, "I need to get dressed."

"Would you mind if I listen to your conversation?" Mei asked loudly. "Your whole story never ceases to entertain me!"

"You're welcome!" Kakashi replied.

Five minutes later, fully dressed Yugito and Mei walked out of the hot springs. Kakashi was waiting outside, a banjo in hands, with Minato Namikaze, and a big scroll. "Aren't you supposed to be on a vacation?" The blonde narrowed her eyes at the Copy-nin's instrument. "What is that?"

Hatake's only answer was to try playing it, and although he wasn't bad, his skills were at best average.

"I'm a Shadow Clone," the Yondaime shrugged. "The original tasked me to work on your problems, and I may have found a solution." He pointed a finger at the scroll. "This is the Forbidden Scroll of Konoha, which compiles our Kinjutsu or most dangerous techniques. The best of the best keep it safe."

"We have something similar in Kiri," Mei noted. "Although the Shodaime Mizukage preferred having it take the shape of a dozen books to avoid seeing the entirety of our knowledge destroyed in a single blow."

"Interesting idea," the Shadow Clone commented upon opening the scroll. "This," he said upon touching a text detailed with illustrations of hand-signs, "is a space-time ninjutsu the Nidaime Hokage, Tobirama Senju, developed as a distant prototype of my Hiraishin."

Yugito narrowed her eyes in interest.

"The idea was to enter some dimensional 'void' and reappear elsewhere, ignoring distances. Tests however resulted in objects never appearing again. Tobirama suggested they had _reappeared_… elsewhere. Beyond the mortal plane."

"Another world?" Kakashi guessed. "This is a dimensional transport technique?"

"The Nidaime never understood where he sent objects, but your existence implies he sent them to alternate realities without realizing it. Unfortunately, he sacrificed himself before he could complete the technique and although I based my signature jutsu on the idea, the theory behind it is entirely different. No one attempted to complete his work… until now. Give me a few days, and I might give you a way to get out of this world."

"You can send us back to our respective worlds?" Yugito asked, astonished.

"Unfortunately no," said the Shadow Clone, crushing her hopes. "If what I have been told is true, there may be a billion worlds in existence. The chances of being transported to _the _world you want to reach are akin to zero. However, there is a way around it."

Namikaze smiled. "I vaguely understand how this Kazama's power works. You two have been exposed to his otherworldly chakra when he teleported you, so your bodies contain some… residue. If I tweak the jutsu, this residue will be attracted to its source-"

"And we will teleport wherever Kazama is," Kakashi finished with a smile under his mask.

"But what if he's dead?" Mei suggested. "Or in a demonic hellhole?"

The Shadow Clone's lack of answer told it all. Finally, he opened his mouth again. "No one's forcing you to go. You can remain in this Village if you wish, both of you would be welcome. Konoha is a nice place to live in, I will make sure your stay is comfortable, and you have made friends here."

"It would be a pleasure, but I will pass sensei." Kakashi crossed his arms. "I know I would be happy here, but the truth is… my group needs me more than this world does. Madara is still out there, and if he ever gets his hands on Kazama, the consequences will be _terrible_. I have to protect him and the rest of my loved ones." He seemed to smirk under his mask. "I am a proud member of the Arashi clan, Minato-sensei. My place is at their side. They might be dead, but I must take the risk."

The Yondaime nodded. "I understand." He glanced at Yugito. "And you?"

Truth to be told, it was a difficult question, and the Nibi's vessel stayed silent. On one hand, the operation was very, very risky, and this Konoha didn't look like a bad place where to spend the rest of her days. On the other hand, Kazama was the only person able to send her back to her homeworld.

_**But do you wish to return home?"**_the Nibi asked. _**"Kumo will not welcome you with open arms, Kitten. You associated yourself with your leader's assassins, betrayed the country. I fear what awaits you here is an executioner's axe.**_

The Nibi was probably right, and Yugito was painfully aware of it. How could she explain surviving the Vault crashing onto the land? Or leaving Kakashi alive? Kumo's interrogators were frighteningly efficient at obtaining the truth. Killer Bee might forgive her, but the populace would be out for her blood.

But then, what could she do? Abandon her former life and join Konoha? The place was too different from Kumo, and she was a stranger. She might make a name for herself, but Yugito would always be seen differently from native ninjas.

And to be honest, she had grown fond of some members of the Arashi clan. Naruko, the troubled Gaara, the kind Haku… and as much as she disliked it, she had grown to respect Kakashi himself. _They're in danger, and if I want to return to Kumo anyway, Kazama is my only hope._

"I will join Kakashi," she finally decided.

"Truly?" Mei smirked. "Then… I guess I will have to follow you." She chuckled at everyone's shocked face. "Honestly? Ever since I've been with you, my life has become crazy. Fighting a super powered bounty hunter and a god-summoning maniac, meeting people with exceptional abilities, and you're about to go fight Madara Uchiha himself… that's insane, dangerous, and _exciting_. Way better than my boring job."

"You realize we might not return, or die?" Kakashi asked, amazed.

"Better die on the battlefield doing something meaningful, than in your bed after a wasted life," she replied. "You need manpower to defeat Madara, don't you? I will gladly provide it."

"I would be glad if you were to join us," Yugito said, "but wouldn't Kiri be asking questions about your disappearance?"

"Mizukage-sama knows me," the woman smirked playfully. "I will inform him I'm resigning from active duties and walking the earth. He was expecting such an action anyway. Wherever I go or do is my problem. Who knows, I might find a pretty boy or two on the way."

Yugito beamed with joy. "It will be an honor fighting at your side."

"Me too," Kakashi nodded, playing a new note with his banjo.

"Then, I wish you goodbye," the Yondaime's clone said.

Yugito stopped him dead on tracks. "I have a question, Hokage-sama," she asked, "What about the man I saw in the forest? The one with the fox mask?"

The Yondaime adopted an uneasy expression. "My men found nothing, and there hasn't been any case of an ANBU seen with a fox mask. It could be the agent of a foreign nation, one of Kenta's men, or perhaps even someone working with Kakuzu. In any case, it's not your problem, but ours."

"I guess it is," Yugito whispered. _But his eyes…_

She had seen them somewhere.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Meanwhile, inside a Bounty Station…<strong>_

"Nice catch," the man commented upon taking Itachi's corpse, exchanging it for a large sum of money Kakuzu proceeded to count. "Do you always have to do that?"

"Oh, I trust you," the bounty hunter lied through his teeth. "However, you might have lost one or two ryo along the way. If you did, Money-sama will devour your cheating soul and cast it down into a hell… where everyone is poor!" He blinked. "I see you added Tsunade's bounty."

"The news of her death reached me this morning. Good job, but… where is your partner? Got caught by hunter-nins?"

"It had to happen." Kakuzu promised himself to honor the day he got rid of this psychotic idiot from now on. "I'm not unhappy to have him gone. He was a thorn under my foot. I work better as a loner." He started to pray. "Money-sama, thank you for the wonderful gift that is Hidan's permanent death. I feel revitalized in my greediness. I will sacrifice a dozen beggars on your altar this week."

"… Sacrificing _beggars_?"

"When you kill the poor, you reduce poverty, and everyone is richer. Hence, Money-sama will be content."

"Interesting solution," a deep voice commented, "to reduce poverty."

Kakuzu raised his head and glanced sideways. Two men were sitting around a table, playing a game of chess. One was a small man wearing a cloak made of flayed fox skin. His face was hidden under a Kitsune-mask, white with black lines for the eyes and nose. He had raven hair, and his mismatched blue and red eyes were cold, devoid of warmth and joy. He had a ring on his left hand's index finger, with the Kanji 'Wind' written on it. "You made the right choice in fleeing. The Yondaime was royally pissed upon discovering what happened to the Uchiha."

"I can see why. He reacted that way when I covered his baby with explosive tags." The second was man in his thirties, wearing a black jacket, dark pants and red gloves. He had short black hair, with unremarkable black eyes… and the right side of his face horribly disfigured by scars. He was smiling, although his eyes weren't. He had a red ring on his right hand's middle finger, with the Kanji 'Moon' on it. "Maybe I can kill him again? Tobi is a good boy."

"Tobi is a _bad _boy." The masked man stared at Kakuzu. "I've watched your latest fight with great interest. The strength, the speed, the ferocity... It was entertaining. Some would call you a coward for fleeing, but I say you're _a smart __man_. And we need people with brains."

Kakuzu's eyebrow twitched. "Who are you, weirdos?"

"The guy here is called Tobi, but 'No One' is fine too. My mother called me Naruto Uzumaki, but I disagreed. Vehemently." The masked man touched the queen piece and shattered it with his fingers. "You can call me… _Menma_."

Tobi grinned. "We were wondering if you were looking for a job…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Meanwhile, in another universe…<strong>_

_It couldn't end this way._

Alpha believed it with all her heart. She might be imprisoned. The seals on her skin might prevent her from using her powers. She might have lost her army. … But she was deeply convinced that, although she lost the battle, she would win the war.

The former dictator had spent days imprisoned. After Orochimaru and his men had defeated her and destroyed everything she loved. In Alpha's mind, it was only a matter of time before her archenemy was deposed. After all, she had brought peace and order to this chaotic hellhole, and the citizens of Utopia were happy. Orochimaru would bring nothing more than anarchy and inequality.

_I might die,_Alpha thought, _he might abandon me to rot in these cells to die, or he might execute me, or bury me alive… and it doesn't matter. My death will be the beginning. I taught the clones well. They will carry on my vision, and realize my dream, long after I'm gone. Utopia… a world where everyone can be happy._

A world that Five died for.

Those little girl's words resonated in Alpha's mind, seeding doubts in her heart. Could this Haku have been right? After all, the dictator had… overlooked… Five's mental problems. She had tried to cure his insanity and physical deficiencies, but without success. His death was written in his bones, and the best she could do for the clone had been to give him a purpose in his empty life.

"It's their fault if he died," she concluded to herself. "Everything went to hell when they arrived. If they hadn't come, Five would be alive, Utopia would still be standing, and Orochimaru would be fearfully hiding under his hole. They ruined everything."

The regrets she had felt days ago had turned into pure anger. Alpha _had _been sorry her men died for nothing and turned into charred bones. She had lacked the strength of will to control the Ten-Tails and her garden paid the price for it. In that regard, she was guilty and couldn't deny it… but she would never have retorted to those measures if not for those filthy anarchists.

Alpha had wisely knelt in surrender, trying to save what she could. _It's only when you kneel __that__ you can rise again, _Beta had told her once, before the genetic illness and insanity claimed him years ago, _so if our 'masters' try to surrender after we cast them down, I suggest we kill them all. Then we must kill their descendants so they won't rise in vengeance. When everyone's dead, no one will rise at all. Let us rule a world of bones, as long as we rule __in the end__._

A lesson the snake had yet to understand. Alpha's men would bid their time and revolt in her name or another's. The people will cast down these anarchists and beg for the return of order and peace. _I will have the last laugh, Orochimaru, _she promised herself. What was the worth of the few who died as the foundations of a world of genuine empathy?

It was at that moment she heard the explosion.

The cell shook, and Alpha struggled not to fall. Screams were heard, and the scent of burned flesh reached her nose. Were her men trying to free her?

After one minute of silence and questioning, the door of Alpha's cell was shattered and someone walked into view. The dictator's face beamed with hope… and then incomprehension.

"Expecting someone else, Lady Despot?" It was a small, thin blonde kid of about thirteen years, with blonde hair and shiny blue eyes. He had white paint over his face, and was wearing a red and purple jester outfit. His aspect was grotesque, and the smile… the smile on his face was _creepy_. He was wielding an iron mace, red with fresh blood. "I'm hurt. Your proud knight has come to save you! Sir Naruto and his weapon Skullkisser! She kissed a dozen heads to meet yours!"

As Alpha prepared to stand for her life, a new voice interrupted. "A good tyrant might be a dead tyrant, kohai, but I promised our new friend she would be free and unharmed. Well, unharmed enough to be able to answer questions at the bar minimum." It was an androgynous man, with long blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a black trench coat, gloves, and boots. He had a black ring with the Kanji 'Ether' on his left hand's little finger, and was carrying a blue rose within his fingers. He hummed to it. "_Katsu_. Nothing can match the smell of freedom in the morning, milady. You will learn to appreciate it."

"Ah, just a little kiss, senpai, I want to put a smile on her unfunny face!" The jester's smile turned predatory. "A big _red _grin!"

Alpha narrowed her eyes, attempting to remember who was that guy, which division he belonged. "Who are you?" She finally asked. "What is your number? Who sent you?"

"Nah, Deidara-senpai and his trusty sidekick Sir Naruto are the real deal, not mimes!" The jester caressed Skullkisser. "People were unhappy, so I made them laugh, and they taught us some funny jokes. And then died tragically. _Sniff_."

"We were told you met some… world traveling men, on your way to this cell," 'Deidara' smiled cheerfully. "Is that the truth?"

"Of course she did!" A familiar voice complained. The dictator's face beamed with genuine joy as Three walked into the cell, her fists burning. "Alpha-sama, are you alright?"

"Good to see you again, my disciple." The former ruler kissed her second-in-command on the cheek. "I was afraid they had executed you."

"These two broke me out early enough. It had been difficult to locate you, but that clown is as… _convincing_, as Five was." Three narrowed her eyes. "Alpha-sama, you must come with us. The fight is not over. There is still a chance to rebuild utopia."

The woman in white nodded. "We can convince the people to rise against their oppressor. Surely they will-"

"They won't." Deidara smiled. "Don't you hear them? The songs of the old and the young? Freemen are acclaiming this snake sage, savior of the universe, champion of freedom, defender of the many and hero for all. Half the men want to be him, all the woman want to be with him, and the clones that aren't executed or on the run welcomed their new boss with open arms. We do not live on the same planet, milady. Here, no one but the mad wants you back."

"Oh, that's a problem, and Sir Naruto has the solution!" The jester grinned madly at Alpha's furious facial expression. "You come with us, and you return. With steel and fire."

Alpha narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"My, but to my _partners_ of course," Deidara smiled sarcastically. "They will be _very _interested in what you have to say."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Omake:<strong>_

_**Money-sama attacks!**_

"Summoning Jashin? BAH! I will summon the one god that matters!" Kakuzu shouted. "Money-sama, come forth!"

A halo of light surrounded the bounty hunter, and a floating, giant banknote appeared above him. _**"Money-sama has arrived! What is the matter, honored greedy man?"**_

"Money-sama, I need your help!" Kakuzu pointed a finger at his opponents. "They all owe me one million ryo and they refuse to pay!"

_**"SINNERS! FAITHLESS FILTH!" **_Money-sama declared in righteous anger. _**"By the will of the Holy Greed, you will pay your debt! Face the ultimate technique of all times! NINJA LAWYERS!"**_

Out of nowhere, dozens upon dozens of kunai-wielding lawyers appeared, crushed all the surprised Konoha-nin, and took them away. Hidan was seized by the arms. "Hey Kakuzu, what the hell are you doing?!"

"Hold on. That one's different Money-sama," Kakuzu started, and for a split second, the priest thought he was saved… until he heard the bounty hunter's next words. "He owes me one _billion _ryo!"

"BASTARD!" Hidan shouted as he was dragged away, kicking and screaming.

_**"Everywhere the forces of altruism, goodness, and generosity will threaten the corrupt and the greedy, Money-sama will be here to fight them!" **_The god shined brightly. _**"And remember the moral! Lawyers are good, but ninjas lawyers are **_**better**_**!"**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: **_finally nearly over with the Separation Arc. Next chapter will conclude it.

Most of this chapter is about subverting the 'villains appear in order of threat level' cliche. Kenta would have made a threatening main villain at the beginning of the story, but Kakashi has faced enemies like the Raikage and Madara and lived to tell the tale about it. Kenta was just no match for him, in spite of all his preparations. Also deconstruct the 'assimilating powers' we have seen with Kabuto and Tobi in canon: possession does not means mastery.

On the other side of the coin, there is Jashin/Mikaboshi, which is closer to cosmic horrors like Nyarlathotep and Cthulhu than humanoid gods and as such a living force of nature. How can you fight a hurricane or a volcano? To Yugito's credit, she and Mei nearly killed Kakuzu. Jashin was simply on another level entirely. In the end, the only way to beat it was to survive long enough. The result would have been the same had it been Madara in place of Yugito.

About Kenta... 'Ayatsuri' means 'Puppet' in Japanese, which fits both his doll maker theme and the fact he was ultimately just a minor move in Mikaboshi's bigger game. Kenta works through manipulation, making living dolls, and mind games, without doing much actions himself. His strength lies into exploiting people's flaws, turning others into weapons, and being willing to cross any line to win, but by himself, he's just a very nasty serial killer too arrogant to imagine he can lose. His last stand was mostly a desperate move that couldn't end with him winning.

Some might feel Itachi and Tsunade went down easily. The first does not have the Mangekyo and Kakuzu fought/killed Uchiha for decades. I wouldn't be surprised if he met Madara, as he canonically fought the Shodaime Hokage. Tsunade was just unlucky to be within Jashin's range.

On the other side of the coin, Mikoto received the Mangekyo after killing her husband in a fit of rage. The Susanoo is modeled after Kushina because in the inside, Mikoto admires/envies her the most. It's my personal theory the Susanoo embodies what the user wants to be the most: Sasuke the avatar of vengeance, Madara the embodiment of both his own and his brother's ideology, and Itachi a noble warrior. The theme continues with Kakashi, who tries to be the embodiment of Obito's ideas, and Susanoo/Madara, who wants to be the embodiment of the inevitable.

On Kakashi's Banjo, it's to symbolize he has reached the end of his character arc: he no longer lives in the past, enjoys life whereas he once desired death, and do things for fun rather than because it's needed. In other words, he has become closer to Obito than ever before. Yugito's character arc has however merely begun, with her starting to wonder what she truly wants to do.

Also, I'm considering making the story M-Rated, as it already quite mature in themes and the next arc will introduce/develop the pairings between the main characters. The change of rating is not confirmed, but likely.

Finally, about the mysterious ring wielders... the reveal will come with the next chapter. Expect something very awesome. But the 'Sir Naruto' is definitively a Monster Clown/Joker Naruto. There will be blood when he's in the picture.

And late Happy New Year!


	38. Chapter 35: Road to Badass

Thanks, ABitterPill and Third Fang, for your awesome betaing. Thanks all readers and reviewers.

The first part of the chapter is a speech, so don't be afraid if it looks like a wall of text.

* * *

><p><em>On Sleepyasian's demand, here is a little chart of the characters, and where they are situated.<em>

_**Ame-Verse:**_ Kazama (original Naruto, traveler), Tsukiyomi (Manipulative!Madara), Susanoo (Rinnegan!Madara), Izanami (Fem!Tobi).

**_The End-Verse:_ **Fem!Haku, Sasori, Chibaku (Puppeteer!Naruto), Kuebiko (Nidaime Hokage) and his team of minor characters.

**_Godaime!Itachi-Verse:_** Naruko (Fem!Naruto), Kitsune (Werefox!Naruto), Uchiha!Naruto (comatose).

_**Alive!Yondaime-Verse:**_ Kakashi/Kamui, Younger!Yugito, NotKage!Mei Terumi.

_**Mysterious Bad Guys:** _Joker!Naruto, Alpha (Dictator!Naruko), Three (VillainHenchwoman!Naruko), Deidara.

* * *

><p><strong><em>IMPORTANT:<em>**

- the story is now M-rated, to have more room for how the pairings are handled and since the story is pretty mature already.

- I added a poll for the favorite main character of the story. Check it out after reading the chapter, if you wanna participate.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 35:<strong>_

_**The Road to Badass**_

"If I knew my son would have blonde hair… well, at least he has my face."

Kushina's reaction was unexpected, and if Minato's frustrated expression was anything to go by, he didn't appreciate it. It was quite easy to see who was wearing the pants in the relationship. If Namikaze was the same as he was in their last confrontation, Kushina was different from the illusion her son had met in Waves.

Kushina was a beautiful woman, with a fair skin and long hair as red as tomatoes. Her blue eyes conveyed an aura of seriousness and nobility, and her smile some joy in her life. She was wearing a jounin uniform, hardly hiding the fact she was in the early terms of her pregnancy.

_She's like I used to be, _Kazama thought. _Smiling to ease the pain. But... s__he's different. Wiser._

"I didn't choose my genes." He offered them seats around Hanzo's table. Somebody, Konan perhaps, had left herbal tea and glasses for the three of them. "Want some?"

"I will pass," Kushina said upon sitting. "You're… not like I imagined."

"You expected something else? Sorry to disappoint," he replied with light sarcasm.

"Well, I expected someone whose eyes were stars and his hair a halo of light," his mother countered with the same merry tone. "And horns. And a fiery sword. And wings. Konoha-nins keep gossiping about your appearance, I was expecting someone more impressive looking."

"You would be surprised by how impressive I can be." She simply had to see past these walls. Kazama had done his best to try repairing the damage caused by the Sanbi, and mobilized everybody in town, but half the Hidden Village was still in ruin. "Why did Konoha send you? To appraise me?"

"You prevented an invasion of our land, is it so surprising we want to thank you?" Minato shrugged. "You challenged Hanzo in combat ten minutes after he and Yagura declared their intent to invade the Land of Fire. You prevented the war from escalating further."

"A move you did not see coming." Kazama took some tea. He didn't particularly enjoy it, but it was good for his nerves. "Since you're here, _Minato_, I would like to ask you a question: why was Yagura allowed to live this long? Surely, as a paragon of goodness, you should have been the one to strike him down instead of me."

Here they were. The real reason he wanted to speak with these two instead of sending Madara or Konan. Minato locked eyes with him. "He was the head of a foreign nation. His assassination would have changed the balance of power, and his rule crippled Kiri, preventing it from being a true threat to the mainland on its own. Nobody saw his alliance with Hanzo coming, and your actions have changed the status quo."

"For the betterment Kiri, but not for you." As Madara expected, Yagura's supporters had been quickly exterminated as soon as the news of his demise reached the island, and the Seven Swordsmen had taken over the country, ending most of the Mizukage's insane laws and enforcing peace with an iron fist. According to the Uchiha lord, Zabuza Momochi would probably be chosen as Godaime Mizukage.

The irony wasn't lost on the blonde. _To think I helped my first major enemy to achieve his dream…_

The Hidden Mist would recover from the damage caused by Yagura and inevitably regain its former glory under the _saner _administration. Which wasn't good for Konoha, as a strong Kiri was a threatening Kiri. "I see. So if, for example, I were to go outside, like, in… one, two minutes, and slaughter kids on a whim, you would leave me in charge? My death would cause the region to be destabilized, maybe allow Iwa to take it over. Konoha wouldn't care about that?"

The couple's shocked expression aside, Minato's silence told it all. Kazama sighed, and started the speech he had mentally prepared in the last hours.

"No. You wouldn't do anything. You won't move. You won't do a thing. You would stand and watch as another Yagura massacres children he doesn't consider _strong enough _to live. You will close your eyes when Iwa destroys a minor country nobody cares about. You will talk, you will preach peace and love to monsters, but you won't do a thing when they make the world a sicker place than it is, because it would allow the majority to live in a happiness built on the misery of the minorities and underdogs. For all your talk about making the world a better place… you're what? Thirty? I was told you graduated at ten. You had _twenty years _to make a difference. I've been here for a week, and in one _afternoon_, I deposed two murderous despots. It looks like my methods paid off better than yours."

Minato narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw, but let his son continue.

"And you know why you are so inefficient?" Kazama asked. "It is because you never _struggled, Namikaze_. You're born a winner. You are incredibly gifted for everything _but _common sense. You had parents, a teacher that supported you, friends, people to rely on, instead of enemies to impair your progresses and a void in your heart born of eternal loneliness. Villagers worship the ground you walk on, instead of mistrusting and cursing you. You have a loving wife, a peaceful life, not an existence of pain and despair. You never faced loss, or the negative results of your actions. Everything went along _smoothly_. You never knew what it is to live in fear and hopelessness, to have the universe spit on your face. You speak about others' pain, without understanding it. Suffering is a word for you, and a reality for the rest of us."

Kushina looked away and silently took some herbal tea.

"Me? I used to be a _nobody_ with a curse. A slacker, a mere Genin with no future, and a head full of misplaced idealism. People disliked me. I was the outcast, the orphan born to suffer for the crimes committed by others. I could have lived my whole in obscurity, a failure. I fought a one last battle and was betrayed by one of my own comrades. I should have died by the enemy's hand, as much as my former friends'. Through sheer luck, I did not. When I awoke, I did not realize I had been reborn. The child called Naruto Uzumaki had shed its skin like the snake he failed to kill, and grown into the one you call Kazama Arashi. A fool, I have ceased to be. A nobody, I am no longer. Now, I am a living _nightmare_."

The last word wasn't Kazama's own. The dark voice had whispered it through his lips.

"I _earned _my power through training, mental tortures, facing monsters, groveling at the feet of my archenemy, and dealing with abominations beyond human understanding," the Amekage snapped bitterly. "I was humiliated, broken, restrained, captured, harmed, mentally assaulted by monsters… yet, I rose up. I did not give up, and I will never surrender. And this is what makes me strong: I can, and _will_, go farther than you. I have seen men reach new heights of depravity every day, and the new generation repeat the mistakes of the old one. I fought the world my entire life, and after years of endless victories… the world has started losing."

He extended his arms in a broad gesture.

"Look beyond these walls, Namikaze, and tell me what you see. A world of tears and blood, a world you help maintain by not doing what needs to be done. Ame and Kiri were hellish realms, and I changed, and will change, them for the better. Love didn't bring this land peace, like the Will of Fire pretends. It's _fear _from an uncorrupted source. I didn't free Kiri by convincing Yagura to kiss people's feet in repentance. I did it by impaling his rotten heart in revenge for a fallen friend. It's the _spiral of revenge you despise _that freed Kirigakure from a tyrant, and it didn't end with forgiveness, but with swift, merciless justice. That's how you end feuds: by bringing balance through strength."

The Yellow Flash's jaw dropped in a mix of surprise and horror, as Kazama jabbed a kunai on the table.

"_This _is the truth of mankind, Minato. It's not right which makes might, as I learned painfully, but might which makes right. The rules won't change, for they're the very nature of humanity. The Hokage are mere puppets for the people. If they say one child has to live forever as a scapegoat and outcast, even if it is your own, you will do _nothing_, because you obey the will of the people, even when it goes against what is _morally right_. Me? Ame is terrified of me. They don't respect me, they _worship _me. I am not a Kage, Minato. Within these frontiers, _I _am the new _god_."

Kazama sighed bitterly. "And this how it should be. People should be afraid of their rulers, not the other way around. Power in itself is neither good nor evil, it's a tool, like this kunai. Peace isn't brought by love, or moral preaching, but by a strong authority that isn't afraid to defy the will of the majority, should the majority be in the wrong. Peace is enforced through _will_, through _superior might_, through _an iron fist_."

Minato looked ready to reply something, but his son wasn't over. "You remember the words I said when we talked the first time?" The older blonde reluctantly nodded. "They were the words of a _whiner_. I was thinking how doomed and sick the world is, but lately, I've realized… the visionary does not see how the world truly is, simply how it _should be_. I have ceased to lament on my fate, childhood, whatever childish, immature thoughts I had, for I focus on the future now. And when Ame bowed to me in awe, when I saw thousands kneel before me, I understood what I had to do. The duty I had to fulfill. I am the solution to their hopeless life, and I will offer them a better future."

Kazama intertwined his fingers in front of his face and leaned forward. "I used to be egoistical. I won't deny it. I only cared about myself and my loved ones, walking forward and closing my eyes on the hellhole surrounding me. I pretended to be better than you and others only to justify my selfishness, and feed my ego. I talked about destroying the many to save the few people worthy of living, before I realized... it was just a way to deny my own weaknesses, a lazy way to escape my responsibilities. There is something beyond the few and the many, the worthy and the unworthy. There is a bigger picture, a duty to live up to: to destroy evil wherever it takes is roots, and to improve this rotten universe through all means necessary."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I gained power, and will make a _virtuous_ use of it. I will bring true order and justice to the multiverse, no matter the price. I will serve monsters steel and fire, not sentimental speeches. I will end the cycle of revenge not through empty love, but through fear and might. I reject the greater good, and I answer with the greater _cause_. Happiness built on injustices isn't worth it. I would rather have a million people unhappy than sacrifice one innocent life without his or her consent… unlike you."

At that last line, Minato had recovered enough to retaliate. "You did not fix this world. You took over a country and instead of giving power back to the people having suffered under Hanzo, you kept it as your own."

"_Yes,_" he hissed. "_And_ with that power, I will create a better Amegakure where _no innocent _will _ever _lose a loved one, because some random psychopath was allowed to run free for too long by the greater nations. _Then_, I will create a world where no one will be discriminated against because they have a bloodline or are 'too weak to survive'. I will create a world where no child will be used as a sacrifice for an ungrateful town and live the life of an outcast because destiny said so. I will create a world where all wrongs are avenged, and where bastards will be punished. I will create a world where minorities won't be oppressed by majorities, where nations do not fight for stupid, pointless wars, where the weak won't be oppressed, but _protected_, by the strong. If being like you won't bring this vision to life… then I'm done with pretending to be a paragon of goodness. I may be branded a tyrant, but if an iron fist is needed to make this tragic universe a better place… so be it."

The Amekage raised his hand, and made an oath.

"I, Kazama Arashi, make this vow: I am to become Justice. I devote my life to this ideal and swear to live up to it, on my blade. I shall be the unrelenting sword, the merciless axe. I shall be the shield of outcasts and misfits, the bane of the corrupt and the wicked. I shall be the champion of the victims, the destroyer of the abusers. I shall be the judge, jury, and the executioner, and bring absolute order through steel and fire. I shall destroy those who stand in my path with the hands of death. I will not compromise on my principles, for to compromise on them is to abandon them."

Both his parents could only stare as he continued. "I will enforce peace through power, and justice through strength. I will avenge all wrongs done to me and those under my watch, through all means necessary. I will not suffer transgressions to the greater order or those who tolerate them, for to look away is a crime in itself. There is no good and no evil, only an end and means. There are no limits, but the ones I believe in. There is no fate, but the one we make. There is no weakness, only willpower."

Kazama Arashi grinned ear to ear. "Existence will give up before I do."

Once he was finished, he observed his astonished parents. Although Kushina looked more surprised than anything, Minato was downright appalled. "One last thing," Kazama said, searching through into his pockets, and bringing out a coin. "Heads, I'm kissing everyone in town. Tails? I'm killing as many of them as I can get my hands on until the sun sets. Want to play?"

"I refuse to play your sick game," his father replied with disgust.

"But you will let the coin decide for you, if it is called _destiny_. An old amphibian will say he has seen the coin's result, and you will gamble your son's life on it. You will let _destiny _decide for you. Me? If anyone tells me of this coin, here's what I will do."

He deposed the coin on the table, focused chakra in his finger, and melted the coin with fire.

"Then I may, or may not, do the same with the choice giver. Destiny does not exist. What did this senile toad predict? That some random person will save the world, maybe destroy it? I will say: if I'm that random person, I will do _both_. I will save those deserving salvation, and destroy those who are beyond it. Out of the ashes of the old world, I will build a new, better one. There is no fate but the one we make, and you would do well to remember that. Why let luck decide for you, when you choose the outcome yourself?"

He dismissed them with a hand-gesture. "Now, leave, I have a country to administrate. Be gone."

Minato looked ready to reply something, but Kushina put her fingers on his arm, glared at him, and silently made him reconsider. The blonde stared at his son, anger in his eyes, and he vanished with the Hiraishin.

"It wasn't very nice, what you said," the redhead sighed, "but I'm afraid it was necessary. Minato has many qualities, but he is a bit too idealistic for his own good."

"Cynics live longer." Kazama shrugged. "No wonder he got killed so young in my home universe."

"If what Minato told me is true, your father's interference is what prevented the seal from consuming you, when your Orochimaru sabotaged it. You should be a little less absolute on condemning him."

"No." The voice had shown him the truth. "There are a million realities that had that event where the seal consumed me in spite of his help. I didn't survive because of the Yondaime, but through sheer _luck_. Even if his interference mattered in the end, it doesn't quite _begin _to make up for what he did to his own flesh and blood. But here he isn't the man who sacrificed his son. Not yet."

"Not _ever_." Kushina took his hand in a gentle manner. Kazama didn't react. "I… whatever your Kushina did to you… I'm not her. I won't ever be her. I will make certain that Madara, or anyone else, will never come close to hurting my child. And I will not have another go through what I suffered during my own life. I swear the baby in my womb will have a better life than you."

"Good," he whispered. "I… please take care of yourself, and bring some sense to his mind. His idealism will cause problems down the line."

"I'm afraid the realization will come with time. Sarutobi still holds control over much of the war effort, and Minato isn't truly in charge. When he is… then reality shall catch up with him." Kushina smiled. "If I was told my son would become a hero and take over an entire country in an afternoon, I would have brushed it off."

Kazama couldn't help but chuckle. "A hero? Are you kidding?"

"Not at all. Tales of your battle reached all corners of the Shinobi world. Imagine: you, a _nobody_, challenges two of the strongest ninjas in the entire world and kills them both in a battle rivaling the fabled duel between Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. Kiri loves you for bringing down their oppressive ruler, Ame worships the ground you walk on, and thousands across the lands listen in awe when people narrate how you shattered the skies themselves, before bringing thousands back to life. They say you even created a second moon for the show, before pulverizing it."

_So they attribute Nagato's deeds to me? _Kazama thought. "It's grossly exaggerated."

"I have seen the damage Ame suffered, and the area's maps had to be redrawn," Kushina chuckled.

"However, I assume you didn't come only to follow Minato," he switched subjects. "You were miles away. Minato could have seen me on his own and nobody would have been the wiser, no offense."

"I admit, I have my reasons. Two, in fact." Kushina frowned. "You annihilated the Sanbi. Not killed, _annihilated_. Bijuu are reborn after a time if they are the former… but the Sanbi won't return, ever. All its siblings and their vessels sensed his destruction across the world, as I did. The Kyuubi is currently screaming, in tears, and _begging _me to get away from you very fast."

_The Kyuubi… begging? _Whatever the dark power had done, it had left quite the impression. "What is it saying?"

"It's calling you many names: the Star of Death, the darkness, the devourer, the evil god… and many other unpleasant titles. It is mainly because of what the Jinchuuriki told their respective superiors about you that the rumors of your godhood have gained some credence."

"I see… and the second reason?"

"The masked woman, in black, that helped you during the battle. I want to see her."

_Izanami? _"May I ask why?"

"Ah, so the rumors were right… have you seen what she looks like underneath? She's an Uchiha, isn't she? Pale skin, beautiful face…"

"Kushina Uzumaki," Kazama said, his tone deepening, "I owe this woman my life. If you, or Konoha, are seeking her to harm her, you will have to go through me. I hope you understand."

"The _Uchiha clan _wants her dead… or _wanted_, as they think she's dead. Me?" She smiled sadly. "I'm her friend. Her only friend."

The Amekage narrowed his eyes. "Everybody has their secrets…" He whispered. "I can give her a message, if you wish."

"Tell her…" Kushina bit her lower lip. "Tell her… that I'm sorry for what happened, and… that I'm taking care of _him. _She can see me or _him _wherever she wants. She just has to contact me."

"I will give her your words."

After that, the redhead turned to left. "Naruto…" she whispered. "Good luck in your future."

"Good luck to you as well," he whispered, before raising his head. "One last thing. Why Minato?"

"Because when Kumo kidnapped me, he was the only one who noticed my absence and came to rescue me. He was the only one who cared enough about me to notice I wasn't there." Kushina replied, as she vanished from his sight. Returning to the dark corridor, the blonde decided to return to his office. Surely, he would be able to-

Somebody clapped.

Kazama's eyes moved toward its source. Madara was clapping cheerfully in the shadows. "I heartily applaud your _oath_," he said. "When we began our partnership, I was with a child, but it seems you have grown into an adult and I did not see it. Wonderful."

There was something _shameful _in being praised by a bastard of Madara's caliber, so the blonde merely snorted. "The past will be behind me soon enough. Then I will walk forward."

"Soon?" The Uchiha lord blinked. "Does it imply you intend to return to Konoha?"

"I never forget. I will judge, fairly, those who wronged me and others. Finishing with you." He locked eyes with Madara's lone Sharingan. "I hope you understand."

"Understanding is not the same as appreciating," the man whispered with a hint of amusement before crossing his arms. "Yet, you said you would respect atonement… and if I decided to atone for what I did to you? Would you cease to seek my destruction?"

It actually made Kazama silent for a split second in amazement. "You do not regret anything you've done."

"Actually, I do regret one thing." The man chuckled. "I should have taken you with me after my battle with the Yondaime instead of leaving you to Konoha. I have an idea to make up for the sixteen years of pain I inflicted indirectly upon you…"

The Uchiha lord put his hands on Kazama's shoulders, in a gesture vaguely reminiscent of a hawk seizing its prey. "By adopting you as my… _son_, for example."

The Amekage smirked. "Didn't you have sons in the past?"

Madara's eye was soon full of bitterness. "The sons of my blood were traitors, failures, and ultimately received the fate they deserved. They would have better fitted the Yondaime Hokage… You, on the other hand… you are promised to do great things. You might even surpass me."

"I will." It wasn't a mere boast. It might take decades, but the blonde _would _defeat Madara in the end. "You kept trying to kill my friends, _father_."

"Only because you wouldn't listen to my offers, _son_," the criminal replied, with the same sarcastic tone. "Now you have come around to my point of view, I see no reason to harm them." He released his grip on his student. "Why not end our feud reasonably, like adults? If you truly want to enforce justice and order through the multiverse, you will need help. My help."

"I refuse to let your crimes go unpunished."

"Which crimes? The destruction of Wave? Zabuza's death? Amaterasu's doing, and he paid his debt with death. The death of Kabuto? Turning Kakashi's students into Paths of Pain? Susanoo's doing… and to be honest, he has vanished. I haven't seen him in days."

Kazama blinked. "He abandoned you?"

"Perhaps. Or maybe he's dead, I haven't been able to locate him, which worries me." Madara brushed off the subject with a shrug. "The truth is… what am _I _guilty of?"

"You violated Kakashi's mind-"

"And awakened the true power of his Sharingan. A fair trade." Tsukiyomi chuckled. "Honestly, what do I need to do to earn your trust? I helped you defeat Hanzo, and bring peace to this land, although I would gain nothing out of it."

"Would you give Susanoo's head on a platter, if I were to ask?"

"No." The tone was absolute. "Our opinions may differ, but I have been betrayed enough. I won't become a traitor. When you have a partnership with a comrade, to sell him out is the highest sin. If he betrays me first, however, my reaction will be different. I will not compromise on this principle, because to compromise on it is to abandon it."

Truly, Tsukiyomi was a master manipulator. _To think he turns my own words against me… _"And if I am to fight Susanoo? Which side would you take?"

"My own: both and neither." The Uchiha lord shrugged. "I would enforce your ideas: beat both of you into submission, and end your feud through fear and what I think is justice."

Kazama smirked. "Alright… we will see if we can resolve our feud as gentlemen. However, if you even _try _to harm my clan…"

"_If_." The mastermind cracked his neck. "You are still evasive on _how _you intend to bring true justice through the multiverse."

"By creating my own Hidden Village. The Hidden Village of Dimensions."

For an instant, Madara seemed genuinely at loss of words. "A… Hidden Village?"

"Whatever you want to call it." Kazama crossed his arms. "The truth is, the multiverse is full of people with good intentions… but they're _helpless_, _lonely_, _without support_. I intend to remedy that, by creating some sort of… haven. A place where these people wouldn't be alone anymore, where they could seek help or gain the strength to defend their ideals. I will create an order of true believers dedicated to creating a better world… in _all _worlds. I have been selfish, immature. No more. It is time I use the power granted to me for positive, grander purposes."

"This is… ambitious." Tsukiyomi chuckled. "Ame will be a good test for your skills as leader. Allow me, _son_, to offer you a gift for reaching adulthood."

Madara twisted space, and a set of armor appeared out of nowhere, falling to the ground. The blonde examined it for a second. It looked like a cross between Samurai armor and a demonic-looking costume. "You want me to wear _this_? It's all _white_, how am I supposed to be stealthy with it?"

"You are not. I did not bring this armor to make you stealthy, but to make you _intimidating_. White is the color of _death, _of bones. When your enemies see it, fear will overtake their hearts, and they will be more likely to flee than facing you head-on. Your fighting style is too destructive to be stealthy, and since you are a long-range fighter, threats will come in the form of long-range jutsu, projectiles, and hand-to-hand fighters who can close the gap between them and you. In the first case, you can counter fire with fire, and the armor will increase your chances of survival against the two other threats."

Madara lifted the armor and gave it to his apprentice. It was quite heavy, but not unreasonable. "This armor belonged to a samurai warlord from the clan era that I defeated in duel when I was leading the Uchiha clan. I restored it and added seals to prevent anyone from seeing what was underneath through the Byakugan, or other means."

_It explains why nobody managed to see past his mask, _Kazama thought, _he probably added __the seals to it as well. _"It's to fit the god charade, I suppose?"

"Exactly. As long as Ame will think you're a deity, their obedience will be absolute. Defying a warlord like Hanzo is _risky_, but to defy a god is _sinful _and likely to result in being struck by a lightning bolt. An armor would make you less human, and nobody would be able to say the person underneath is a human. People will never like you… but they will fear and obey their faceless, almighty overlord."

"Ame saw me without any armor, and Minato, Kushina, perhaps Jiraiya, know who I am."

"Ame saw a man-shaped god killing a Bijuu in an epic battle and tear the skies apart. With Nagato's little stunt, they think you can bring back the dead if you want. Only a fool would think you are _not _a god. They would simply say you decided to not wield your heavenly armor, and fought Hanzo without it because you didn't think him worthy of the honor. Your cultists will quickly find explanations, and when Konoha-nins try to look past the metal and find they are unable to see what lies underneath, the rumors will grow and add further credits to your claims."

The Uchiha shrugged. "As for Konoha? Their ambassador keeps repeating to everyone who will listen you're a fallen star having descended upon earth to pass heaven's judgments upon men, and brought a dead missing-nin, _me_, with you to serve as your vengeful champion. What can your parents say? That you're a man coming from an alternate universe, their future son to be? That sounds insane, doesn't it?"

Seeing things under that angle… "But when I'm gone…" An idea crossed his mind. "Could you make a replica of this armor?"

Madara narrowed his Sharingan. "Ah, _smart move_. You intend to give it to Konan?"

"With the Rinnegan, she can pull off _miracles_. By wearing the armor, she could switch place with me and nobody would see through it. I would never have left. With a few seals to cover the eyes and change the voice…"

"And if the armor and the Rinnegan are passed down, you would appear immortal. Intelligent. You are learning fast." Madara gave a bow of mock reverence. "Your will shall be done, August Star. I would suggest you find a god to impersonate… it would be more intimidating to pretend being Susanoo the storm Kami or the Shinigami than _Kazama Arashi_… at least at the moment."

And he vanished, leaving the blonde alone with his new toy.

Returning to his office and finding it deserted, Kazama sat and stared at his reflection in the white helmet. The face on the surface was his, yes, but it was hard to recognize it. He had lost his former winning smile, his expression had become stoic and his blue eyes had turned cold. _I once dreamed of being the Yondaime Hokage, and I have become Madara instead. Somehow, it doesn't feel as horrifying as it sounds._

"You should take care of your appearance," Izanami's voice reached his ears. How she had entered the room without being noticed was troubling. Then again, she had Madara's powers... "You are a tiger. When a woman looks at you, she sees the deadly grace and the beauty, the power and the aura of majesty. For a second, she is enamored… but then she sees your eyes, realizes your heart is hardened, and that you could kill her on the spot and you wouldn't even bat an eyelash. With your looks, you could be a lady killer, yet your facial expression drives them away, for you're a wolf in a land of lambs."

"I don't care," he said. Jiraiya had been a lady killer, and he wasn't a role model to take after. "The tiger is the king of animals. I would better be feared as a deadly beast than loved as a harmless peacock."

Izanami chuckled, and her fingers touched his shoulders. They were warm, and Kazama couldn't help but feel uneasy. "Who said you can't be feared _and _loved? No one bothers trying to take a third option." He saw her smile in the white helm. "You should keep your hair down. The spiky style isn't good at all."

"You told me you had an illness," he switched subject.

The woman sighed disappointed the attempt at small talk had failed. "It is more akin to a curse induced by a jutsu. It is… no, it would be better if I were to show you."

She went _through _him. Like Madara, she walked through his seat, his flesh, and stopped in front of him. The contact was akin to a ghostly chill, and Kazama refrained himself from shivering.

Izanami had changed outfits, dropping her kimono for more casual clothes, composed of black pants and a white sweater. Kazama could have mistaken her for a beautiful civilian woman if he didn't know just how dangerous she was. The kunai in her left hand helped reveal her true nature.

In a swift move, she slashed her right hand with it.

The world wanderer watched disturbed as the dripping blood vanished before reaching the floor. The wound closed nearly instantly. She put the kunai in her pocket and smiled sadly. "I return to my original state, constantly. My wounds close, I never age, I can't give birth anymore… I'm unable to change."

"Which means you are immortal," the blonde pointed out, before noticing something wrong in her sentence. _Anymore… _"Many would kill to be in your situation."

"Only fools, psychopaths, and Madara. Would you face the prospect of outliving all those you care about?" She snapped, showing genuine anger. "Would you like to stand young and fresh, as your closest friends wither and die?"

Seeing things from that perspective, Kazama was forced to agree. He had seen what Madara was behind his mask of a powerful mastermind: a bitter, lonely old man fueled by ancient grudges and wounds that never healed. The prospect of ending like him was obviously the source of the woman's anguish. "You want me to make you normal? I admit not knowing how. Some of my friends might be able to help you, however."

"If you can travel through other universes, it's only a matter of time before I find a cure," she whispered, before sitting on his thighs. The Amekage was beginning to wonder if she had any sense of _personal space_. "I am not ungrateful. For your services, I can offer you my help in fighting Madara-"

"No."

For a split-second, Izanami seemed at loss of words. "Did you say _no_?"

"You heard me well. I have seen too many people die fighting him to see you gamble your life. Especially since he's perhaps one of the few people that might be able to kill you." He ignored her shocked expression. "You saved me from the Sanbi and I will return the favor by giving you a cure to your condition… because helping those in needs is a reward in itself. But I refuse to see anyone risking their life for me, against something I'm willing to offer _for free_."

Izanami stared blankly at his face, before recovering. "And if I told you I'm willing to fight at your side, simply because I like you?"

Kazama had no answer to that. "I-"

She approached his lips with hers and kissed him.

It was as surprising as it was short. Izanami quickly broke the contact, and laughed at the blonde's astonished face. "It was your first kiss, isn't it?"

"I wish this was the case..." As humiliating as it had been, locking lips with Sasuke by accident _counted _as his first kiss. "Why did you do it?"

"Because underneath all that cynicism, you have a noble heart, and it would be a shame to see it turn to ice. I was observing the battle with the Sanbi for a long time, and I admit... I considered letting you die. After all, the way you talked, I thought you were sharing the masked bastard's ideas... but when the turtle threatened to destroy Ame... you stayed to defend it. You _knew_ it was suicidal, but you didn't run. Madara would have either destroyed the town entirely or run to choose a better battleground. You had no one you liked to protect, nothing to gain and everything to lose, but you were willing to put your life on the line anyway for people you didn't know and weren't likely to thank you. That's what you are, Kazama. You try to deny it because it comes with a great personal cost, but you _are_ altruistic. That's why you're different from your mentor, and that's why I came to help you."

She shrugged. "You aren't the first one Madara has puts his claws into. I know what it is like to live in fear, when you're forced to obey to protect those you love. It lasts until you're pushed too far, and when that happens, you realize you have become just as empty and warped as the one you struck down, and just as monstrous as you pretended to be."

The woman crossed her arms. "You're in charge of this country now. A dictator. Your 'mentor' would like you to put your heel on everyone's back constantly to secure your power base… in which case, you wouldn't be better than _him_. Ame has only ever known tyrants, warlords, or worse, and lost all hopes for a better future. You can change that. You may be a despot… but you can be a _benevolent _one. Try remembering it. Don't become a new monster in your attempt to topple another."

_Benevolent despot?_ Kazama smiled. "I will remember the lesson." His face turned serious. "Kushina gave me a message for you."

Izanami froze on place, confirming his suspicions. "Yes?" she asked, sounding fearful.

"She said… she said she was sorry for what happened, and that she was taking care of _him_. She said you could go see them wherever you want, as long as you contact her."

For a split second, Izanami's face bore the saddest expression Kazama had ever seen.

She quickly corrected herself however and adopted a cheerful smile. It was faked so well the blonde almost thought it was genuine for a split second. "I see."

"Can I… do anything about it?" He asked. "You have your secrets and they belong to you, but if I can lend you a hand, I will."

"Thanks… but no. No, you can't do anything."

With those words, she teleported away, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

"This world is full of misery…" He told himself. "Will I ever see a world where nobody's life has been fucked up?"

_**This world is flawed, **_the dark voice answered him. _**It needs to be fixed.**_

_Not by you. _The… the thing was corrupting his thoughts, he was certain of it. The blonde said words he would never have said normally.

_**Corrupting, or improving? No. It will be fixed by **_**you**_**.**_

… _By me._

_**I can still offer you power. My offer stands. It will always stand. Of course, there will be a price to pay.**_

_I will pass. Your cost is too high._

_**If so, perhaps knowledge would be better?**_

Kazama raised an eyebrow. _Knowledge?_

_**I can teach you Jutsu beyond your wildest dreams. Arts able to bind life itself to your will.**_

_And… what would be the price?_

_**The price of struggle. This knowledge is cheap. If you wish to learn **__**greater**__** knowledge forbidden to humans, the price will be paid with parts of you, be it life, blood, **__**or**__** sanity. What I offer you is a theory, not mastery. You will have to work for it.**_

_Mmm… why not? It will depend on the knowledge._

_**I will gladly provide it.**_

Slowly, Kazama started putting on the white armor, finishing with the helmet. It was heavy, yet flexible. He could fit into it with some time and training.

In his armor, he looked like a fearsome monster. The white metal covered every inch of his body, turning him inhuman. The forearms, shins, shoulders and hands were equipped with small blades of refined steel. The helmet was equipped with a metal skull-shaped mask, leaving only the eyes exposed. The helmet's horns were small, and composed of silver. "I am death embodied," he said, his voice becoming deeper through the iron protection. "It seems I have to pretend being a god. Which one, I wonder? The Shinigami?"

_**Too overused, **_the dark voice whispered. _**Why not… Mikaboshi? It is the Kami of stars and night, a fearsome deity.**_

_Mikaboshi…_

It was a good name.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Susanoo<strong>_

This Madara Uchiha was nothing like he imagined.

Unlike any of the counterparts Susanoo met during his travels through the multiverse, this one hadn't been blessed by Mikaboshi. His body hadn't turned to dust, and his soul hadn't been devoured by the darkness. It had been a good thing, since the Rinnegan user had been able to bring him back from the dead with Edo Tensei.

Here he was, as young as when he fought Hashirama, wearing a crimson armor. His hair was a black mane, his eyes a set of swirling Sharingan. His stoic expression conveyed some thinly veiled surprise and astonishment, as he examined his counterpart's face. "So this is it. You are me… what I could have been. I hope that shape was worth the cost."

"It was." Susanoo placed his mask back over his visage. "Tell me, why can't I enforce the mental dominance I should have over you? Or why are you so… young and fresh?"

The red Madara chuckled, sitting in a chair. Susanoo had moved his hideout to an abandoned, hidden Uchiha fortress, built during the clan wars. His Paths of Pain had rebuilt the place from scratch with incredible efficiency. "Before my apprentice killed me, I prepared measures to alter my summoning, should the Edo Tensei be used on my person. I was brought back in the body I had when I fought Hashirama for the last time, and although there _is _a link of chakra between us, you can neither control nor banish me. The wise man plans for the future."

"Which is why you took Izanami as apprentice."

The man chuckled at the name. "That's what she calls herself now? I find it ironic... I thought she had what it took to be a true Uchiha. I was mistaken, but unfortunately, she was a better student than I thought. She poisoned my meals, and had one of her summons tear me apart when I was agonizing on the ground."

Susanoo chuckled. The woman had conveniently failed to mention this detail. "What summon, may I ask?"

"It was a praying mantis the size of an elephant. Female mantises kill the males of their species when they're hungry, angry, or during mating. It fits that woman well. She has a long history of killing men. As she didn't have the brute power of male Uchiha, I taught her how to be an assassin and use all her weapons. Fortunately, women have a very good one between their legs."

Susanoo refrained a disgusted snort. The violent beating Mito Uzumaki had dished him back in the Valley of the End had taught him to respect and fear women. To have trained a woman this way, this Madara certainly didn't think the same. "You taught her seduction?"

"Seduction, swordsmanship, Genjutsu, the Sharingan's powers, poisoning, summoning, Edo Tensei, strategy… the list goes on."

Susanoo could only imagine. "And Mikaboshi?" If she had some of its powers, it would end badly.

"The Kami of the Stars? What does it have to do with us?" Apparently, he was genuinely in the dark about the sinister god. "It's just a story men invented to scare their kids at night."

Obviously, he had never met the evil entity. "Nothing. And about Izanami's… undead god of Shinobi?"

The temperature dropped slightly. "It was one of my main projects before I died to find his tomb," the other Madara whispered. "I suppose she completed my work after executing me. To be honest, I don't think he will stay under her control for long, once deployed. He created Ninjutsu and although without his Bijuu, he's strong enough to break free. What he will do after being freed, however…"

"Still, she's a dangerous enemy all the same." Susanoo crossed his arms. "How did you find her?"

"I was keeping an eye on the members of my former clan, so I could give their position to enemy ninjas and have them exterminated. She was the wife of a prominent member of the group and their marriage was a notoriously unhappy one. It got worse after the birth of her son. I don't exactly know what happened, but one night, her husband was dead and she on the run. The Kyuubi's vessel was friends with her and covered her escape by beating the crap out of the entire Uchiha clan, but that woman was already stabbed and bleeding. In the end, she fell into a river, and I recovered her. She was dying, but her eyes… once our eyes crossed, I found hate echoing my own, and I liked it."

"So you healed her?"

"No. I was too late and she died of her wounds."

Susanoo immediately understood. "Edo Tensei," he muttered. "You used the Edo Tensei on her?" It was how she could recover so fast from the wounds he inflicted on her.

"Not exactly. For all its powers, Edo Tensei has inherent weaknesses preventing it from being the true key to immortality. I spent decades trying to find ways to bring back others from the dead, to reach eternity. I healed the wounds of her dead body and used an experimental jutsu to bring back her soul. It… cut her from this world. She will always stay how she is. She won't age. She will never know the ravage of time. Her wounds will vanish as soon as they are opened. She won't be able to bear a child again. Her heart is beating, her body is warm, she can feel pain and pleasure, and she is alive… and eternal. She was my greatest achievement. Not an undead… an _undying_. Apparently, the process gave her minor supernatural powers, like intangibility."

"How can you end this Jutsu?"

"I never bothered to devise a counter to immortality, in fear one might turn it against me once I had perfected the process. If we want to get rid of her, we will have to seal her under a rock or the like where she will spend eternity until the end of all things." The red Madara crossed his arms. "Izanami is a fitting name, for she is the goddess of the dead, and reborn again. I? I am Izanagi, the creator, who will send her back into the hell that spawned her."

"Then, _Izanagi_, explain me how you came to blows with her."

"I tried to mold her into my apprentice. She was so talented, so devious. I thought she would finish the Moon's Eye plan. But quickly it became clear she would never be the successor I desired. She had the skills, but never got over her new life as an immortal exiled, away from her son and friends. In the end, I realized it was a loss of time, and focused on finding someone else. Her son had shown some potential and insecurities to exploit. I set my eyes on him. She discovered it, and… reacted poorly. Parents tend to take risks for children they would never take for themselves."

Susanoo snorted. "What do you think she will do next?"

"I have no idea, and I doubt she has any plan. She's probably running along with the flow of things and waiting to see how she can exploit the situation. If this Kazama Arashi is as young as you pretend, she will probably try to seduce him and turn him against you."

"She will bite off more than she can chew with that one." Susanoo had little doubt the world wanderer was too dangerous to be controlled. It had taken him long to realize it, but it was obvious he was too powerful to be left alive. "Do you know about the 'Child of the Prophecy'?"

"The legend how a man will start a revolution that will either be the world's salvation or damnation?" Izanagi asked. "The Sage predicted his coming in the documentation that reached me."

"It's only a part of the prophecy." Susanoo intertwined his fingers. "The chosen one will fight an all-powerful darkness as the final obstacle. If he wins, the revolution will start and bring endless peace to the world; if he fails, the darkness will end the world as we know it and inaugurate a dark age." He locked eyes with his counterpart.

"Kazama Arashi is the darkness we have been warned against."

For a split second, Izanagi said nothing, before frowning. "Do you have a proof of what you are saying?"

"The Rinnegan showed me the source of his powers: the chakra of a god, sealed in his stomach." Susanoo had at first thought it was the result of Tsukiyomi's machinations, before realizing the power was noticeable long before the Uchiha lord ever got his hands on him. "He is a dark deity reborn in human form, growing stronger with each passing day."

It had all become clear during the battle for Ame. No follower of Mikaboshi could ever open a black hole; only the deity itself could do this. Susanoo had realized he had been a pawn in the star god's game, a pawn used to motivate the growth of its champion, a tool to be eliminated once no longer useful. "He fits several traits of the darkness: a man pretending to bring about a world of truth, gathering followers to march in his name, spreading loss and chaos wherever he goes, turning an ally of the chosen one against him… The fact my counterpart never managed to convince him to join us, and is now firmly at his side, speaks for itself."

"If he's the darkness, then only the Child of the Prophecy will be able to defeat him," Izanagi stated. "You suggest we find him?"

"The chosen one is right in front of you." Izuna told it to him with his dying breath. Now, it was time to meet his fate. "I will defeat him in battle and extract his godly chakra with the Rinnegan, before making it my own. And with this power, I will bring about the birth of a better world."

"Then why don't we go kill him in his sleep?" Izanagi replied with skepticism.

"Because his followers are dispersed. When they are reunited, then we will destroy them all in one swoop, in a legendary battle." Susanoo smiled behind his mask. "And we will prevail. You, me, and the five Kage reborn."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kitsune<strong>_

The temple's gates were purple and blue, surrounded with two golden statues. The air was pure, and there was no sound.

Kitsune stopped in front of the doors of stone alone. He was only carrying Samehada and a bag containing his clothes. The fish creature purred and licked his fingers. "Is there someone here?" The blonde asked. "Itachi-sama said you could help me."

_"I know someone that may help you learn to control your transformations," The Godaime had whispered. "And maybe, teach you peace of the mind."_

The doors opened.

Slowly, carefully, the kid entered, the gates closing behind him immediately. The grounds of the monasteries were made of earth, trees, and ponds. It was a peaceful garden, where monks in red and white robes were discussing, working, meditating, and in one case, playing Shogi.

"Kitsune Arashi," a monk welcomed him. He was a bald man with dark eyes, thick eyebrows, a serene face, and a black sash around his waist. He smiled kindly. "I am enchanted to meet you. Itachi-san sent a messenger crow to inform me of your arrival. I am Chiriku, the head of this monastery, but please, consider me a mere _first among equals_. Allow me to give you a visit."

Kitsune nodded, and Samehada left him to enter one of the ponds. Chiriku showed him the dormitories, the meditation sanctuaries, the statues of the gods, and the monasteries' many rooms. "You will have to shave your head, and trade your current clothes for monk robes. We believe in the virtues of dispossession and humility to reach true enlightenment."

"If needed…" The blonde bit his lower lips. "Chiriku-sama-"

"Chiriku-_san_. All men are equals inside these walls."

"Chiriku-san, I have to inform you…" Kitsune took his breath. "I have a terrible curse I do not control."

"I know. Itachi-san informed me you transformed into a fox in the presence of his father and had to be restrained and sedated." The kid blushed in shame. "We will teach you how to tame your bestial nature."

"How?"

"By teaching you how to achieve true peace of mind." Chiriku brought him before a tree and handed him an apple. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes."

"Hungers for food and water is necessary to live, and natural. But there others hungers, born of the mind, called _desires_, and they are the source of all misery. Desire for power, for material goods, for recognition… and in your case, desire for pain. _Your _pain." The monk narrowed his eye. "I can see you carry a heavy burden, Kitsune Arashi. You are crumbling under the weight of your sins, and you see no escape but atoning through personal suffering. This is the wrong path to take, for suffering only brings more suffering. It is a spiral that won't solve anything."

Kitsune took his breath, remembering the people he had killed under the voices' orders. "I committed so many crimes I am beyond forgiveness."

"No one is beyond forgiveness, as long as one can feel regret. Regrets are consuming your heart, and if you have the will to atone for what you did, then the world will always give you a second chance. But self-punishment in itself is not the source of true repentance. We will show you the true way." Chiriku took another apple. "The body is a mere vessel for the soul. The desire for women and possession is mental, and turns into physical lust as a result. If you reach peace of the mind, you will be able to be in harmony with your body and unlock its true potential. But for this to happen, you must forgive yourself and learn to be in harmony with the world that surrounds you."

Chiriku bit the apple. "The Uchiha way is one of conflict with the self, and not necessarily a bad path to embrace, but we monks do not believe in it, and obviously, you aren't meant to follow it. Itachi-san understood that, and this is why you were sent here." He locked eyes with the blonde. "You left someone behind."

It wasn't a question, and it would be lying Kitsune hadn't hesitated a lot about leaving Naruko's side. _She said she would wait for me… _"She's my friend, but… she needed to train with Fugaku-sama." It was the only way to truly beat Madara, and they both knew it.

"Friendship is the truest, purest sentiment. We honor and cherish it. The fact you chose different paths does not mean eternal separation. It is my truest belief friends are always reunited, be it in this life or the next." Chiriku smiled. "And I have the intuition you won't have to wait that long."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Naruko<strong>_

"I see father did not go easy on you."

The blonde girl snorted in anger. Her face was covered with bruises, and for maybe the first time in her life, she was _tired as hell_. "As long as I can progress…" She muttered. Fugaku was teaching her primarily Taijutsu and Ninjutsu, Mikoto was taking care of her Genjutsu lessons, and other Uchiha were taking turns at training her in various areas. "Was it the same with you?"

"No, it was _easier_," the prodigy conceded. "This is an accelerated version of the program I went through myself. I am amazed you can still stand to be honest."

"I _have _to stand." She had promised herself abandoning and complaining were out of question. "It's the only way I can become strong." _Without relying on Kurama, _the girl added to herself.

Fugaku had been quite blunt: he was astonished she had lasted this long. In his opinion if she didn't have a powerful demon in her belly she would have died a dozen times already. The blonde couldn't deny it, and the statement had given her the resolve to continue.

"Take a seat," the Uchiha Godaime asked behind his desk. The office was quite plain, maybe a sign of the Uchiha's hate of luxury. "Are you certain you do not know our visitor?"

"No." She had visited that mysterious, comatose Uchiha in the hospital at Itachi's behest. The girl had been astonished another world wanderer had dropped by, and for a split second though her sensei had come for her… only to be sorely disappointed.

"This is most confusing," the Hokage stated, as the blonde sat. "Perhaps was it an accident, but his wounds show he was trying to flee something, or someone." He crossed his arms. "Until Tsunade comes and he awakens, the best we can do is be patient. The breach closed behind him and nobody managed to open it again."

"I thought Konoha was good with Space-Time ninjutsu?"

"Good does not mean _expert_. The only person who can qualify is Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, and he is away for the moment. I contacted him through messenger crows and he affirmed he would be back within a few weeks at worst to investigate. He's currently too occupied with what's happening in Ame to be available." The Uchiha smiled. "He was most interested in your case. In his mind, it might be the occasion to confirm the validity of some prophecies he has been told about."

"Prophecies?" Naruko snorted. "Fate does not exist. One of my archenemies keeps ranting about our destiny of death and tragedy, much to my annoyance. So far, I'm still alive."

"I believe in choices and free-will as well, but… Jiraiya's prophecies come from an Elder Toad, said to have the ability to see into the future. So far, his claims _have _been accurate… yet at no point has your coming been mentioned. Your presence might explain if the Elder's visions are truly absolute or have flaws. It's something Jiraiya wants to test, and I didn't see any reason to reject his proposal." Itachi smiled. "Kitsune arrived to the Fire Temple this morning."

Naruko raised her head in interest. "How is he?"

"Fine. Chiriku tells me the monastery will be the sanctuary your friend was looking for: a place where he will learn peace of mind and spirit. I will be able to give you news on his progress, if you wish."

"Thank you, Itachi-sensei," Naruko bowed slightly in gratitude. _I hope Kitsune will be fine… he deserves to be fine._

"One final thing…" The Godaime chuckled. "I have heard you and my brother are starting to get along."

Naruko shuddered. Itachi's brother had insisted to participate in some of her _exercises_, and they had quickly started a friendly rivalry over them. "He and his team asked me if I wanted to hang out with them after my training time."

"Sasuke doesn't have many human contacts outside them and his family," Itachi whispered, before closing his eyes. "He resents the absence of his older brother, so… maybe the presence of a little sister might be good for him. And for you. Having a rival is good motivation."

"Itachi-sensei…" She smiled. "I refused to hang out with them."

The Godaime appraised her silently for a few seconds. "The Kyuubi?" He guessed.

"Yes. As long as I… until I'm certain I can't… _twist _others' feelings anymore, I prefer staying alone." The euphemism left a bitter taste in her mouth. "I…"

"I do not need you to warn you on the dangers of isolation," Itachi whispered, closing his eyes. "I admit liking being left to my thoughts sometimes, yet everyone needs company. You of all people should know the pain of loneliness."

Naruko knew it more than anyone else in this entire town. "Itachi-sensei… if… I realized maybe some people are my friends not because they want to, but because I…" _Brainwashed them?_A part of her mind suggested. "You get the picture. It's morally _wrong_, and… and it's not friendship. It's slavery. I don't want to inflict that on anyone." Perhaps Itachi _himself _was only helping her because she messed with his brain. She couldn't be sure. She didn't _want _to be sure.

"Naruko… let me tell you a story." Itachi took a breath. "When I was a teen, working in the ANBU, I was one day captured by the enemy. Iwa-nin, to be precise. They wanted to exchange me for some of their comrades, imprisoned in Konoha. For days, they kept me starved and weak. And… after a time, I started sympathizing with my captors. Mother will tell you this is called the Morino Syndrome, since it was Ibiki Morino who documented and examined the condition with his own victims. After a time, a prisoner starts empathizing with the captor, sees his actions as genuine affection, and comes around their point of view, even admiring him or falling in love. Madara and Orochimaru are fond of exploiting this condition to turn prisoners into loyal followers."

This matched Kurama's situation. "I-"

"Many of my captors saw me as a mere tool, and messed with my mind… but one, however, started sympathizing with _me_. It was a man in his thirties, with brown hair and eyes. We talked, we shared stories, and he offered some food in secret. And one day, after weeks of imprisonment, he opened my cell, and told me to escape." He shrugged. "He was called Raki. I discovered his name when I found his body hung from a tree after his comrades found his treachery. He had his identification card in his pocket with the word _traitor _written on it."

Itachi shrugged. "It might have started as warped, but this was friendship. From what you told me about how you met Kazama, he more or less took you away from Konoha without possibility of return. Some would see this as abduction, even if he did it to save you. Yet, it seems there is no denying you share a strong bond. Some friendships start for all the wrong reasons, yet can turn genuine and stronger than many others."

The Godaime locked eyes with her. "The danger of your power is that you cannot control it yet. If used well, it won't be a tool for control, but a way to reach a deeper understanding with someone else, and gives greater strength to your friendship. The true danger is if you do not care about the other person and are merely using him as a thrall to feed your ego. It feels good, to have power over someone, to see them look at you in awe and worship. This is a temptation that will always plague you, but if you're strong… you will overcome it."

"I… I'm not ready." She took her breath. "Until I find someone that can show me how to restrain and control this ability… I prefer staying away from others and focusing on my training. And when I am reunited with my family, I won't be a dead-weight to them… ever again."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Haku<strong>_

"It's finished," Fukuro stated, upon presenting his newest machine to the group, sitting around a round table in one of the base's rooms. "I present you… the World Probe!"

"The name is cliché," Chibaku stated. "And no offense… it looks like a robotic pepper shaker."

Haku was forced to agree. The object was a grey and black metal cone, with a round black camera as 'head'. A device called 'reactor' was implanted under it. "_This _is supposed to find the Feral Gale and his allies?"

"Your skepticism hurts me," the scientist pouted. "It won't _find _them, but it will reopen and use the thin portal you used to cross the gap between our multiverse and their own, and then releases a signal they should be able to locate. The Probe contains a recorded holographic message explaining them the situation."

"They told you they couldn't help you, in your feud with Madara," Kuebiko began, "due to them being foreign deities, am I right?" Both Chibaku and Haku nodded. "I doubt they will be able to help personally, but who knows, they might have info that could help us locate Kazama, or they might have a way to evacuate the populations threatened by our multiverse's collapse. At this point, any help is welcome."

Another earthquake shook the building. "Ah, must be the canon Sasori and Omoikane are working on," Chibaku commented. "Yesterday, it was the kunai launcher. The _explosive _kunai launcher."

"I've seen the new bodies she's designing…" Kuebiko shuddered. "I think we will have to redefine what a weapon of mass destruction is after you try them."

"I'm not even used to this one," Chibaku whined, before chuckling. "When we're going to see Madara again, boy, I'm so going to try the Death Ray on his ass."

"Learn to aim first," the former Nidaime Hokage suggested. "You might kill an ally by accident, or alter the landscape. Vajra designed the weapon for mining purposes. It's a pity he isn't there to teach you how to handle it."

"Speaking of him," Haku interrupted, "Did you find anything? You visited the world where he lost contact with you…"

Kuebiko's face darkened. "I found… no, it would be better if I show you." He searched under his pockets and presented a few photos. "I took them all around the continent."

His student took them, and paled.

Ashes. _Plains _of ashes. Dead mountains devoid of life. Dark skies, covered with smoke. Remains of forests burning. Ruins of, shattered and melted. It was a vision of death.

"What happened?" Chibaku asked, upon staring at the photos. "A cataclysm? A volcanic eruption?"

"An _artificial _cataclysm," Kuebiko stated. "I examined the place and… it wasn't a volcano. Volcanic ashes are pulverized rock, not soot and burned material. This was more akin to the results of flamethrower-rampage. I cannot explain how it happened, but _something _burned the entire continent from above and reduced it to ashes. Whatever it was, it killed _everything _on the planet. Humans, animals, plants… it will take decades for it to become habitable again."

"Who _could _do that?" Haku paled at the implications. "And why would anyone _want _to do that?"

"I am as confused as you," Kuebiko said, "And the fact I found nothing left of Vajra means two things: either he was killed in the cataclysm, in which case, I should have located his remains… or whatever behind it found him first. This world contains unstable breaches, so… it's possible the responsible party might have come from an alternate universe, and retreated once its work was done."

Silence followed.

"I said we needed any help possible for a reason," Kuebiko stated. "Because I have the feeling, that if we _don't _get help… there won't be any worlds' left to save."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yugito Nii<strong>_

"You owe our clan three lives, Kakashi Hatake."

Yugito glared at the talking hound. "If I understand the situation correctly, _you _tried to kill him first," the Kumo-nin pointed out. "Both your employer and the dogs chosen to fight with him are dead. Can't we make peace?"

The creature glared at her. It was a large black Doberman the size of a horse, with vicious red eyes and yellow fangs. The fact he was wearing a silver collar nearly identical to the one having belonged to Kenta's big summon was worrying. "A contract involving one of us binds the clan as a whole," it explained with a raspy voice, sitting on the ground. If it felt threatened by the presence of three S-Rank ninjas, it hid it well.

"My clan is honor-bound to fulfill Kenta's contract, and take revenge for the death of three of our warriors. Two had only gotten their first blood, and one was a seasoned warrior and a servant hound of Inugami, the dog god. By killing them, you have tainted our honor and reputation. Our clan demands blood as reparation. _Yours_."

_**"Drop it Kitten, it's a dog, and as such, **_**stupid**_**. Just kill it."**_

Yugito sighed. The trio had been informed by the Yondaime's clone the original was ready to try the Nidaime's Jutsu, and they had left to meet him with travel bags on their back… until this dog had intercepted them.

"However, our Clan Head wants to avoid a blood feud if possible," the dog emissary explained. "He consulted the temple of Inugami. In his wisdom, the great priest answered if Inugami chose to let you kill these warriors, then they weren't worthy of serving under the dog god's banner and the only thing he could give them was a glorious death by battle. If you swear an oath not to harm any of us ever again, Inugami will forgive your acts and my clan will drop any idea of vendetta against your family."

_"I swear never to harm any dog, on my father's sword and Inugami," _Kakashi promised, before putting the blade back in its sheath.

_"As a follower of Inugami, I am a witness to the oath," _the creature recited. A golden collar appeared in a puff of smoke. "Wear this symbol of Inugami around your arm, and no dog shall seek to harm you. If you break your oath, the dog god will punish you." The hound nodded, and vanished into smoke. "Farewell, Hatake. May we never cross path again."

"Why do I have the feeling this collar will be more trouble than it is worth?" Mei wondered out loud.

"As long as it prevents a feud with a dog clan," Kakashi snorted upon picking up the object and fitting it around his arm. "_An eye for an eye leaves the entire world blind_, sensei told me once."

_**"…**_ _**but **__**what if**__** you're blind **_**before **_**someone takes revenge on you?"**_

Ignoring her Bijuu's stupid comment, Yugito continued walking through the Land of Fire's forest. "Are you certain we aren't lost? I don't remember seeing a town on the maps."

"Certain. It's a training ground my team used before the war erupted." They reached a river. "Here it is."

Indeed, the Yondaime Hokage was waiting for them, drawing seals on the muddy ground with black ashes. Two toads were watching over his work, one male and a female, yet both elderly. "Good morning," he said upon noticing them. "We were waiting for you."

"For too long!" The female toad complained. "We're going to miss breakfast!"

"Don't worry Shima, I'm sure Minato-kun will offer it," the male toad replied.

"Of course, Fukasaku-dono. Sasuke and Naruto will be very happy to listen to one of your stories." The blonde faced the trio. "I present you the two best toad seal masters of Mount Myoboku. Fukasaku, Shima, they are the people I told you about."

"Enchanted," the animal couple nodded politely.

"They helped me improve the Nidaime's technique," the Yondaime explained. "I needed to be present in person to oversee the ritual, and here I am. Mikoto, Sasuke and Naruto send you their regards."

"Please return our own then," Kakashi replied. "How are they doing?"

"Pretty good. Sasuke is very depressed about his brother's death, but Naruto's company helps him deal with it. Mikoto has taken upon herself to occupy their minds through activities so they don't brood too much in a corner." His eyes narrowed. "Yugito-san, the masked man has been seen with Kakuzu."

She blinked. "So they were accomplices?"

"Possibly. We interrogated the owner of a bounty station, and he told us Kakuzu left it with two unidentified men, one matching your description of the fox-man. Afterward, we unfortunately lost their trail. It was if they had just vanished. The Inuzuka themselves are clueless about the situation." Minato sighed. "Danzo suggests they may be survivors from Akatsuki, trying to reform the group."

"You should inform Zabuza-sama," Mei suggested. "Many of our missing-nin were associated with Akatsuki, and part of our ANBU stayed loyal to Madara until the bitter end. It's possible our purge hasn't been as thorough as we hoped, and one or two members stayed in contact with Kakuzu."

"I will take the advice to heart."

Yugito decided to switch subject. "And Mikoto-san? I never got the occasion to thank her for saving our lives."

"I will convey the message. Mikoto…" The Yondaime smiled. "Maybe is it time to consider a second marriage. We thought about it for a long time, and… I believe Sasuke joining my family officially would do good for both him and my own son. It is time we leave the past behind and focus on the future."

"A wise choice," Mei commented, before sighing. "Marriage… Why is it that everyone but _me_ is married, or used to be? Even the frogs!"

"Technically, frogs and toads are a different species…" Fukasaku pointed out.

"I'm not," Yugito replied to the Kiri-nin, "And I'm happy this way." She nodded at the Yondaime. "I wish you and Mikoto a long happy life."

"Sensei… be strong." Kakashi shook hands with his former teacher. "You deserve to enjoy your life. I know it's not always easy, but… one mustn't see the bottle half-empty, but the bottle half-full. We might take a beating from the world, but we can improve our existence and gain a happy ending with enough efforts."

Minato Namikaze smiled from ear to ear. "I will remember, Kakashi… and please, promise me you will be fine."

"I tend to fall in harm's way, so I will pass on that promise," the jounin chuckled.

"Anyway," the Yondaime shrugged, doing his hardest to hide his worries and failing, "This place is rich in natural energy, which should power the Nidaime's Jutsu sufficiently for three people." He tossed them each a kunai. "They contain the formula of the Jutsu, in case you need to use it again. Each of you, take the other's hand and make a circle inside the array."

After putting the kunai in their pockets and travel bags, the trio obeyed, each joining hand with another and adopting a triangle formation. The Hokage crossed fingers. "This way, none of you shall be lost during the travel. I must warn you, the journey's time will be longer than Kazama's own technique. Madara's transportation lasted longer than yours, but this method doesn't have a breach to exploit. As such, what will look like a second to you might be akin to days elsewhere."

"As long as we reach the destination," Mei shrugged.

"Farewell then…" The Yondaime made a hand sign. "Farewell, my friends."

In a flash of light, they were gone.

* * *

><p><em><strong>In another universe,<strong>_

_**Far, far away…**_

Once Kakuzu stepped out of the portal of light, he wondered why he had accepted those weirdos' offer. _Not for a lot of money…_

… _Oh yeah… for a __**shitload **__of money._

He stared around himself. It was some sort of director office, composed of three walls, a door, and a large window of glass. There was a black desk, plants, and four people waiting for them. One was a blonde man sitting behind the desk, observing him with a friendly grin. The bounty hunter instantly recognized one of his old comrades from Akatsuki, the annoying Deidara.

The three others were standing, and appeared to be siblings. One was a Miko, the other was a woman wearing black leather, and the third was a little kid wearing a jester outfit. He was a carbon copy of the Nine-Tails' container, Naruto Uzumaki…

For a split second, Kakuzu felt uneasy upon seeing the frightening, insane grin over his face. He had seen looks like that before and they normally led to unpleasant things. Usually ones that couldn't be exploited for a profit.

His two companions stepped outside the portal of light, which promptly vanished. "Hey, Deidara-san, the rings are working perfectly," Tobi said with a cheerful voice. "I didn't have to waste any chakra."

"Me neither," the bomber chuckled. "I'm afraid we won't be able to make more than ten of them, at least, according to the Warlord. The Relays will prove to be more efficient and useful to meet our goals."

Kakuzu had no idea they were talking about, and decided to go to the point. "You want to form a brand new Akatsuki with people from other worlds?"

Deidara smirked at him. "I see you were briefed on the situation… to be honest, I thought you would be a bit more… _skeptical_."

"I crossed path with two Kakashi Hatake at the same time, and they were of flesh and blood. Didn't take me long to add two and two together… and to be honest, when you have lived as long as I do, nothing surprises you anymore." The summoning of Jashin had taken the crown of all the bizarre events Kakuzu had went through in his long existence, and he was only stunned for a few seconds from that event. "Since you spoke of ten rings, I assume you're recruiting?"

The jester laughed. "You think _they _would give so much power to a newcomer? Nah, all the rings have been distributed already."

"We are an association of ten warlords, dictators, terrorists, ninjas, and power brokers. All of us are united under a common motto: to spread our influence through all universes by uniting our resources." Deidara chuckled. "We are a multiversal cooperative. Mind you, none of us share the same life-philosophy, ideals, and goals. However, the worlds are numerous, and the opposition strong. Why bother fighting, when we can _share _the infinite? As long as the other's business doesn't interfere with ours, everybody is happy."

The bomber crossed his fingers. "Katsu. Forgive me, we forgot to introduce ourselves. I'm Deidara, the boy is my loyal brother-in-arms Naruto, and the women are our newest friends, Alpha and Three. They both met other world wanderers, who wronged them, and they will be happy to help us against soldiers to retake their home."

"I'm Menma," the man with the fox mask whispered. "My partner is Tobi, and the man here is Kakuzu, a bounty hunter that caught my eyes. As you have heard, at least one Kakashi Hatake crossed the barrier between worlds. The portals are getting bigger and more numerous."

"My, this is interesting. We will have to discuss it in our newest meeting." Deidara turned around and watched through the large windows.

It was raining outside, and Kakuzu realized they were inside a city. Most of the buildings were black, rectangular towers. _Must be Ame, _the hunter thought.

"The problem with us is… we are in a real need of manpower. We seek to recruit people with attitudes and skills. Of course, you will be handsomely rewarded for your services."

"Thanks, but I have been in Akatsuki and it didn't work out," the bounty hunter replied. "Conquest is overdone and too costly to last long. That, and I prefer to be free of how I handle my kills."

"You would be surprised by how effective we are at _conquest_. Although, to be honest, not all of us are interested in world domination. The goals go from 'securing knowledge' to 'killing as many people as possible'. As for your work, we don't micro-manage. As long as you complete an assignment, we won't force on you any partner, or anything of the sort."

"So…" Menma whispered. "Are you in?"

"Mmm… as long as I get paid…" Kakuzu shrugged. "Alright, as long as I can work alone, I'm fine with a contract. A contract I will write." _And put many loopholes in it…_

"I guess we can start the meeting now." Tobi touched his ring. An instant later, six dark shades manifested in the room, reminding Kakuzu of Akatsuki's holographic meetings. The shadows lacked colors, but the bounty hunter could vaguely distinguish the shapes, and see the rings around their fingers.

"Fu, fu… you gathered quite the interesting soldiers…" It was a teen's body, and the eyes had the shape of the Sharingan, but Kakuzu would have to be _deaf _to mistake _that_ voice. His ring was placed on the left hand's middle finger, with the Kanji 'Lightning'. "I recognize Kakuzu-kun… and the women have my apprentice's face. Are they related?"

"Nice bodies…" The shade wasn't human. It was a mass of tentacles surrounding a humanoid body. The ring was placed on the left hand's thumb, and had the Kanji 'Wood'. "You don't mind if I take one as my own, meatbags? I never possessed a blonde before."

"You were supposed to take over this Vajra's body, Zetsu-san, and exploit his memories," a man whose face was hidden under a snake-hood whispered. The ring of 'Earth' was placed on his right hand's index finger. "I assume you failed?"

"He wasn't… human enough. Too much steel in his system." The creature hissed. "Regardless. We will find out what he knows soon enough. The Warlord can be… _persuasive_."

"Not so much as me…" A woman whispered with a playful grin. She had the ring of 'Fire' on her right hand's thumb. "You should have given him to me instead."

"I don't see how torturing an old man will give us the answers we are seeking," another woman, whose very face was covered with a mask and hood, shot back. On her right hand's little finger, she was wielding the ring of 'Metal'. "When you break them too hard, the poor wretches start saying anything that comes to their mind to have the pain stop. This is distasteful."

"Who said anything about torture?" The other woman chuckled. "You can be convincing _without _being nasty. Diplomacy works, sometimes."

"I disagree on the last statement," the last shade cut in, and Kakuzu recognized Mei Terumi's voice. She had the ring of 'Water' on her right hand's index finger. "However, I agree on this Vajra's situation. What do we know? His name and the fact he isn't alone. The more he stays in the Warlord's hands, the less likely he is to survive."

"Excuse me for the interruption…" Alpha said, drawing everyone's attention on her. "I see only nine of you. Is the absent member this 'Warlord'?"

The temperature dropped heavily, and Kakuzu quickly understood the final member wasn't someone really appreciated. "He's the founder of our organization, and easily the strongest, but he is a…" Deidara struggled to finish his sentence. "_Hyper-pyromaniac_."

"The survival rate of anything in the Warlord's vicinity tends to drop to… zero." Tobi bit his lips uneasily while speaking in a more mature tone. "Trust me, you don't want to be in the same room as _him_. He's fucking insane."

"Truly? I try to be good company."

The words were polite, but the mocking tone indicated there was no meaning behind them. Kakuzu focused on the new shade, which manifested next to the others. The shape was that of an adult, with the ring of 'Sun' around his left hand's ring finger.

"Misters, misses," the man whispered, his eyes radiating with cold hate, "Welcome to Teikoku. I was told you met dimensional travelers... Would you kindly give me the details?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Omake:<strong>_

_**Madara Rangers**_

"Well, since we're five… it's Morphing time!" Tsukiyomi shouted. "Mighty Morbid Madara Rangers! Ranger Red!"

"Ranger Blue!" Susanoo shouted.

"Ranger Yellow!" Izanami added.

"Ranger Black!" Izanagi snorted.

"Ranger-" Amaterasu stopped dead on tracks. "Wait, if all the colors are taken, then this means…" He jumped in place. "Why the fuck do I get to be the _pink _ranger?"

"It's not my fault if you have the name of a god_dess_," Tsukiyomi snorted. "Blame the writer."

"This is outrageous!"

Kazama silently observed the scene, face palming in shame. "This is getting more ridiculous with each new omake. I'll take a leaving, 'cause everyone is stupid."

"Oh come on, join us!" Susanoo stated. "There is always a sixth ranger joining mid-season!"

Kazama watched him, realized he cared for his personal dignity, and came to a decision.

_I wonder if the bad guys are looking for teenagers with attitude…_

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><p><em><strong>AN:**_ first, thanks for all the reviews. I appreciate. Kippusan suggested the omake, and here it is.

_Teikoku_ means Empire/Imperial in Japanese, so... yeah. I totally created an Interworld Akatsuki. And all its ten members are Evil Overlord/Main Villain material. And in case you wonder, the mysterious Warlord's hobby is destroying worlds. What is a Naruto crisis crossover without an omnicidal monster running around?

On the chapter... I admit I find the beginning a bit rough, especially Kazama's speech. But it was necessary. It's the point where he grows out of petty and selfish goals to dedicate himself to a greater purpose. I molded his scenes to make him some kind of sinister, cynical savior: becoming a protector to the minor, oppressed nations and minorities, rejecting the great nations' ideas, using violent methods to achieve a good end, enforcing peace through fear instead of love... he's in a well-meaning extremist phase. The fact Susanoo sees him as a Antichrist figure reinforces this.

For the armor, imagine a fusion of the Shredder's samurai armor and Sauron's knight outfit, all in white. I found it darkly ironical to have the main protagonist become a not-really-evil overlord with a god wannabe publicity. He seems like the archetypal bad guy, except he's ultimately a anti-hero with good intentions at heart. As stated by Izanami, he could have run when facing the Sanbi, but he stayed to defend Ame, even if he had everything to lose, because it was the right thing to do.

As for Izanami's motivations and background... I left a few hints. And that's all. Although I all but screamed the identity of her trump card.

For Susanoo, his hubris is blinding him. He's the deconstruction of the Chosen One archetype, or rather, what happens when you believe yourself to be the chosen one and misunderstand prophecies. Everything you do seems right, since you're destined to succeed. His fatal flaw, outside a lack of patience (except when it's really, really necessary), is his pride: he really can't consider he can be wrong and that he _isn't_ destined to improve things. He's as much Naruko's foil/evil counterpart as Tsukiyomi is Kazama's.

On the other characters: Naruko is indeed developing insecurities, and what Itachi spoke of is Stockholm syndrome, a real life condition. Kitsune is trying to get out of his self-loathing phase. The rest is either taking a level in badass or already took it. I intended to introduce the Uchiha!Naruto (his personality and abilities, to be precise) and the new Lawful Evil teammate in this chapter, but you will have to wait for the next.

As such, the Separation Arc is officially over. A short timeskip will follow, and then the Reunion Arc will begin. Kind of the Shippuden Era of Echoes. Since I will focus on my other stories, you will have to wait a bit.

Oh, and would you kindly review? It helps with the motivation :)


	39. Chapter 36: Family Reunion

'What it takes to win' has been updated, and 'Atlas' will follow soon, as soon as it has been betaed. And... here is Echoes' newest update, and the beginning of the Reunion Arc. A week off is awesome to write.

As ever, thanks Third Fang and ABitterPill for their betaing, and all story followers and reviewers for their support.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 36: Reunion<strong>_

The sun was bright in the sky, and the town was lively. It was almost surreal in Yugito's humble opinion. Especially considering they were in the Land of Rain, in a border town, always the prey of raids from foreign nations and the object of a constant downpour. The city was rather small, but the ninja trio had expected a population far less immense. The streets were so full of people it was downright problematic to navigate.

Yet, what took the cake of strangeness? A giant portrait of Kazama on a wall.

"What the hell…" Kakashi whispered, upon staring at it. It was placed on the side of a building, and there were people kneeling in front of and paying tributes to it.

"Who is he?" Mei asked a civilian praying to the idol. It was a man in his thirties, offering a bag of rice to the portrait.

He stared at the Kiri-nin as if she was mentally retarded. "Our divine leader, of course. Kami-sama, the protector of the realm. You're foreigners?" He pointed a finger at two men guarding the portrait and watching over the populace. One was a ninja, the second a samurai. They were wearing black coats covered with drawings of red clouds. "They're Akatsuki, the sworn servants of the new god. They will enlighten you."

Yes, it was downright disturbing. _What the hell is going on? _Yugito thought.

The two men gladly answered their questions. "It's the new god," the samurai explained, as his pal continued to oversee the street. "Kazama-sama, Mikaboshi reborn, the fallen star, emperor of Rain, messenger of heavens, Father of the nation, the living maelstrom."

_**"… **__**D**__**id he just say **_**Mikaboshi reborn**_**?"**_

Yugito's uneasiness was apparently painfully obvious, as the samurai noticed… only to misunderstand. "This is not madness," he said. "He is the Star Kami reborn in human flesh, the answer to the Rain's prayers. I was present when he first appeared. He punished Hanzo the Salamander and Yagura the Mad for their sins. The Mizukage summoned his demon to fight him and had it destroy Ame, but the god promptly tore the skies asunder, defeated it, and brought the dead back to life to serve him."

_Alright, this is __definitely__ insane._

Mei apparently didn't share her opinion, and focused on the details. "What was Yagura doing here?" She asked, sounding worried. After all, she had suffered a lot under his dictatorship. The name itself was a harbinger of bad news.

"He and Hanzo wanted to invade Konohagakure. The people of Ame were sick of the war and their horrific rulers, so they prayed in despair… and the gods answered by sending a star to guide us in the dark. For the first time in decades, Ame is at peace and order is enforced. Kazama-sama is changing the country for the better. He reformed the ninja system, ended the Daimyo's office, opened the borders a-"

"Ended the Daimyo?" Kakashi cut in.

"Reformed the ninja system?" Mei asked, with a hint of disbelief.

"Yes." The samurai nodded. "I saw it with my own eyes. I was among the men he brought to confront the Daimyo. The man had invited the new god to a feast in order to celebrate their 'new partnership'. Kazama-sama didn't touch the food, never uttered a word, and neither did we. In the end, he asked us to distribute the feast to the poor, and he had the Daimyo arrested, finding it intolerable for a ruler to live in luxury whereas his subjects suffered from hunger. He announced that the Daimyo was stripped of all his titles, lands, possessions, and that they belonged to Ame from now on. When the man protested he was the rightful ruler of the country by the lineage of his ancestors, Kazama-sama replied, in his own words: _no more. I shall be my own Daimyo. _When the man said he wouldn't stand by this, Kami-sama had him hanged as an example."

If it was really the same Kazama she had met and fought side by side with, Yugito was beginning to wonder what _really_happened in his country.

"Then, Kami-sama revoked the privileges, positions, and titles of all nobility and the feudal lords, said their lands, powers, and possessions were to be returned to the Rain as punishment for decades of abuse over the population and failing to defend the land. They would receive a chance to redeem themselves if they cooperated, or a death sentence if they didn't. Most accepted out of fear, and the few revolts were quickly put down in blood and their leaders hanged. Afterward, Kami-sama declared the Land of Rain was no more a corrupt oligarchy, but a fair minded government, and that he intended to build a strong centralized state and to bring order, peace, and security to the country."

His partner nodded. "To do so, he declared the ninja system had been the cause of _'every war in every era'_, and that the time of privatized conflicts was over. The ninjas were no longer mercenaries for hire, but the official military and police of the Land, and would serve and be paid by the state instead of private contractors. Mercenaries were asked either to be conscripted into the new organization or leave the country under the threat of retaliations. The Father of the nation declared we were Akatsuki, the red dawn who will bring about an era where those in need are protected and the wicked punished."

"But how do you get paid?" Yugito asked, skeptical. "If there is no mission to take…"

"The citizens are to pay taxes varying according to their revenues and to use the lands belonging to the state," the samurai replied. "The people call it _divine service_. Now, merchants don't have to pay to get protected, the law is enforced ruthlessly everywhere, everybody has access to justice, and the funds will be used to build infrastructures benefiting everybody. Kami-sama's administration also abolished and prohibited the former monopolies, disbanded the old privileged guilds, and started to open the country to international trade. Kazama-sama also plans to open public schools where children from every social ladder could learn as equals, ordered the army to exterminate organized crimes, and-"

"And abolished prostitution," his comrade pointed out. "Don't forget that. Foreigners must know the Father does not tolerate rampant decadence on his promised land. If you seek to indulge in sinful pleasures, you can turn back."

"Kami-sama, upon realizing most of the women in brothels were forced into this trade or prisoners of war, forbade prostitution and offered them honest work," the samurai explained. "He also extended the offer to the poor and downtrodden, asking citizens to _'mobilize for the regeneration and improvement of this nation'_. He sent a similar message outside the frontiers, and all the foreigners you see in the city are war refugees looking for employment and a better future here, in Rain. Although some say they should change the name, for Kami-sama had it cease at the behest of farmers."

"Since you look at him in disbelief," his partner replied, "Perhaps seeing the Father in person would be better. He's currently away, but he will return to Ame. Since you're obviously ninjas, if you swear loyalty to his noble cause-"

Roars and shouting cut his sentence. The samurai raised his head. "Ah, _justice time_."

"You should come see it, foreigners," the other grinned devilishly, "How the Rain deals with the _undesirables_."

Yugito understood the second she saw the stage.

It was made of black wood, and obviously recent. It was quite big, and equipped with gallows. A crowd of thousands was surrounding it, kept back by armed men wearing the Akatsuki cloaks. A dozen people were chained to the stage, and were in quite bad shape. According to the bruising and opened, _festering _wounds, they had been subjected to torture and beating recently.

A man stepped onto the stage, his clouds white instead of red. He was somewhat chilling, with the eyes of a hawk and the stoic expression of an iceman. He absentmindedly kicked one of the prisoners back, and silenced the crowd with a palm gesture. "The Masayoshi," the Samurai explained to the trio, "Our boss. Chosen by the government and sent here to control the purge and bring the law of god to the lawless."

"Citizens!" The man in black started reading a piece of paper, his strong voice resonating through the street. "In the name of Kazama-sama, Mikaboshi reborn, the Father of the nation, I bring you the heads of your oppressors!"

The crowd roared in appreciation, while the Akatsuki men merely chuckled. They silently abandoned the trio to join their allies, in protecting the stage.

"Here they are, the enemies of the state!" Armed men seized the prisoners and brought them into view. People spat on them, threw garbage at their faces. "The collaborators of the old regime! Those who hid in their castles, getting fat while we were hungry! Those who abused us and treated us like dogs! No more!"

The man then promptly punched one of the prisoners, shattering his jaw, much to the delight of the audience. "Do you remember them, citizens? Rapists, murderers, thieves!" Armed men presented three new prisoners to the crowd. "Bandits who got away with their crimes, when you were defenseless! When you had no one to protect you! No more!" He faced the gathered and smiled. "What will be the sentence?"

"Death!" The crowd answered with a single call. "Death! Death! Death!"

"Death it shall be!" The Soldiers started putting the ropes around the neck of the condemned. "Death by hanging!"

"This is insane," Kakashi whispered. "It's not justice, it's a show."

"It's both." A woman in her thirties told them. Unlike the rest of the audience, she didn't cheer or shout, as the executions started. She had long light-colored hair, glasses, and was dressed like a common civilian. "The Amekage wants to show the Land of Rain will no longer tolerate crimes on its soil. It's a declaration for foreigners, and a warning to his subjects."

"Amekage?" Yugito narrowed her eyes. "Not god?"

"There will always be people thinking he comes from heavens, especially since our new leader can back up his claim," the woman replied softly, dying men convulsing as the ropes strangled them. "I admit, he is strong. Maybe stronger than anyone else on the continent, but a god… no. He is a man with incredible abilities, but that doesn't make him a deity. Most of Rain knows it, and couldn't care less. So far, he's giving people what they want and need, so nobody protests if he calls himself god or not. The brilliance of great leaders can only be matched by their ego, or so I was told."

"The Akatsuki would beg to differ," Kakashi pointed out, as the Masayoshi finished the execution, leaving the corpses hanging for the example. "Who are they exactly? Not what they pretend to be, what they _are_."

"Fanatics seeking a purpose, bitter people wanting revenge, good men looking for justice, warriors in need of rightful violence, citizens desiring true order, lower-classes hungry for social advancement," the civilian replied. "They are the kind of people who keep ranting about how corrupt and decadent the current era is, and how we need a strong leader to bring about a brand new era. They're harmless most of the time, but when their long awaited strong leader comes out of the woods, they're in line for recruitment and quickly organize themselves. Rain has seen it before, many times, but… today, it's different."

"The purge?" Mei guessed. "It's not smart to exterminate those with power in the country you have taken over. Keeping them happy is the easier way to keep the post. It makes managing the place and learning about what secrets it has much easier as well."

"_Pest control_, the citizens call it." The woman glanced at the corpses, and then, at the roaring audience, with a hint of disapproval in her eyes. "Ame has known many leaders, and the pattern is always the same. A warlord comes, kicks the former leader out, promises peace and freedom and changes… and then nothing happens. To keep a power base to prevent more parties inside and out of the country from attacking him, the warlord leaves the upper classes content, and the Daimyo stays in office."

"Some warlords were just in it for the power and didn't care for the populace. Others like Hanzo, were forced to compromise to keep the military fed enough to defend the borders. Hanzo was strong enough to defeat an invasion force on his own, as he showed during his fight with the Sannin, but even he couldn't be everywhere, and wasn't willing to risk an internal civil war by starting a purge. Hanzo wanted to prevent the system's collapse, and the Daimyo thought his successor shared the same mindset. Kazama-sama seems more interested in rebuilding the country in his image than anything else."

The Akatsuki then started to distribute rice and bread to the crowd. "A gift from the new god!" They said. "Taken from those bastards, and returned to you!"

"The Amekage has started redistributing the riches of the country," the woman explained. "By using the confiscated goods of the former oligarchy and selling them, he had been able to acquire large quantities of food and distributed them to the common people. The taxes on the newcomers has helped, and now that the borders are being opened, trade will develop and the price of goods will lower. Ame is a crossroad between Wind, Fire, and Earth, and it benefits us."

"I thought foreign countries or warlords would seize the opportunity to invade," Yugito pointed out. "And since there are political troubles inside, it should be a golden opportunity to seize."

"A large band of missing-nin _tried_. But the Amekage… he had gigantic summons massacre the army and rained fire on the survivors. Then he faced the leader in duel and shattered his spine in front view of his army. The man was then executed in front of Ame as a final warning to invaders."

The civilian narrowed her eyes. "He seems to know where groups of invaders are trying to infiltrate the borders, and exterminate them in short order. After a few shows of strength, the other countries just decided to act like with the Land of Iron, wisely refraining themselves from challenging it." Her eyes drifted to the trio. "If you want, we can continue this discussion at my home, around a cup of tea. It would be a pleasure to welcome you and talk to someone rational for a change."

"It would be a pleasure, miss…" Kakashi trailed off.

"Yakushi." The woman smiled brightly. "Nono Yakushi."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Naruko<strong>_

"Water…" Naruko hissed while next to one of her shadow clones and threw the blue sphere in her hands at the training ground. "Force!"

As expected the ball did incredible damage, detonating in a giant explosion of pressurized water, destroying everything in its path. A few seconds later, Naruko was in front of a crater filled with liquid, an artificial lake. _I really need to find another name, _she thought, _Water Force is too lame. Maybe... Imperial Water Tide?_

"Impressive," Itachi complimented her. "You created your first S-Rank jutsu at… thirteen? And you started training two months ago. Simply astonishing."

"Shadow Clones," the girl shrugged. She felt as if she had been developing this jutsu for years instead of weeks. "Everything is faster with Shadow Clones."

"Still, your latent potential is comparable to my own," the Uchiha Head complimented her. "You are already stronger than most Chuunin, and I think you may defeat a Jounin with enough preparation and field advantages. With your Water Affinity and reserves, you might be Kisame Hoshigake reborn."

"Because of a birth advantage," she cursed spitefully. "Because of _destiny_."

Itachi silently appraised her. "I suppose your meeting with the toads hasn't been pleasant?"

"No." Not only was this Jiraiya just as perverted as the last one she met, before the group's separation, but he hadn't been able to help her in the slightest. The toad sage wasn't, in his own words, as 'badass' as the Yondaime Hokage, and told her it would take months for him to create a seal able to send her back to her family.

And then, there was the meeting with the Toad Elder.

"Child of the Prophecy…" She hissed, remembering the term. "The dumb luck makes so much more sense now…" Perhaps was destiny protecting her? "I kept preaching to Susanoo destiny did not exist, and I might have proved him right."

"What exactly did he tell you?" The Hokage wondered.

"That Naruto…" She began hesitantly. "That Naruto is some kind of chosen one destined to start a revolution that would either save the world, or damn it, and that, as his counterpart, I may, or may not, share the same status, explaining why I kept winning my battles." The girl snorted. "The toad… ceased to see into the future, when Gaara, Kitsune and I arrived in this universe. Jiraiya thinks our presence messed fate's design. _Bullshit_."

"Exactly. There is no fate, but the one we make."

Both Naruko and Fugaku put themselves on guard. A few meters to their left, a rift in space started manifesting. It was a vaguely circular white spot in the fabric of reality, expanding until reaching the size of a large doorway.

Two notable individuals stepped out of it and walked into view. The first was a thin woman clad in a black kimono, with long black hair and a white mask over her face. The way she held herself was graceful, benefiting of a noblewoman.

The second was a man… or so Naruko thought. The person was wearing a large armor of white steel, reminiscent of a Samurai's. It was covered with blades, and the facial mask had the shape of a skull. He was carrying a familiar, sheathed sword on his back, and his eyes…

In the mask's opening, there was only darkness.

"Hello, Naruko," the armored man said, his voice deep, yet oddly familiar. He seized his helm, and took it off. As the girl's eyes widened in astonishment, the man grinned ear to ear. "No doubt these few weeks have changed us. I don't remember you with these clothes, and as you see I got some new armor."

It was true. The older blonde had had put his hair down, and he seemed to have aged a few years. Yet, Naruko instantly recognized him. "Sensei!" She shouted, rushing to hug him. Kazama did his best to have her avoid getting hurt by his armor's blades, and succeeded. She kissed his cheek. "You're back!"

"I intend to stay this time," he replied, upon kissing her forehead and breaking the embrace. "How have you been doing?"

"It was completely crazy!" Naruko exclaimed. "We got into Kitsune's mind, fought his Kyuubi, trained for two months-"

"Two _months_? We were separated for three weeks at best. So the flow of time indeed varies between reali- wait, _we_?" Kazama frowned, and finally noticed Itachi. He briefly glared at the Uchiha. "I hope you aren't into parricide like the last Itachi I crossed path with."

"Nah, he's the Godaime Hokage, and very nice," Naruko interjected, making her sensei raise an eyebrow in amazement. "Honest. He's been helping me, Kitsune and Gaara ever since we arrived here."

"I did as much as I could," the Uchiha genius whispered, before staring at the mysterious woman. He frowned. "Who are you, may I ask?"

"Me? I'm your friendly neighborhood Izanami, and this is my trusty sidekick," she gave a tap to Kazama's back, "The _Shredder_. He kills ninjas and acts awesomely evil while doing so."

Much to Naruko's amusement, her teacher cringed, suddenly very uneasy. "Where did you find this armor, sensei? It's… scary. Kitsune won't like it."

"It was a poisoned gift," the teen muttered back. "How about we share our stories around a table? I'm exhausted."

"My parents will gladly welcome you," Itachi said, "And I will send a letter to the Fire Temple. Afterward, if it doesn't bother you, I would like you to visit somebody…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kazama<strong>_

He hated hospitals.

Not that he denied their usefulness. The blonde had even allocated funds to build some of them in Rain and sent Medics to treat civilians as well as ninjas. Yet, hospitals were… disturbing. They were a haven for sickness and silence… where death was familiar and a common occurrence. Walking through the corridors was like walking toward the afterlife in Kazama's humble opinion.

The overlord had been astonished when Naruko had explained him what happened in this realm. Kitsune's Kyuubi was dead, its former container had left to train as a monk in order to master his abilities and inner conflict, Naruko herself had lost her connection with her demon and had joined the Uchiha clan as an apprentice, and Gaara…

"Something bothers me, Itachi-san," he whispered, catching the Uchiha's attention. "Gaara. How could the Uzumaki chakra bring her back from the dead? I remember a woman using a Kinjutsu to revive a friend of mine, but it was apparently her personal technique. I admit I would like to learn how my mother could pull something like that off." Maybe was it similar to Nagato's own jutsu? After all, they both belonged to the same family. Or maybe Chiyo's jutsu had been spread in Naruko's reality?

Kazama found it ironic for the redhead to have been revived in two realities through the sacrifice of another.

"I did not understand myself at first," the Godaime replied softly, "That is until I performed some research on Gaara herself. She has a male twin in this universe, and Sarutobi handed me his genealogy tree." The man narrowed his eyes. "Kazama-san, what are the elements a Jinchuuriki must have?"

"Being able to hold back the Bijuu inside of them." Kazama frowned. "Is there another variable?"

"Kage choose Jinchuuriki among their families," Itachi explained, "In order to secure their loyalty. All of Konoha's demon vessels are related to the Hokage either through marriage or parentage, and Kumo's Jinchuuriki are adopted into the Raikage's households as siblings."

_So, I was chosen because my parents thought I would be loyal? _The Amekage snickered. "Gaara is the daughter of the Yondaime Kazekage, but what does it have to do with the Uzumaki?" _Unless… _"The red hair?"

"Yes. The Uzumaki, like the Uchiha and Hyuuga, had an inbreeding policy to preserve their natural abilities and family secrets. However, you can guess not _all _of them were happy with that. There have been many cases of Uzumaki fleeing their home to seek another, and Suna once upon a time possessed the largest community of exiles. Sasori's grandfather was such an individual, having decided to settle in Wind after eloping with a beautiful kunoichi called Chiyo and being kicked out of his home village. He changed his name by the same occasion."

Kazama suddenly laughed, much to Itachi's confusion. "How funny! I mean, this is so ironic, I can't believe I missed that!" Sasori, a descendant of the Uzumaki? That made them distant cousins… _I think I understand now why he took Chibaku as an apprentice and strived to find Uzumaki scrolls, _he pondered. _Perhaps __it was__ a need to get closer to his roots? But his Uzumaki blood had grown too thin for the scrolls to react to him... that sneaky man failed to mention that._

"The Yondaime Kazekage," Itachi continued, not understanding his ally's reaction, "Wanted a strong Jinchuuriki, one that would be absolutely loyal to him. He could only trust his family with that duty, and since he himself wasn't strong enough to support a Bijuu, especially since Suna's sealing capabilities was decades behind Konoha's and Kumo's… he decided to _breed _one. He married the daughter of an Uzumaki whose potential was latent, hopping their progeny would inherit both of their families' natural abilities. After two failures Gaara was born, and although he didn't have his father's powers, he had inherited the Uzumaki's potent chakra and red hair."

"And the Yondaime sealed the Shukaku inside his third-born and last child." When Kazama thought his opinion of the man couldn't sink lower… what kind of man would have children purely to create a weapon? _I guess Gaara and I share more than the fate of being a living sacrifice…_ "You think this is why my mother's technique worked?"

"Chakra is mostly spiritual in nature even though the physical state of one's body does influence it heavily," Itachi explained. "The wound inflicted by the Kyuubi happened in a mindscape, and was mental instead of physical. Kushina more or less did a spiritual transfusion, and since they were from the same family, it worked. I doubt it would have had they not been related." He took his breath. "Do you want to take her?"

_The idea crossed my mind. _"According to Naruko, Gaara is perfectly happy here, and I doubt Konoha would abandon a Jinchuuriki that practically dropped into their lap."

"Oh, Konoha will do what I tell it to do. It's a military dictatorship, not a parliamentary. As their direct superior, they will stay quiet." He shrugged. "Of course, the threat of the clans is a latent one, and if I disturb them too much, they will organize a strong opposition. When the First Hokage gave the Bijuu to foreign nations, it gave birth to the Inner Council… but since Gaara will not be used against us, I see no reason not to let her go. I have spent most of my term slowly reducing the powers of our… oligarchy."

"I have nothing to offer her but pain, blood and the company of people she does not remember anymore." Kazama was favorably impressed with this Itachi. Obviously, he was the kind of leader that would teach Konoha respect. "You on the other hand, are able to make sure she lives a good, undisturbed life, as long as you keep Oto and Akatsuki away…"

"I am discussing with other Kage to get rid of both. The information you gave us will be invaluable in our future clashes."

"I will gladly help you deal with your problems, once I have gathered enough resources. It would be a pleasure to make the threat of the clans' _nonexistent _instead of _latent_…"

"It would involve bloodshed," Itachi interjected, "And _my_ own clan was very close of being wiped out thanks to this kind of thinking. I can do without such extreme measures. With the support of my clan and Sarutobi, I can progressively reduce their power without resorting to strength. Taking one of Hiashi's daughters as my wife, once she comes of age, would secure internal peace for a great deal of time."

_Itachi and Hinata? _Kazama chuckled, finding the prospect humorous. "I see. If you ever want to take my offer, it is still on the table."

"I doubt I will take it." The Hokage glanced at the blonde. "Now, it is your time to satisfy my curiosity."

Kazama instantly guessed. "Izanami."

He had understood the second Itachi had introduced him to his mom. Yes, she was twenty years older than Izanami herself. Yes, she had started to get white hair, and her looks were leaving her. But he would have to be _blind_ not to notice the resemblance. His masked friend's slight uneasiness around Mikoto confirmed his doubts.

That, _and _the brief release of intense killing intent she let go wild around Fugaku. Fortunately, she kept it under control before the man noticed. _Or perhaps did he notice, but pretended not to, _Kazama guessed.

Itachi nodded. "I do not need to see her face to guess who she is. The Sharingan is a precious tool for analysis. The way she holds herself, the body's proportions, even the way she reacts to surprise… everything matches."

"I asked her about Sasuke, and she had no idea who I was talking of… but I forgot he was the second born, and that according to the timeline, he couldn't have been born yet." Kazama sometimes wondered how could he be so oblivious. His travels had given him insight, maturity, and made him less foolish, but apparently, some elements from his old self remained.

_**I could easily boost your intelligence, if you let me do it.**_

_I will pass on giving you more access to my brain, _he snorted inwardly. _How long will the breach stand?_

_**As long as you wish. With practice, you will be able to open them at will, but right now, you do not have enough control over the essence to open portals in quick succession. I suggest waiting a bit before opening a new gate.**_

_And the timer-seal?_

_**Obsolete. With me supporting you, we can use as much essence as we need. With some time, our psychic control over the essence will be so perfect we will be able to do whatever we want with it, whenever we want.**_

"It doesn't matter who she is. Everybody has secrets, and it not my right to look into them."

"At least she makes no secret she wants to get into your pants."

Kazama blushed slightly, surprised by the blunt sentence. "She kissed me," he admitted. _And groped my ass, _he almost added. _Although I'm pretty sure it was for the fun… maybe._

"I am certain she would do much more if you let her," Itachi replied, his serene tone unable to hide his amusement. "She keeps staring at your back when you aren't looking, and she seems fond of physical proximity. Her body language _screams _her intentions, for Kami's sake."

"She was never… _subtle _about them."

It had taken Kazama a week and a half to truly stabilize the Land of Rain, clones helped facilitate the process. Madara, Konan, and Izanami had proven themselves to be a boon to his efforts, although they never all agreed on the measures to take. It was left to Kazama to hear their suggestions and chose the one to follow.

Although Izanami was the perfect picture of a professional in public, behind closed doors, their discussions had been nothing more than a long, _long _string of passes at him, euphemisms, winks, and her breaking into his bedroom by phasing through the walls. "She once said 'it's cold in my bed all alone', while sitting on mine."

"Standard seduction procedure. What did you reply?"

"That she should get a thicker blanket." Itachi glanced at him. "It was too hard to resist. And she laughed and said 'I was thinking more about-"

"Stop talking," the Hokage cut in, his palm on his face. "I don't want to know. If she's really my… this is disturbing." He snickered. "Some Kunoichi are trained in the arts of seduction, and this is pretty much a textbook case. Since most men have a second brain between their legs that overrides the first, it tends to work."

"She _is _attractive," Kazama admitted, "And a good friend, so I wouldn't mind a romance. But… I have reasons not to give in to her advances."

"This is your problem and I can only give you advice, but please keep in mind Kazama-san, Uchiha have egos. The way you are ignoring her is probably a harsh blow to her pride," Itachi whispered, "You should confront her on the subject before it gets out of hand. Uchiha women can be very spiteful when they wish to be."

"I will take the advice to heart, but can we focus on my Uchiha counterpart that dropped into your council room instead of my relationship problems?" Kazama suggested.

The Hokage opened a door on his right. "Tsunade should have finished curing hi-" He blinked.

Kazama's jaw dropped.

"And the woodpecker said, Kami, bless my soul!" Tsunade Senju sang, a bottle of sake in hand and obviously drunk.

"Slow it down, slow it down, slow it down!" Her sake buddy added, red-faced and stinking of alcohol.

As much as Kazama found the scene too ridiculous to believe, he instantly recognized himself in the black-haired man in front of him. The Uchiha had been given a purple jacket and a mandarin hat to wear, and had sandals. He had a black band over the removed left eye, and the right eye was an activated fully matured Sharingan. He had whiskers on his face, ghostly pale skin, and short spiky black hair.

"Oh, we've got company!" The Uchiha Naruto joked upon noticing the two astonished newcomers. "Hey, Itachi, aren't you supposed to be… well, dead? And… oh shit that's the butterfly man!"

"What?" was the one word Kazama managed to say, as the drunk adopted a fighting stance. "Wait, I don't know who you're talking about."

"Ah… ah, I see," the Uchiha had an eureka moment. "I'm in an alternate universe! And I thought he was fucking with me… you know, the computer guy."

Kazama had no idea who he was talking about, and turned to face Itachi. "We wait until both are able to speak coherently?"

"It would be wise."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kitsune<strong>_

"I will pray for your safety, Kitsune-san," Chiriku told him, standing in front of the temple's gates. "Remember the lessons I taught you. The path to enlightenment is a long and hard one, but if you seek peace of the mind, the third eye shall guide you and cast down all illusions."

"I promise, I will not falter, Chiriku-san," Kitsune nodded deeply, Samehada imitating him. "I have learned so much under your tutelage, I can no longer recognize myself."

It was both metaphorical and physical. Kitsune had shaved his head bald, and was wearing white and red monk robes, without sandals. He was carrying a golden monk staff on his back, and had learned to use it well.

"You have made quick progress," Chiriku agreed. "Yet, you still have much to learn. If you ever need guidance, my spirit will answer your questions through astral projection. Do not hesitate, for I will gladly lend you a hand, as one must help those in need."

"I hope to be able to return here and finish my monk training," Kitsune said, before bowing. "Goodbye, Chiriku-san."

"Goodbye, Kitsune-san," the elder monk replied with a deeper bow. "May you find your way in the dark."

As the young boy descended the stairs, the temple's doors closing behind him, Samehada squealed. "Yes, we will travel _that_ way," her partner agreed, focusing.

The transformation into a werefox wasn't painful anymore. Through mental training, Kitsune had been able to master it. Claws and fangs formed, an orange fur grew, and the monk's senses were multiplied. Yet, nothing remained of the beast's previous bloodlust. The blonde had achieved perfect control over his new shape. Thankfully, the monk robes were tailored to fit the animal form without shredding. "Now, Samehada."

The creature nodded, and started fusing with her partner. Chiriku had suggested if Samehada could merge with a human, then certainly, she could become one with a fox. The result had been surprising.

Kitsune grew in size, and especially in length. While he kept his fur, scales covered his belly and throat, while a reptilian tail replaced the fox's. His neck elongated, two small horns developed on the back of his skull, and his muzzle became a cross between a mammal's and a lizard's. His eyes became golden, and a yellow beard grew under his jaw.

All in all, Kitsune looked like a stereotypical orange eastern dragon, clad in monk robes.

_Although I do not have any special powers, _he thought. _Chiriku told me the dragon was the king of both terrestrial and aquatic animals, keeping all the advantages, and none of the flaws. It was a creature able to command to all elements, and who could summon thunder at will. I simply have the _appearance _of one, nothing more._

However, the new form was incredibly strong, agile, and resilient. His senses were so impressive he could see as good as a hawk, hunt by scent like a wolf, swim like a shark, and hear like a bunny. _And _he could still carry his staff on his back.

_Happiness, _Samehada communicated through an emotion. The creature wasn't human enough to have complex thoughts, but could communicate through feelings. _Friend?_

_We will see them again, _Kitsune thought, upon racing through the forest faster than the wind itself. At this speed, he would reach Konoha within hours.

On his way, he picked the scent of fresh blood. Human blood.

_Danger, _Samehada conveyed.

Kitsune nodded, carefully approaching the source of the scent. It happened to be a stinking pond, with three cadavers lying nearby. Examining them, the were-dragon couldn't recognize them, some scavengers having half-devoured them. However, they were wearing Konoha's headbands. A blonde girl was lying nearby in her own blood, still breathing. _A team, _the monk thought, _an adult, three genin. What happened-_

_Danger! _Samehada all but screamed.

Kitsune promptly leapt to his left side, as something jumped out of the pond and almost smashed him. Two more creatures emerged from the water, none having scent. "Not the hunter," one hissed with an inhuman voice. "A prey."

The trio was vaguely humanoid, and that was all. The creature had white flesh, green hair and eyes, small horns over their skin, and fangs and claws instead of teeth and fingers. Kitsune's senses didn't even register them as humans, but as being closer to plants than anything else. "What are you?" the blonde asked, his voice deep and bestial.

"I wonder if he tastes good," one licked its lips, "Must be better than those humans."

"Idiot," another screeched. "We must bring it to father."

"He's already after the Uzumaki spawn," the third one snapped. "Let's eat it."

"You killed those people?" Kitsune asked angrily, adopting a feral stance. "For food?"

"Nah, for fun," one corrected, grinning like a maniac. "Now it's your t-"

The wind was cut in half, and so was the creature's neck.

It all happened in a blink. A black metal monster emerged from the bushes, jumped, and stomped on the second member of the trio, killing it by crushing its head. Without wasting any time, the newcomer unsheathed a long katana.

The last monster seized the still living bloodied girl, turning her into a shield. "Back down, hunter, or she gets it-"

The katana sliced _both_ the girl and him in half. The corpses and fell, and then, the swordsman faced Kitsune.

The monk had never seen a samurai before, but this person was obviously one. He was wearing a black armor of pure steel, a horned helm, and a wolf-shaped mask of silver over his face, revealing only his blue eyes. He was carrying two katana, one sheathed against his belt, the second in the hands. The blade was…

The blade was radiating _killing intent_, as if it was intelligent enough to desire to harm. It _wanted _to maim and murder.

"What are you, creature? Where are we?" The murderer asked, with a deep, imperial tone. "Answer, or your demise shall not be swift."

"I don't want to fight," Kitsune said, "I am… I come from Konoha, we're in the Land of Fire."

"Lies," The samurai replied softly, his sword exuding bloodlust. "Konohagakure is no more. Zetsu's swarm overwhelmed it and made it its largest nest. As for Fire, I was in Mist one hour ago. Surely you jest. Answer truthfully."

"I am," Kitsune replied, adopting his human form, Samehada remaining at his side. The samurai stared at the creature, his eyes narrowing. "I can show you, if you do not believe me." Hopefully, he wouldn't strike the werefox down…

The armored man glanced at him, then at Samehada. "The swordfish follows only those who pursue truth," he whispered, sheathing his katana, the bloodlust vanishing. "I see you carry the staff of a monk. Are you an acolyte from the mountain temples? A wandering survivor, fighting the swarm?"

"I do not know what you are talking about," he replied. "I am a monk-in-training of the Fire Temple."

The samurai snickered. "A temple destroyed, its citizens enslaved. Yet, no liar shall ever wield the Samehada. Bring me to this Konohagakure, and if it is a nest, you shall pay for your trick with your head."

Kitsune reluctantly nodded, unwilling to disobey the mysterious individual. He had little doubt he would be killed in a blink if he tried fighting. "I am Kitsune Arashi."

"I am called the Dark Wolf," the man shot back, before examining the corpses. "A squad. Zetsu must have switched hosts."

"What were these… monsters?" Kitsune asked. "And who is this Zetsu? Why did you… why did you kill the girl?"

"Zetsu is the father of millions, and these," he pointed a finger at the three dead humanoids, "Are his spawns. They are vile parasites that take over other creatures' bodies and use them as their own. Turning them into meat puppets, or toys. Their progenitor probably sensed their demise, and will run like the coward he is. He is a red beast, a cruel disease whose only goal is to expand his territory. I was hunting him in Mist, after I murdered his host. He and three of his children opened a portal of light to flee from my blade, and I followed them through it in pursuit. And now, I am here."

He raised his head and glanced at the corpses. "As for the girl, she should be glad, to have given her life for a great cause. Leave the dead where they fall, Dragonborn."

There was something frightening in the casual tone the man employed. "A portal of light?" Kitsune narrowed his eyes in suspicions and dread. "Maybe… I think my friends will be able to help you."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Haku<strong>_

"I am Obi-Wan Kenobi. Happy to meet you again, Princess Leia. You too, C-3PO. Sasori must be Han Solo… but where is Luke Skywalker, I mean, Chibaku?"

Haku's eyes widened, and then she put her palm over her face. The Feral Gale, the Naruto from a distant multiverse they had crossed paths with months ago, was sporting a long brown cloak, stepping out of a portal of light, when the group was preparing Eon. "I did not understand a word you just said."

"Well, you send a probe looking like R2-D2, with a holographic message of a female asking for help, and you apparently have a robot butler, so…" He paused before giving up. "Eh. Let's just say that you'll figure it out once you start travelling to worlds that have nothing to do with us. Just be glad we saw the message before Ero-ni started to use his can opener on it. The things that guy can do with one of those things is nothing short of traumatizing." The young blonde shivered as if recalling something he'd rather not, and then turned to face Tobirama and Kabuto, completely ignoring their bewildered expressions. "Kuebiko and… Fukuro, right? Glad to meet ya… and you too, robot butler."

"… I'm not a butler," Chibaku interjected, "I am… Chibaku, the walking _toaster_. I kill bread like no one else."

"… Really? Chibaku!? Dude!" The Feral Gale raised an eyebrow, astonished. "How did you… did you become a cyborg or something? What the hell happened?"

"Short story, I met a crazy clone of me, we talked, and we decided to be best friends forever," Chibaku finished with healthy sarcasm.

"Sounds fairly standard and believable." The newcomer nodded understandingly with so much sincerity that the others there had trouble telling if he was joking or not. "By the way, thanks for inviting me on this little adventure of yours. I needed a break from getting killed or spiritually broken by Ero-ni repeatedly."

"Sounds like your master trains you pretty hard. If what I've heard about your skills is true, then you must have quite the schedule." Fukuro chuckled amusedly.

"Don't make me repeat myself please. I'm still trying to suppress the memories and nightmares that will haunt my very existence for years to come." The Feral Gale smiled peacefully, causing the scientist and several others in the room to develop a small shiver up their spines. Ignoring their changed disposition, the newcomer looked around at the faces he knew with eyes that betrayed his shrewdness and experience. "You have all changed since the last time we met."

The missing-kunoichi couldn't agree more. Two weeks under Kuebiko's tutelage had allowed Haku to progress at an incredible speed. Zabuza-sama himself would be proud. As for Chibaku… his robotic body had been upgraded to the point he could probably rival Yagura in terms of sheer destructive potential.

Sasori himself had received upgrades, although he was physically identical to his former puppet body. The Yuki didn't have intimate knowledge of the exact weaponry, but no doubt the puppet master would make good use of it.

"I was told you were friends with entities powerful enough to solve our little space collapsing problem," Kuebiko cut in. "I assume they couldn't come?"

"No," the blonde shook his head. "Not for a lack of trying mind you, but they're concerned a direct intervention might anger the local pantheon and cause bigger problems for everyone. They suggested you contact _them_, through things like the Dead Demon Consuming Seal geared to them instead of the Shinigami." The Konoha-nin grinned. "Since I am not a foreign deity though, I'm another story."

Sasori narrowed his eyes. "What kind of help can you provide?"

The newcomer shrugged, not at all intimidated by the man. "Well, other than the facts that I know more about how the multiverse works in theory than you do and I'm pretty much the greatest wind style ninjutsu user you will ever lay eyes on regardless of what world you end up in, I have knowledge of some sealing and space-time ninjutsu that you might find useful. I'm only ok in the former, and I have next to no skill in the latter, not for a lack of trying mind you, but I still have resources that can be used to get around these magnificently glaring shortcomings of mine. I might be able to help stall the collapse or teleport populations to _my_ home multiverse if things go down to hell. And I can also locate Kazama. Remember the timer Shadow added to his seal? Well, it had a second, hidden purpose." The Feral Gale smirked. "A tracking device. With a few seals and your machinery…"

"It won't be necessary," Kabuto replied serenely. "He caused a rift in space a few hours ago. We were about to track him down when you interrupted us."

The Feral Gale said nothing for several minutes. "So… my foreshadowing was for nothing?"

"More or less," Chibaku nodded.

"Meanie." The visitor pouted childishly with a cloud of depression hovering over him.

"Not at all," Fukuro countered. "Omoikane is already in Kazama's homeworld, studying the rifts. You and Kuebiko will follow soon. I have a spare suit of armor, _mine_, to give you, but it will take a while to instruct you on how it works. Haku-san, Chibaku-san and Sasori-san will use Eon to find Kazama in the meantime. By remote control, I will be able to transport them to your location next, and we will close the breaches together."

"Nice plan…" The Feral Gale grinned, already out of his funk. "Can't wait to see this armor. Does it have lasers? Lasers are shiny and made of awesome… unless they're shooting at me. I've had lasers shoot at me before, and let me tell you, it sucks."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kakashi<strong>_

Yakushi's home was a little apartment on the second floor of a grey building. The stairs were dirty and ruined, clearly showing the woman wasn't exactly the richest person in town.

Her lair was rather small, composed of a kitchen, two main rooms, and a bathroom. She was quick to invite them to take a cup of tea around an old table of wood. Although the place was small, there was a warm atmosphere in the household, and Kakashi felt at peace.

"This is my son, Kabuto," Nono said, once she presented them a little boy with glasses. "He's shy, but he is a nice person. Could you bring them chairs, honey?"

The little tea ceremony started tranquilly, until Nono bit her lip guiltily. "You should hide your headbands. The Akatsuki you met are merely a civilian police force, but… there is a division among them tasked to capture or kill the _'enemies of the state'_. If you haven't received a passport, you might be seen as invaders and dealt with accordingly. Some of them opt for the _'murder first and ask questions later'_ policy."

"It's expected," Mei replied. "In times of revolutions, loyalists and foreign agents can undermine the new government's efforts. And Ame has many reasons to resent the great nations." Obviously, she was familiar with the process. "Old hates always awaken when given the means to express themselves."

"Rain was a bad place to live." Nono glanced at her son. "Most of its inhabitants are war refugees, and the constant conflicts and isolationist policies ruined the land. While the Daimyo and his court were safe, crime was rampant, bandits roamed the countryside, and civilians and ninjas alike suffered. Under the despair, the country was boiling with rage and frustration. The new leader opened the can and channeled this wrath to his profit."

"What can you tell us about him?" Kakashi asked, eager to learn what was true and wrong in this crazed land. Her description of Ame sounded like a police state, and he was unwilling to believe Kazama had anything to do with it.

She brought the cup of tea to her lips. "Hanzo called him Kazama Arashi," the trio frowned together, "We don't know from where he comes. He just popped up out of nowhere two weeks ago and executed Hanzo and the Yondaime Mizukage while the latter was on a diplomatic trip here. Afterward, he took over."

Nono placed the cup on the table, and observed her reflection in the liquid. "Most thought he was a second Hanzo. We had seen that time and time again… until he had the Daimyo executed a few days after his takeover. Then he declared himself a god, and ordered, and carried out mostly on his own, a violent political purge. That's when Ame understood the time to rise had come and eagerly supported his coup d'etat."

"Have you seen him?" Yugito asked. "In person?"

"He inspected the city a few days ago. Thousands came to see him… I will remember the moment all my life." She frowned. "He was wearing a Samurai armor, and… he was quite charismatic. He stood on a stage and made a speech, with expressions like _'the brand new era'_, the _'Despotism of Justice'_, or _'an amazing future'_. He said he had been sent by heavens to _'show mankind the light' _and that he wasn't a conqueror, but a _'guide, tasked to purge evil from all corners of the land, and to build a better tomorrow'._He used techniques to start fires around him, as if he was indeed starlight embodied, all while preaching hate for _'the wicked and the undesirables'_. But the true fires he fueled were those of revenge and wrath."

"The citizenship had suffered so long, it is out for the blood of those who wronged them," Mei guessed, narrowing her eyes. "With revolution, comes the exacting of revenge and executions. You are lucky it is at least somewhat regulated, or it might go out of hand easily."

"It would be far worse if the government wasn't controlling the phenomenon," Nono agreed sadly. "I think Kazama-sama was like many of us, a victim. And like all victims, he feels justified in lashing out at his tormentors. He gave many the ability to do the same."

She shrugged. "But regardless if he rules with an iron fist, overall, Ame is getting better. The country is so ruined only a powerful authority will be able to revive it… and so far, Kazama-sama has been able to restore order and security, and the situation is improving. For the first time since it started treating people, the hospital where I'm working has received funding from the government and additional help. Criminality is crippled, missing-nins and bandits are being wiped out, and famine is slowly being dealt with. Our new leader's methods are extremes, but they get results."

"I can't believe the teen I fought side by side with for such a long time turned into a benevolent despot in such a short time," Kakashi whispered, making Nono raise an eyebrow. "It feels wrong."

"I may have something to do with it."

Kakashi's blood froze in his veins, and Yugito jumped to her feet. Traversing the apartment's door like an intangible ghost, a masked man walked into view. "I did not believe the reports when they reached me. But I was curious and had to investigate it for myself to see if it was true. What a pleasant surprise."

Tsukiyomi chuckled. "I guess greetings are in order, dear old foes."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kazama<strong>_

"Long time no see, Kitsune," Kazama spoke warmly, upon hugging his friend. "Welcome back."

"Happy to see you again, Kazama-senpai," the boy replied with a smile. He had shaved his head, and according to his outfit, Itachi's words about the kid having trained in a monk temple were confirmed. If his body language was to be believed, he had found renewed self-confidence there. Samehada barked happily and licked the Amekage's iron gauntlet. "She is happy as well."

"I can see that." As Naruko embraced Kitsune warmly, Kazama's eyes drifted to his friend's traveling companion. The black samurai had carried four maimed corpses to Konoha, dragging them with ropes, an act that attracted the attention of the Uchiha police force. The man had been within an inch of being arrested when they realized the bodies belonged to ninjas of their land, until Kitsune explained them the situation.

And here they were, in one of the police station's isolation rooms, with Itachi questioning the samurai in front of the group. Only Izanami wasn't present, being busy interrogating the mysterious one-eyed Uchiha.

_Zetsu… Madara spoke of him once, _Kazama remembered, when the black samurai dropped the name. _I will have to bring it up to him._

"It appears you spoke the truth, Dragonborn." The 'Dark Wolf' glanced at the people surrounding him, and at the Uchiha watching over his sheathed blades. If he was disturbed, he hid it well. In fact, he had expressly refused to take off his helm, even when being threatened. "Fascinating, and I see no illusion. Konohagakure was destroyed, I witnessed the ruins with my own eyes. What is this sorcery?"

"Each choice brings about the birth of a new universe, similar to the first, yet different," Kazama explained, wondering what to make of his story. _How can he have traveled from one world to another?_

_**Perhaps Kuebiko's group doesn't have the monopoly over multiversal journeys anymore.**_

The samurai locked eyes with Kazama, the latter finding the former's gaze incredibly familiar. "You wear the armor of a follower of the Bushido, and carry a blade… yet the Dragonborn behaves as if you were his mentor. Are you a warrior? A daimyo?"

"I am a daimyo _and _a warrior, yes." Naruko and Kitsune glanced at him in astonishment. "Are you sworn to another?"

The Dark Wolf shook his head, and bowed deeply. "I am ashamed not to have treated you with the respect inherent to your position, Daimyo-sama. I am, unfortunately, a ronin, a samurai without master. My previous master, the last lord of the Land of Iron, denied me the right to commit Seppuku and tasked me to find another as atonement. So far, I have been unlucky."

_Seppuku? _Kazama had been taught of the samurai way by some of these warriors, who had sworn fealty to him when he took over the Rain. Due to their philosophy and mindset, they were naturally drawn to a strong authority and the Amekage's policies. Since the Land of Iron was and would remain a neutral nation, many samurai asked to join his crusade and for the right to fight in his name.

Their code, the Bushido, placed devotion to one lord above everything else. A samurai was expected to commit Seppuku, ritual suicide, upon the loss of one's lord or after committing a capital offense. Those who refused were called ronin and suffered great shame. Seppuku, or virtuous obedience to another lord, was the only way for them to find their lost honor again.

To have been denied the right to commit Seppuku was a grave offense and insult in their book. Samurai preferred to die with honor than living shamed. "Why were you denied the right of Seppuku, may I ask?"

"For failing my master against the swarm," the Dark Wolf replied. "I am sorry, but the event is a source of great shame for me, and I do not want to bother you with it."

"If so, I respect your silence." Kazama crossed his arms. "You speak of the swarm and Zetsu, terms that mean nothing in this realm. Would you mind explaining yourself?"

"The swarm is an army of creatures who overwhelmed the Ninja Alliance in the fourth ninja war, two years ago," the Dark Wolf continued. "They are parasite monsters that live by overtaking the bodies of others and enslaving them. In a matter of months, they destroyed civilization, and last year, they overtook the Land of Iron, mankind's last bastion. The remaining free people live in the western mountains. The swarm is unable to invade them due to the cold temperatures, which they loath. Some individuals, naturally immune to the swarm's body control, have decided to continue the fight individually to retake the mainland. I am one of those people."

_So this world suffered some kind of apocalypse… _"And Zetsu?"

"The swarm's leader, alpha and omega, the strongest, the fastest, the smartest, the cruelest. His flesh is red instead of white, and the entirety of the swarm descends from him, yet never equaled him. He has sworn to never stop expanding his horde until all of life was one with the swarm. I was hunting him down when he escaped through a portal of light. If he is hiding in this realm, he must be neutralized."

"I will take care of this problem, as soon as the squad is identified," Itachi spoke. "Right now, the corpses are unrecognizable, and their ninja cards haven't been found."

"As for your world," Kazama cut in, "I might have the means and allies needed to retake it back. I still have a few people to pick up and minor problems to solve first, but afterward…" After all, what better way to start his multiversal campaign than by freeing an oppressed world?

The Dark Wolf bowed deeply. "Your generosity honors me, Daimyo-sama. May I follow you to your land? I would be interested in seeing it."

"Then you shall accompany us," Kazama spoke, before rising up and bowing slightly. "If you'll excuse me, I have to speak with the newest addition to our team roster."

He found the Uchiha Naruto in another room, chatting with Izanami. "-and that's how I was conceived."

"That's… _disgusting_," the masked woman seethed, sitting on a desk. "He cheated on his girlfriend with her best friend? And then abandoned Mikoto upon finding she was pregnant?"

"Yep. Not that it was unusual," the man rolled his eyes. "He had bastards with half of the women of Konoha, and don't get me started on the ones in foreign nations. I lived most of my life with half-sisters and half-brothers, from either parent's side… but especially the dad's side. To be honest, my dad wasn't a dad, he was a sperm donor. He would get any woman he wanted, be they married or not. I think even Tsunade ended up in his bed at one point."

He shrugged. "Kushina went insane due to her lover's behavior, and released the Kyuubi in revenge. The fox promptly killed the Yondaime and proceeded to destroy Konoha, honoring its host's dying wish of taking the rotten place down in her misery. Jiraiya the Sannin was fortunately present to save the day and sealed the creature in the one best fit to contain it: me, an Uchiha newborn."

"It's a tragic story," Izanami nodded. "What happened next?"

"Oh, you know, angst, broodiness, hard family relationships, a homicidal brother trying to steal my eyes, the usual Uchiha traditions," the man joked. "In the end, I crossed path with a were butterfly from another dimension and got my ass kicked pretty bad." He noticed Kazama, and pointed a finger at him. "Kinda like this guy, only without the armor and a flamboyant, volcanic temper. He gave me the ass kicking of the century."

"I see you have no more alcohol in your system…" The Amekage noted. "I'm Kazama Arashi. What's your name?"

"Karasu. Karasu Uchiha. Got called this way 'cause a three-legged crow was watching my birth. Nice to meet ya." The Uchiha shrugged. "You aren't gonna kill me, right? The last guy I saw with your face was working with Creepymaru and fucking insane."

"Creepymaru?" Kazama narrowed his eyes. "You said you met another counterpart of mine?"

"Creepymaru is the pet nickname I gave to Orochimaru. Honestly, the guy is disturbing." Karasu cracked his neck. "I was traveling on the roads when a 'counterpart' of you tracked me down, proudly wearing the Oto-headband, and gave me a 'you can join the dark side and fight with Orochimaru-sama' speech. I told him to get lost and… he didn't take it well."

_So he faced another Naruto Uzumaki..._ The revelation didn't mesh well with the Amekage, especially since the man he fought was working with Orochimaru. _I will have to investigate this later._

"What happened next?" Izanami asked.

"I woke on an operation table in some complex. Four idiots had removed one of my eyes and were about to take the second. I taught them a lesson, and they ran away, looking to contact their boss."

"Wait," Izanami cut in. "You beat four ninja _after _having been beaten half-dead and one of your eyes was removed?"

"I'm that good." The Uchiha smirked. "Afterwards, some guy called Vajra remotely hijacked the room's computers and explained to me that he had messed with the anesthesia doses to make me awake sooner. Since I was in a pretty bad shape to begin with, he showed me a jutsu that would teleport me away, and tasked me to give an important info to this guy called Kuebiko. I attempted the jutsu, messed up in the hand seals at the very end, and here I am."

"Kuebiko?" The Amekage blinked. "Armored man? Nidaime Hokage?"

"It fits the description I was given. Do you know him?" Karasu scratched the back of his head. "It's not that I don't trust you to transmit the message, but since I don't know you enough, I would prefer doing it in person."

"I intend to meet him soon, you can follow," Kazama smiled. "You are welcome among us. We're a ragtag clan, but many of us are Jinchuuriki. You will fit in fine, I'm sure."

"Sounds like a nice plan." Karasu smirked, glanced at Izanami, and then at the Amekage. "Since I don't need the Sharingan to see you want to spend some time together alone, I will take my leave. And if you're doing it on the desk, do try to ignore my cheering."

"Wait, what is that supposed to mea-" The Uchiha closed the door behind him, leaving Kazama's sentence hanging. "Strange guy."

"That can apply to all of us." Izanami pulled her mask away, revealing her beautiful face. "You should get more sleep, or take a break. You have spent your time either running Ame, or training with Madara. A day off might be good."

That was only the top of the iceberg. Kazama was taking… other lessons, from something far more dangerous than Madara himself, with far more disturbing results. _I doubt she would take well learning about your… arts._

_**Power is neither good nor evil, it simply is. Do not be bothered by its applications. This art will save your life in time.**_

"Anyway," Izanami smiled. "You wanted to speak with me?"

"I…" The blonde struggled to find his next words. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For bringing you to this place, I didn't know…" He guiltily bit his lip. "It must have brought back bad memories."

Izanami shook her head. "Mikoto Uchiha died long ago," she said, confirming his suspicions. "And with her, her former life. You couldn't know what happened here. I am myself pretty astonished by the differences. It's hard to imagine a place where my son was made Hokage. And let's not talk of this Karasu." She gave a disgusted snort. "How could a Mikoto, _any _Mikoto, love Namikaze and bear his child, I will never understand."

The venomous tone caused her friend to blink. "You do not seem fond of him."

"No. Why should I be? He never lifted a finger to help me. Only Kushina tried to help me when I needed assistance, and she continues trying to help me even now when she has nothing to gain."

"The person she was talking about… he's Itachi, isn't he?" Her saddened expression answered the question. "If you wish, I can take him. With the means I have as Rain's ruler, I could easily have him brought to you."

"And then what?" She replied. "Tell him his mother is a monster and assassin working with Madara? Kushina will be a loving, good mother to him, and in spite of his heritage he will surely grow to become a respected Shinobi. That is much more than what I can offer. It would be better if he just forgot I ever existed."

"Do not say that," Kazama scowled. "You're no monster, and you have the right to get a shot at happiness. You are not a nobody, a ghost, or whatever, you're my friend and I want to help you. And to be honest, my clan is composed of misfits, outcasts, and marginalized individuals. Your son would be welcomed with open arms, and when a cure to your condition will be found-"

"He's not even four, Kazama," Izanami shot back. "Would you take a four-year old child on your travels? Especially since one of our enemies wouldn't hesitate using him as leverage against us? Inside the walls of Konoha, he is safe. With your team, he will be constantly threatened. I refuse to be selfish and take that risk."

"Then… then I'm sorry." Kazama crossed his arms and bowed his head in thought. "There has to be a solution."

"Sometimes, there is no third option, and both choices are as bad as the other." She seized his hand with her own. "Since we are on the subject of our future, maybe could we-"

"No," he said, freeing himself from her grip. "I… I am sorry, but I can't do that."

The woman scowled. "No?" she repeated. "What do you mean by _no_?"

Kazama actually blinked at the angry tone. Izanami tightened her jaw, furiously glaring at him. "_Why_? Why no? I'm not good enough for you? Everybody else told me yes, and I never _wanted _any of them in the first place! So why, when I _want _to have a relationship with someone, he has to say _no_?"

Everybody _else_? "You misunderst-"

"I thought it could work!" She snapped venomously. "We're both so similar… we both lost everything, we're both lost in this world, we're both victims of Madara, and we're both suffering from unique conditions… I thought a relationship between us could actually _work_. That maybe we could get some happiness together." She glanced away. "I was mistaken obviously. But _why_?"

"Because I don't want to hurt you."

Silence followed. In the end, the woman locked eyes with him in incomprehension. "Hurt me?"

"You are a nice person, and you deserve better than what I can offer," he said. "Let's be honest. I'm not a knight in shining armor. My history is written in blood, and the way I see it, it will end bloodily as well. I'm… I'm not the one that can give you happiness. I wouldn't mind a relationship with you… but you have obviously suffered enough, and I have… issues. I do not believe I can be a good partner. "

He placed his hands on her shoulders. "You are kind, beautiful, and wise. You can get any man you want, find one who will treat you well and with whom you will be able to spend the rest of your days, once I find a way to get rid of your immortality. Me? I cannot guaranty you will find any happiness with me. Madara will probably try to get rid of you one way or another if he discovers we are involved. Already being a friend of mine is a danger in itself. I cannot ask for mor-"

"Kazama," she cut in. "As long as Madara lives, your loved ones will be in danger. Don't you get it? Madara sees friendship as a _weakness_, a _burden _that gets in the way of one's potential. He's obsessed with turning you into his successor. How long do you think your friends will last, until they suffer an _'accident' _engineered by your mentor? In his mind, they are weighing you down, and since Madara cannot do wrong," the tone was very, very sarcastic, "He will think he's doing you a favor, and that since they might betray you for some absurd reason, he will justify it as a preemptive strike. You can have him promise to end your feud, but your family won't be safe until your mentor is dead."

As much as the blonde hated to admit it, she had a point. He couldn't imagine what the Uchiha lord might do, and since he was a chronic liar… Izanami continued on her reasoning. "And that's just the long term. Out of fear for what may happen to your loved ones, you will drive them away one by one, until you can only depend on Madara. You will be at his mercy, and he will slowly, but surely, turn you into his reflection in a mirror. Cutting all your bonds is stupid."

"And what," he asked, "Do you suggest?"

"You continue as you do: keep him close, learn his weaknesses and everything he can teach you. Gather your friends and those who will stand by your side, and overpower him." She pushed back his arms, and put her own around his neck. "None of this prevents us from getting closer."

"I…" The world wanderer flushed as red as a tomato. "I know nothing of romantic relationships. I've never been on a date, never got past a kiss and-"

"I will teach you," she brushed off his worries. "See this as a friendship with added benefits, for us both."

Kazama locked eyes with her, and in spite of his uneasiness, managed to keep a stoic expression. "I… you will be disappointed. Many times."

"Where is your usual confidence?" Izanami asked, her forehead touching his own. The contact made him bite his lip, much to her ever-lasting enjoyment. "You're adorable when you're shy… and no, I don't think I will be disappointed. So…" She raised an eyebrow. "Is it a yes?"

Kazama hesitated an instant, deciding whether or not to accept. The two of them, together? The thought was surprising, yet… quite enticing. After an entire minute of silence, with Izanami's gaze getting harder to hold, he finally reached a conclusion.

"We can try."

The woman beamed with genuine happiness, and, although confused and worried, Kazama felt better as a result. "However, I… I don't know where to begin, or-"

Izanami hugged him, cutting his sentence short. "Start by shutting up, and enjoy the moment."

Kazama said nothing, and did as he was told.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Naruko<strong>_

"Farewell everyone," Naruko saluted her gathered friends. "I hope to see you again one day!"

"I wish you a good journey, Naruko," Mikoto told her. "Remember the lessons I taught you. Especially on Genjutsu."

"Keep practicing your smokescreen combo," Fugaku added. "Be careful on your way. You too, Kitsune."

"I promise," the boy bowed deeply. "Thank you for your help, all of you. I wouldn't be here without you."

"Naruko, Kitsune, should you ever need my help, you simply have to contact me," Itachi affirmed. "Keep faith in your strength, and especially in yourself. The road might be long and difficult, but endurance is the secret of survival. And Naruko…" He put a hand on her shoulder. "Never forget our conversation on your… condition."

"I will." Inwardly, the girl didn't know how to react. Should she warn everyone? Ask Yugito, and Yugito alone, if she had a way of solving the problem? Perhaps speak with this Karasu? "I will, I promise."

Itachi smiled, and bowed slightly. "Good luck on your travels. You are always welcome here."

"Good luck in your ambitions, Itachi-san," Kazama spoke for all of them. "It has been a pleasure to cross paths with you."

"Oh, I almost forgot…" Naruko scratched the back of her head. "Could you-"

"Watch over Gaara?" Itachi smirked, albeit briefly. "She's currently on a C-rank escort mission, with another squad. She will do fine… I will make sure of it. If she ever recovers her memories, I will find a way to inform you."

"We will pass you a visit, once our problems solved," Kazama said, before inviting his companions to step into the breach. "After you."

Izanami was the first to leave, silently followed by the Dark Wolf. Kitsune and Naruko walked together, after waving their hands at the Uchiha one last time. "They won't reject you for what the Kyuubi's power did," the werefox whispered her, guessing her inner worries. "The longer you keep it quiet, the worse the reveal will become."

"How do you want me to explain this?" Naruko glared at him. "I can't even confirm you-"

"I suffered far worse under my own demon," Kitsune cut in. "I am immune to such powers now. Our friendship is real, no one can deny it. This is certainly the case with the rest of us. The Kyuubi-"

"Do any of you have problems with Kurama?"

Naruko blinked, both due to the comment, and because in a split second, she had left Konoha for a seemingly endless, barren plain. Nearly one kilometer away, a castle of stone was standing lonely. "What?"

"Sorry, my Sharingan can decipher conversations simply by analyzing lip movements," Karasu replied, advancing enough to be at their side. "If you've any problems with the Vixen, I am available. Struggled a bit to work with it myself."

"Vixen?" Kitsune raised an eyebrow.

"Its nickname. I mean, for a talking mass of chakra, it _does _look like a female fox." The Uchiha gave the duo a light tap on the back. "Uncle Crow will happily serve as an adviser to improve your relationships with demons, monsters, giant animals, and angry tsundere, all for free. I've got a card… which the butterfly man conveniently burned. What a drag."

Although Naruko didn't understand a word of what he said, the offer was too good to pass up. "Could you… help me master its abilities?"

"Yep, but _after _I get to eat something, Blondie." He pointed a finger at the castle. "Oi, Shredder, that's your evil lair of doom?"

Kazama scowled at the nickname, as the portal closed behind him. "Stop calling me that." He put his scary helmet on his head, his voice changing instantly. "This castle once belonged to a minor lord I hanged for insubordination. It's a long story I will explain there. Nobody is here, we should be able to-"

"Kazama-senpai…" Kitsune shook his head. "There are multiple scents there. Some are vaguely familiar. I'm not good enough to put names on them, but these are people we have crossed paths with."

The armored man clenched his fists, and silently led the troupe to destination. "Did something happen?" He wondered out loud on the way.

After a few minutes of travel, they reached the castle. It was a strong, austere monument surrounded by a large mural of golden bricks, with two large gates of iron. A group of ninja wearing black coats with red clouds drawn on them were surrounding a smaller team, composed of familiar faces.

"Kakashi-san?" Naruko blurted out, upon recognizing the man. "Yugito-chan? Haku-chan?"

"Long time no see," the copy-nin waved his hand at them. "I would gladly hug you all, but these guys probably won't allow it."

"I have seen better welcomes," Sasori shrugged, before glancing at the newcomers, and especially at their leader. "I see you have gathered quite the followers… Kazama-san."

"Commander," the blonde leader whispered, his voice deep and imperial. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Kami-sama," a samurai bowed deeply. "These three," he pointed Kakashi, Yugito, and an unknown auburn-haired woman with his index, "Were brought here by Madara-dono. He said you would want to see them. The three others," he designated Sasori, Haku, and a giant armored man, "Were caught without identifications and asked to see you, so we arrested them and brought them before your divinity."

"Madara?" Naruko blinked, Kitsune sharing her astonished expression.

"Divinity? Kami-sama?" Karasu blinked. "Shit, you're a god? Do I have to get on my knees?"

"I will explain later." Kazama locked eyes with the samurai. "Commander, these people are my guests. All of you, cease threatening them."

The armed men instantly withdrew their weapons, and backed down. Naruko had never seen such perfect discipline, or such willingness to obey. The Dark Wolf appraised the reaction with a nod, favorably impressed.

"Leave us now," Naruko's sensei continued. "Leave this place, go to the nearest city, and join the garrison. I will deal with them personally."

"As you command, Kami-sama. Your will will be done." The ninja bowed deeply, and instantly dispersed.

Kazama sighed, and removed his helm. "Forgive them," he told the six newcomers, "They are only applying martial law. Did they hurt you?"

"Nah, they just threatened us of being sent to hell and back," the armored giant snorted, before glancing at Naruko. "Hey, flat lady, long time no see! I see you're still as flat as a board."

The girl paled. "Chibaku? Is that-" She scowled. "What did you call-"

"Naruko," Haku smiled warmly hugging her before the younger of the two had time to go on a full out rant. "It had been such a long time. You too, Kitsune-kun."

"Haku…" The blonde girl grinned cheerfully upon breaking the embrace. "Good to see you back."

"How were you all doing?" Yugito asked with a smile. "It has been pretty crazy for us."

"Kazama-san," Sasori shook hands with his old partner, "I see you are a country leader now. Do I need to call you Kami-sama, or can I keep Kazama-san?"

"The latter would be fine, Sasori-san." The armored man then repeated the gestures with Kakashi. "Welcome back my friend. I suppose there is an interesting story behind your arrival?"

"It involves toads," the copy-nin joked. "Good to see you again, but… we have to talk."

"Of course." Kazama then glanced at the auburn-haired woman. "Enchanted to meet you. I am Kazama Arashi."

"Mei Terumi, and the pleasure is all mine." The kunoichi put her index on her lips. "You are even cuter than I thought."

The blonde blushed slightly, while Izanami narrowed her eyes dangerously. "I present you three new friends of mine: Izanami, Karasu Uchiha, and the Dark Wolf."

"Nami is happy to meet you all!" The first shouted for all to hear.

"Oi, nice to meet you," the second added, "Gotta find nicknames for you all."

The Dark Wolf bowed slightly, and did not utter a word.

"Would you like to come inside?" Kazama suggested. "It would be more comfortable, for it appears we have much to talk about."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Susanoo<strong>_

Susanoo's eyes snapped open. "They are reunited," he said to no one in particular, watching the gathering through the sensor ability of the Second Tsuchikage. It was deeply impressive. The man could observe areas from kilometers away, distinguish chakra, put names on the signatures, and even guess their emotions.

"The time has come then," Izanagi added, a Rinnegan in place of his left eye. "As asked, I linked the Animal Path to this reality's summons. We are ready to fight."

Susanoo nodded. "Kazama Arashi will die by sunset."

_**And so will you.**_

The Uchiha lord froze, the voice resonating through his mind, a ghostly chill and howling wind.

_**By choosing to betray the will of the void, you have broken the contract binding us. Everything I gave, I take back.**_

In one second, Susanoo lost everything.

It took everything for the man not to scream and fall in agony. The unnatural life Mikaboshi granted him had suddenly left his corpse. The link to the pocket dimension was severed. His tainted soul suddenly found it hard to linger in this world.

His heart started beating again, albeit weakly.

_I… I must endure, _Susanoo focused. The Rinnegan and the Senju cells in his rotting flesh were halting the inevitable, but he had only a short time left to live. Maybe a few days, perhaps a week.

_**Remember, **_**human**_**, that there is no life in the void, only **_**death**_**.**_

The voice went silent, never to speak with him again, and Madara Uchiha groaned in pain and frustration. _I must extract the divine essence, _he thought. _It's the only way I can… you devil deity, you only did it now that all his allies are gathered, to prevent me from attacking sooner, before he was ready. Yet, even gods bow down before fate… and my destiny is inevitable._

Making hand seals, Susanoo slammed his palm on the ground, and summoned his Paths of Pain.

They all manifested in smoke and thunder. The five Kage and Izanagi, the strongest fighting force of all time.

"Madara… you have fallen low." Hashirama Senju, Animal Path and First Hokage, glanced sadly at Izanagi. "To use such jutsu… to defile the souls of the dead… you truly have went past the point of no return."

"Edo Tensei," the Third Kazekage, and Asura Path, whispered in disgust. "As if Sasori's human puppets weren't repulsive enough already, you went further than even the greatest criminal of my land."

"I hope whoever you are up against will kill you…" The recently deceased Third Raikage, and Naraka Path, growled. "I will gladly help them do it the second you release your control."

"Wait," the Second Mizukage, the Human Path, blinked in surprise. "Shouldn't we be unable to speak? I thought zombies could only say 'meat' or 'brains'?"

"They had to tweak the Edo Tensei to prevent that masked woman from hijacking us," the Second Tsuchikage and Preta Path snorted, "Must be too weak to maintain absolute control over us. As I thought, alliances only last as long as you can safely stab your friends in the back."

"This fight will be the single most important of your entire existence," Izanagi replied, standing still as the Deva Path. "We are part of a whole."

"Together, we are the Sage of the Six Paths reborn," Susanoo whispered. All these six had a Rinnegan and a Sharingan, obtained through the last week. "And like him, we will fight the monster born of the abyss in a last stand that shall shatter the land… and we shall prevail."

_Arashi, prepare yourself… for I am the storm, and I am coming for you._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Omake: Madara Rangers, Season 2<strong>_

"Oh come on," Susanoo growled. "Say it!"

"Moron, moronic plot, moronic omake…" Kazama put his helm on his head. "I am LORD HAM, Emperor of all I see, and I will _chew the scenery_!" Then he grew in size, becoming a giant. "Akimichi secret technique!"

"Wait!" Izanami cut in. "You are supposed to do it _after_we beat you into the ground!"

"The urge to stomp on you is too strong! I _must _obey it!"

"If so… come Bijuuzords!" Out of nowhere, robots looking like the nine Bijuu appeared, the Madara rangers jumping inside them. "Combination!"

In a flash of light, the robots fused into a giant android that was a less ugly copy of the Ten-Tails. "This is the Juubizord!" Susanoo shouted. "You cannot beat it! It even has Shukaku-shaped toilets inside!"

"… wait." Kazama raised an eyebrow. "How can you turn nine creatures into… that makes no sense!"

"It's a omake," Tsukiyomi shrugged. "Deal with it."

Off in the distance, the Feral Gale looked around confused with a bag of popcorn. "Wait a minute… something's not right…! Gasp! Where's the mysterious and overly sexy for preteen girls sixth ranger that jumps sides like crazy!? This must be corrected!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN:_** Echoes' Tv tropes page received a character sheet! If there are any tropers among the readers, please participate to it! Or just visit the page.

CaellachTigerEye sent me a PM about Rin... whose last name has been revealed to NOT be Inuzuka, as it is stated in my fic, but Nohara. To be honest, I had added the Inuzuka nickname to fit Kakashi's dog motif, and I thought Kishimoto would never bother giving her a last name. So... consider any world where Kenta exists to have Rin belonging to the Inuzuka clan instead of being called Nohara. Canon-verse and some worlds like Naruko's as such don't have any Kenta Ayatsuri running around, and Rin is Rin Nohara instead of Rin Inuzuka. A plot point later deals with this specific variable, among others.

Now, on the chapter itself:

What's happening in Ame is based on the French Revolution, the Meiji Restoration of Japan, and Napoleon Bonaparte's rule. You can say it has the policies of the Meiji and some of Bonaparte's (end of the feudal system, creation of a centralized autocratic state, imperial cult, forced modernization of the country, creation of a public army, enforcement of order over freedom) and the methods of the French Revolution (mob tribunals, forced recruitment, public executions, political purges). The food distribution scene is based on the Roman Empire's policy of distributing bread at main local events to cultivate good PR.

When you think about it, the ninja world is really, really unsafe... I mean, think about it: everyone can hire a superpowered killer and send him to kill people, so you can start private wars at will; an entire poor country (Wave) can barely afford an escort mission (C-rank), and you have to PAY to get protected; any merchant can send a ninja to kill a competitor, and so on, so the richest like Gato have a monopoly by being the only ones able to afford employing elite ninjas. I doubt it even have a public service or law enforcement outside the Hidden Villages. I mean, the first time we saw a civilian town in the manga with Jiraiya, it was obvious there was a high criminality rate, with Jiraiya being threatened by ninjas who weren't even aware of who he was.

The ninja system has many nasty side-effects, in my mind.

The Dark Wolf is the Lawful Evil character I was speaking off in my previous chapters. And the 'Red Zetsu' is the one you have seen in the Teikoku. With its ability to fuse forcefully with people, self-duplication, shapeshifting, and general disregard for human life, I thought Zetsu could make a disturbing major villain if given a creepy personality...

Finally, after next chapter, which will be pure character development... the final fight with Susanoo will begin. And no running away this time.

Please visit the popularity poll and review! Your feedback increases my motivation!


	40. Chapter 37: Confronting Madara

_**Announcement:**_if you are reading this, you are awesome. Thanks all readers and reviewers for their support.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 37:<strong>_

_**Confronting Madara**_

The castle's main hall was large and rectangle-shaped. The walls were golden, yet devoid of any decoration. Candles were illuminating the rooms, although the moonlight passing through the windows did most of the work for the ones on the edge of the building. _There's a__ full moon, _Yugito thought. _It bathes us in its cold light. I can hardly see the stars._

"You allied with _Tsukiyomi_?" Chibaku asked bewildered, his voice deep and barely human. The Nibi's container still had a hard time realizing the odd little boy had been turned into a metal puppet, forever. "What were you thinking? Were you _high_? Have you forgotten that this is the guy who has been trying to kill you since the moment you were born?!"

"I didn't truly have a choice," Kazama replied calmly. The group had been sitting around a large, round wooden table, with their host providing sake, water, and some food. It wasn't truly a feast as it was a rather good dinner. "He was keeping me on a leash, so when he offered to take me under his wing, I accepted. I thought an opportunity to kill him might present itself if I did. Afterward, Yagura and Hanzo killed a friend of mine in a false flag operation to start a war, and since I wasn't good enough to face both of them at once… I had to seek help where I could find it."

"This isn't far from what happened to us," Sasori pointed out to his student. "That Orochimaru may have been far better than Alpha ever was, but, if it was the former who had kidnapped you and the latter who had offered her help-"

"_Orochimaru_?"

"Kazama-san, the world we visited was… the complete opposite of those we are used to seeing," Haku whispered, unfazed by the outburst. "Konoha had turned into a brutal dictatorship, run by an ANBU composed of clones of you, made of flesh and blood, and Orochimaru was a freedom fighter leading a resistance movement against them. The ANBU's leader, Alpha, possessed the ability to brainwash others and bind them to her will."

It was easy to miss, but Yugito noticed a horrified expression on Naruko's face, though she managed quickly corrected herself soon afterwards. Kitsune looked uneasily at his female counterpart, and discreetly nodded. _They are hiding something._

"After a long battle, we helped the resistance topple Alpha and imprison her," Chibaku said. "One of her top men, Five," Haku briefly winced at the name, "Wounded me mortally before miss Yuki managed to kill him. I had to be turned into a human puppet in order to survive."

"If I had acted sooner…" the Kiri-nin whispered sadly before regaining her resolve. "I will not make the same mistake again." Chibaku gave her a gentle pat on the back, trying to cheer her up.

"Afterward, Kuebiko's group came and transported us to their base, and when you opened a new rift, they located you and sent us here." Sasori intertwined his fingers. "But back to you. How did you become leader of Rain?"

"Apparently, you had the Daimyo hanged and took his place," Kakashi whispered. "Or so we were told."

"I challenged Hanzo in a public fight for his post, but mostly to take revenge. It became a tag-team battle between Tsukiyomi and myself versus the Amekage Hanzo and Yagura." Kazama picked up a cup of tea and drank from it. "I killed the Mizukage, but he released the Sanbi on Ame as a middle finger from beyond the grave, and the creature proceeded to destroy the city. Izanami and friends of mine rushed in to help, but I had to tap in the seal to truly defeat it. The results were… spectacular."

"I guess that's where the "tearing skies asunder" part came from?" Yugito asked. _Nibi, can you do me a favor?_

_**"I'm all ears, Kitten."**_

_Would you mind questioning the other Bijuu of this world for details? I am growing curious._

_**"Mmm… give me some time."**_

"Yes. Hanzo refused to surrender, and challenged both me and Madara to a fist-fight for his position. At that point, I believe he simply wanted to go down as spectacularly as he could."

"A true samurai dies on his feet instead of accepting defeat," the Dark Wolf whispered in appreciation.

"So, I killed him. My bare hands against his." Kazama shrugged. "The witnesses of the battle believed I was a god and bowed down to me. Since it was useful to keep peace, I went along with the charade. Afterward I attempted to reform the country for the better. And it included hanging the Daimyo and taking his place. I assure you if a better land could have been born without bloodshed, I would have gladly put down weapons… but everywhere I went, I saw injustices, abuses, inequalities… pretty much everything I have come to despise. Something _drastic _was needed to fix this land."

Yugito realized she had never seen him so… old. His adventure had made him grow from a teen to a man, and what he had lost in youth, he had gained in experience. Hard to believe he was slightly younger than _she _was.

"If the Daimyo was unable to live up to his title, then he did not deserve it in the first place," the Dark Wolf began, his voice respectful, "Daimyo were once strong war leaders, leading armies and earning their fiefdom not through birthright, but through merit. But they let ninjas fight their wars and they exchanged weapons for trinkets, bravery for cowardice, charisma for money. Only Iron did not decay, and it appears your land is on its way to regaining its honor as well."

"Samurai from Iron have asked to join me for similar reasons," Kazama noted. "Due to their land's strict neutrality policy, they are forbidden to enforce the Bushido across the continent. Serving under me gives them a purpose. Afterward, a friend of mine, Konan, will take my position and keep the land safe while we are away."

"Neutrality?" The Dark Wolf raised his head. "The Land of Iron is neutral on this plane?"

Yugito raised an eyebrow, and she wasn't alone. "It wasn't neutral in your home world?"

"No." The Dark Wolf shook his head, "No, it wasn't."

"Back on Madara," Mei cut in, "What do you intend to do with him? Set an ambush?"

"Without Susanoo to back him up, we have a golden opportunity to finish him off," Sasori stated. "With all of us against him, I believe we have a chance, especially since we all received intensive training or upgrades during our separation."

The room was ominously quiet for a good while as the individuals in the room contemplated the idea of attacking one of their greatest tormentors and possibly getting rid of him once and for all.

… Until Kazama narrowed his eyes and stood up with authority. "Everyone, please listen to me. I have an announcement to make."

All people around the table glanced at him.

"Since the very beginning," he began, "This group was built on circumstances. We are all from different nations, and we are, perhaps, the single most colorful ragtag group of outcasts, missing-nins, misfits, and soldiers to have ever walked the multiverse. A warlord with strange powers; three Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi; a puppeteer from Suna; a jounin from Konoha; a missing-nin from Kiri; a warrior from Kumo; and now, we have four more additions."

The blonde crossed his arms. "You all know why I have to fight Madara. It is about my survival, and because he is my archenemy. But what about you? Some of you fought him because we're friends, others for revenge, and a few because they had no other choice. But now… now I have enough control over my seal to return some of you to your homeworlds."

Yugito's eyes snapped wide at that admission, but she quickly corrected her expression. "We have lost many during our travels, and the deaths of Zabuza and Kakashi's team still haunt me." Haku blanched, and the copy-nin nodded sadly. "Unlike for the people beyond these walls, I am not your commander, your Kage, your god or whatever. We are all equals. Even if we are outnumbering Madara, he is a dangerous enemy all the same. Some may not survive the coming battle. And I refuse to deny you the choice of fighting at my side, or not."

He intertwined his fingers. "Nobody will judge you if you decide to leave. You have already contributed more than necessary to this adventure. I won't force your hand any longer."

Naruko was the first to speak. "I stay with you, sensei," she grinned. "We're going to kick his Uchiha ass together."

"I couldn't agree more," Izanami chuckled, putting her fingers on Kazama's arms. The importance of the gesture wasn't lost on Yugito, and Mei smiled slyly at this.

"I will fight at your side, senpai," Kitsune added with a confident tone. "You have done your best to help me when you had nothing to gain and much to lose. Now it is my turn."

"I always finish what I start," Sasori whispered, "And Madara threatened my legacy. I _will _have him killed."

"Pal, look, we're friends," Chibaku shrugged, "What kind of friend chickens out when his buddies are in trouble? I'm gonna fight with you guys to the bitter end."

"Same deal," Kakashi said. "Those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash. Too long have I ignored this lesson. Not today. Not anymore."

"Your group has been like a second family to me, Kazama-san," Haku whispered, "Zabuza-sama died for it… and so will I, if necessary."

"Well, I kind of joined for excitement, and what's better than fighting the strongest villain the multiverse has to offer?" Mei grinned. "I'm in."

"I will gladly lend my sword to your cause, Daimyo-sama," the Dark Wolf offered.

"Since you gave me the opportunity to find this Kuebiko, I guess it's fair if I repay you by assisting your operation." Karasu gave Kazama the thumb up. "We're winners, aren't we?"

Only Yugito remained silent, and she quickly came to a decision. "I wish to do what is right," she said. "And Madara is a criminal that must be stopped. I will stand by you." _And you can send me back to Kumo _after _the deed __is done._

But could she truly go back? Would things ever be the same?

Kazama beamed in happiness, and struggled to repress tears of joy. "I would like to have a toast," he raised his glass, "To friendship!"

"To friendship!" The rest added, with varying degrees of emotions, upon imitating their de facto leader.

Upon bringing her sake to her lips, Yugito realized the team had evolved from a mere temporary alliance, into hardened companions of war. _Their__ bonds have grown strong, without me seeing it._

Groups started forming. Sasori, Kakashi, and the Dark Wolf approached Kazama and started speaking with him. Karasu, Chibaku, Kitsune and Naruko got together. And finally, the four remaining girls were now side by side.

"So…" Mei glanced at Izanami. "How long did you two have been together?"

The masked woman chuckled, and answered with another question. "Jealous?"

"Pretty much," Mei admitted, "He's quite cute, and nice, if you look past that horrible armor of his. Nice catch."

Izanami laughed briefly. "I have nothing against a threesome," she added with a tone that made it hard to decide if she was joking or not.

Mei grinned slyly, and put her glass next to her lips. "Mmm… so behind this mask hides a most lustful woman, it seems. Why keep it on?"

"I wish to make the reveal all the more awesome," the woman in black replied. "I did not hear Kazama complain of what was under it… or the rest…"

Mei gave a light laugh. "I have the feeling the two of us are going to get along great."

Yugito face palmed and eyed Haku, who was as ashamed as the blonde was. "At least we will make up for these two… tell me, Haku-san, how has your training been since the last time we met?"

"Pretty good," the girl smiled. She seemed… more confident than last time they met. Zabuza's death had forced her to grow, and a little girl she was no more. Yugito was facing a fine kunoichi in the making. "A trainer helped me develop most of my skills. I believe I might be a match for most jounin."

"Impressive development." Yugito nodded.

"Hey, Haku-chan," Mei glanced at the girl. "Forgive me for not having recognized you. The Godaime Mizukage from my home was always followed by a masked ANBU belonging to the Yuki clan as well... a _male_ ANBU."

Haku blushed. "It must have been a counterpart of mine. Does that mean Zabuza-sama became Mizukage in your home world?"

"Yes. When he started his coup, I was fighting at his side. We managed to defeat Yagura, with the other swordsmen of the Mist." Mei shrugged. "Or rather, the Sanbi. The creature had possessed Yagura and reduced him to a meat puppet for years. When he laid dying, the boy thanked us for freeing him with his last breath."

Yugito was quite surprised a Bijuu could reach that level of control over its host, which struck her as very unhealthy. Haku nodded sadly. "I see... our own coup did not work, and we lost so many friends... I hope one day to return to Kiri and bring justice to the tyrant."

"I will gladly help you with it," Mei added.

"We will all help you," Yugito finished with a smile. Afterward, she glanced at Izanami, who had stayed silent and observed Kazama in silence. The Jinchuuriki had been astonished the teen had taken a lover, and wondered under what circumstances... or how long it would last. _Somehow, she seems familiar-_

_**"Kitten," **_the Nibi's voice interrupted her thoughts. The creature sounded… disturbed._ _**"I have spoken with the other Bijuu, and… I have bad news, and worse news."**__

_Begin with the worse._

_**"The propaganda about how Kazama is Mikaboshi reborn? Yeah… it's **_**not **_**propaganda."**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Naruko<strong>_

"Chibaku…" Naruko trailed off anxiously. "How… how was this Alpha? How did her powers work?"

The machine-man tilted his metallic head at the question. "Why so?" he wondered. "You look perturbed."

"Just… just answer." Her eyes flickered away, upon sensing Kitsune's inquisitive gaze on her back. "I… it's complicated."

Chibaku shrugged, and began talking. "Alpha… was basically a grown-up version of you in appearance, but personality-wise, she had all your personality flaws taken to their extremes and none of the good qualities and kindness to balance it out." Naruko clenched her jaw at the comment. "She was… well, like Madara. Ready to do anything to reach her goal… and _completely _insane."

"As for her powers… she could read people's minds and subtly brainwash them. Apparently, she was created to infiltrate enemy organizations and take them over from within… and she did it with the ANBU." The cyborg scratched the back of its metal head. "She probed my thoughts to learn my identity, but fortunately, for some reason I have yet to grasp, it did not work on either Sasori or Orochimaru, allowing them to defeat her."

It completely matched Naruko's own problems, although this Alpha had obviously higher control over her ability. "Chibaku… I…"

"You have the same powers, don't you?" Karasu guessed, causing her to gasp in surprise. "Nah, don't worry, it's usual with Kyuubi's vessels. The power of empathetic based telepathy, or Clairvoyance. At least that's what I call it, Foxy."

"Foxy?" Kisune raised an eyebrow.

"Of course. She's Foxy, you're Buddha, and the walking toaster is Iron Man." The Uchiha smirked, "You have telepathic powers don't you? You can alter other's thoughts without them being aware of it. Mito Uzumaki used that power to subtly support her husband's rule, according to my dear Vixen, and prevent some clans from rebelling. She was the woman behind the man... in more ways than one."

"Yes." Chibaku glanced at Naruko, who lowered her head in shame. "I… I have been using it subconsciously to make… to make people love me, probably against their wishes."

"What the hell are you talking about?" The robot crossed his arms. "I never showed any ability of this kind, and I'm a Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki too. And neither did Kitsune."

"You won't develop them, _period_," the Uchiha corrected. "Women are naturally more emphatic than men, who can be pretty much oblivious to the feelings of others. It's natural for a female Jinchuuriki to gain the power sooner and to a greater degree than we males will ever reach. In spite of years of training, I never managed to do more than read basic intents in battle situation. Combined with the Sharingan, it allows me to subconsciously predict enemy's moves before they happen. At first, I thought it was a result of my Bloodline Limit, but the Vixen later corrected me when I befriended that tsundere."

"That makes you nearly unbeatable," Kitsune pointed out.

"No. Some enemies are just faster than my reflexes and hit me before I can avoid their attacks, and some attacks are just too big to dodge period. The former is how the butterfly man managed to beat the crap out of me, among other factors. I was surprised someone _that_ huge could move _that_ fast, to be honest."

"It must be why Alpha decided to rely on the Juubi, since her enemies were immune to this ability," the puppeteer realized. "But she wasn't a Jinchuuriki, so how could she develop this power? Unless… her creators probably used the Juubi's chakra to help create the first clones, giving them special abilities, back when the process wasn't perfected. Five survived a shot to the skull, Haku's kunai, and a trashing from Kuebiko. He had to be impaled in the heart to be stopped, and he _still_ managed to live long enough to hold one last conversation. Alpha survived being the temporary vessel of the Juubi and could still fight after it was purged from her. No normal men and women could survive those kinds of wounds for that long, hence, they had been enhanced beyond what the human body is capable of. It might explain why the original clones were psychologically and physically unstable… certainly the Ten Tails' chakra must have influenced them for the worst."

"Then, can you help me?" Naruko asked the Uchiha. "I… there's a chance nobody near me are my friends because they wish to. I… I need to control this power."

"As I said, I am limited to intent sensing," Karasu shook his head. "I cannot teach you how _not _to influence others' emotions, because I cannot do it myself."

As the blonde's hopes were crushed, Chibaku gave her a light tap on the shoulder. "Naruko, look… we have faced many conflicts in our relationship, and we do not get along all the time… but we are friends. If _Alpha _couldn't control me, then _you _certainly can't. I'm sure it must be the same with Kazama at least."

"But what about Haku, Gaara, and everyone else?" Naruko snapped.

"Foxy… there is an alternative to control." Karasu locked eyes with her. "Sealing. The power works by having the Kyuubi's chakra, and by extension yours, connect with the enemy's, allowing you to read their intents and change their will. This is an advanced form of sensory techniques. With a few seals… I can prevent this."

"Truly?" Naruko beamed with happiness. "Do it!"

"However, you must realize if this ability is sealed… you will never be able to access it again. Ever." Karasu massaged his neck nervously. "Look, there are downsides to this power now… but imagine what you could do with it. You could become better than any Yamanaka, read thoughts, end battles before they start. Do you truly wish to surrender this ability?"

"Yes." There wasn't any hesitation in her voice. "Yes, it could help others… but… but I will likely become another Alpha. It would be easy, so easy, to force people to be good… and I would inevitably abuse it. I… I want friends, not thralls. And I want to win my battles by my own merits."

"Wow…" Chibaku chuckled. "It's… pretty selfless, and wise. I didn't think you were able to do it. What happened to you during your travels?"

"What does that mean?" Naruko asked dangerously.

"There is one little problem," Karasu cut in. "While I have the necessary knowledge to make the sealing possible, it would involve manipulating your chakra… and since we aren't truly friends yet, you would subconsciously react to my attempts badly. Someone else must do it… someone you have _absolute _confidence in, someone you would trust with your life without a second thought."

Kitsune glanced at Kazama, and Naruko nodded. "I will tell him."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kazama<strong>_

The Daimyo blanched, and Kakashi blinked in horror. "My power… is causing the multiverse to _collapse_?" _Why didn't you tell me?_

_**You did not ask.**_

"Kuebiko's companions are building a device in your homeworld that should correct the problem… with your help." Sasori crossed his arms. "According to their calculations and the different flow of time, we have around one week before the damage becomes critical."

Kazama placed his glass on the table. "Funny. I planned to pay a visit to my old home after Madara was dealt with, but for other reasons."

Kakashi narrowed his lone eye. "The conspiracy?"

"Konoha will have to answer for its crimes, and not only those against their Jinchuuriki." Kazama remembered the long list of grievances he had against its people. "Jiraiya and Tsunade will have to answer questions. Sai's betrayal and death will have to be investigated too. The Hyuuga and the higher ups will pay for letting an abomination like the caged bird seal stay in use. Same deal with the Uchiha Massacre."

He narrowed his eyes. "However, Naruko informed me that in Kitsune's world at least, some higher-ups had been brainwashed for years by Shisui Uchiha. If this is true, then I have no idea where to start an investigation…"

"What happened with Kitsune can be different from what happened with your home," Hatake pointed out. "There must be at least one person who can inform us on the global picture."

Sasori nodded. "Speaking of Shisui Uchiha… When we met the Feral Gale, his mentor informed me that in most alternate universes involving conspiracies, Shimura Danzo, the creator of ROOT, would be deeply connected to most events in some way. Not only that, but should Shisui Uchiha be killed shortly before the Uchiha Massacre, Danzo would more than likely possess one of his Sharingan in his right socket, which in turn enables him to access a very potent mind controlling genjutsu. In addition to this, Ghost mentioned that there would most likely be something peculiar about Danzo's right arm as well, however he did not go into details much to my ire and his obnoxious amusement. Regardless, I have little doubt that whatever it is, if it is present in your world, will be something to be wary of. Prior to this I didn't see fit to reveal this information, but in this case I believe we should start with him first, and then have the Sannin confirm the story."

The group was silent as they took in the valuable information. If what Sasori said was true, then it was indeed a smart idea for the puppeteer to keep it away from most of them at the time. Had Kazama learned it earlier, he most likely would have attempted to contact the shady individual before he was ready in one of the earlier worlds. _And I might have been brainwashed myself. I think I have been manipulated enough already. _The Amekage remembered the little info he had gained on Sasori's heritage._ What else do you keep from us?_

Then again, he was keeping some things from the rest of his group. It would be hypocritical to blame others for it. _Everyone is allowed to have secrets..._

"And then…" Kakashi trailed off. "What do you intend to do next, Kazama?"

"To judge and punish." Kazama grinned. "My former home will be a good place to start my crusade."

The Dark Wolf raised his head, the blue eyes glancing at the warlord. "Crusade, Daimyo-sama?"

"Although my power seems to have side-effects, I am slowly mastering it," he explained to the trio. "With it… I intend to do good… to jump from one world to another, making them better one at the time, recruiting people along the way. Imagine what would have happened had warriors such as us acted to remove Madara, Orochimaru, Gato, Yagura, or other criminals before they could commit atrocities? If Kitsune had had someone to care for and protect him, maybe his life wouldn't have been such a tragedy. I have so many other examples in mind I lost count."

Izanami's own life was another addition to the list. "Perhaps we could help the Dark Wolf retake his homeworld from Zetsu by gathering forces, or lend a hand to those in need of a help."

"You suggest creating an interworld peacekeeping organization?" Kakashi surmised. "It's… brilliant."

"It is an ambitious goal." Sasori locked eyes with the blonde. "As long as I get to seek more knowledge along the way, I will gladly help you as an administrator or organizer. I have experience with intelligence networks."

"Daimyo-sama," the Dark Wolf said, "May I ask of you to take me under your service as sworn Samurai?"

The blonde raised an eyebrow in slight surprise. "Why? You barely know me."

"It does not matter. A greater will than my own must have caused this meeting, for so far, you have never ceased to impress me. Your ideals and vision are admirable, your strength of will and authority fitting a true Daimyo. I wish to become your blade and shield, and to serve you better than I served my former lord. My eternal dedication to your person will be atonement for my previous failures."

"Wait," Kakashi blinked. "Aren't Samurai supposed to serve their lord for life?"

"They are," the Dark Wolf nodded. "I will serve Daimyo-sama until I die under his service, or until he utters his last words."

"You do not need to serve me," Kazama countered, "You can fight at my side as an equal."

"I am not your equal. You are a leader, I am a soldier. As a follower of Bushido, I carry no will but the one of my master, and no values but the way of the warrior. If you do not wish me to serve you, I will seek another leader to follow. However, I truly wish to see the realization of your vision, Daimyo-sama, and I fear I may not find another one like you in decades."

Kazama silently appraised the warrior. If he said no, he would probably wander aimlessly… but if he said yes, it would be strange, to have a zealous swordsman ready to kill at command. Especially since, according to Kitsune, he wasn't truly caring about collateral damage...

Well, if this sword was pointed against evil instead of at innocents… "Under one condition," he whispered, "You may serve me, but I want you to serve me as a _friend_. You will always be honest with me and tell me when you feel I am making a mistake. If you ever need my help, you will not hesitate to ask for it. You will protect my friends as you will protect me, and we will do the same for you."

"Agreed." The warrior briefly stopped. "Daimyo-sama, before I swear allegiance, I must take off my helm. It is protocol, you must understand."

"Please do so."

"I would like you to be the only one seeing it."

Sasori and Kakashi silently nodded, and left. The Dark Wolf placed himself in such a way the rest of the people present couldn't see his face. "Now, you can take your helmet off," Kazama suggested.

He obeyed.

Or rather, _she _obeyed.

Kazama felt ashamed not to have realized sooner who the Dark Wolf was. Those eyes had been familiar… like Naruko's. She was Naruko, in fact, although probably closer to twenty. Her face was beautiful, yet chilling with stoicism, and her hair was mid-length. _And _she had no whiskers. "Is there a problem?" She asked, without a hint of emotion.

_The voice… the helmet must change it, probably for the same reason as my own. So that she sounds more intimidating. _"I am merely surprised to see we share some resemblance. Your true name is Naruko Uzumaki, isn't it?"

"The Dark Wolf was my name of war, given to me by my enemies," she replied without flinching. "It is the only one worth remembering. Do you still wish to take me as your sword, in spite of my gender?"

"Genders are equals, and to be honest, I have met women stronger than me more than once," he whispered, careful not to let others spy on the conversation. "There is no shame in being a woman."

The samurai nodded, and unsheathed her two katana. While both were identical, one was… radiating _killing intent_. Kazama briefly wondered if it was the Kusanagi before realizing his mistake. "On my blades, the Masamune and Muramasa, I thereby swear allegiance to Kazama Arashi, Daimyo of the Rain. I vow to serve him loyally by enforcing his will, and never rest until all his enemies are dead."

The last bit sounded creepy, but the Amekage simply nodded. "I accept your allegiance, and thus we are bound."

The woman bowed, and then did something creepy. She cut her left cheek's skin lightly with one of her swords, the one radiating bloodlust, and the blade tasted blood. The Dark Wolf put her katana back in their sheath, and placed the helmet on her head. "What will be your first command, Kazama-sama?"

The change in denomination made the teen smile. "Well, you could tell me about your life-"

"Sorry to interrupt, sensei…" Naruko cut in shyly, as she approached her mentor. "But I… I must speak to you. Privately."

Blinking, Kazama nodded, and excused himself to the Dark Wolf. "I'm sorry. We will continue this discussion later."

The samurai merely bowed in silence.

Standing up and taking the little girl with him to a corridor, the Amekage took his breath. "Let's go to my office. We will be tra-"

A hand grabbed his shoulder firmly. "Kazama," Yugito whispered, sounding alarmed, "We need to talk. _Now_."

"Can't it wait? I have to speak with Nar-"

"Sorry, but it really, really can't wait." Yugito released her hold, and let the man turn around. She glanced at the confused Naruko. "Excuse me, but it's apparently a matter of life and death."

"No, go ahead, Yugito-senpai," the female Uzumaki replied. "It sounds important."

"I asked the Nibi to speak with the other Bijuu of this world, and the results were… troubling." Yugito locked eyes with Kazama. "_Who _advised you to call yourself Mikaboshi?"

The Amekage raised an eyebrow at the question, genuinely surprised. "It was… a sort of intuition. I had heard it was the Kami of the Stars and-"

"An intuition, or a thought induced by what is kept inside your seal?" Yugito's expression darkened. "The power you used to defeat the Sanbi did not belong to the Shinigami. The other Bijuu recognized it as the power of Amatsu-Mikaboshi, the Kami of void and stars. An entity that is a harbinger of disasters."

Kazama's eyes widened. "But ones who looked at my seal said that…"

"They probably mistook _which _god your seal absorbed the essence of," Yugito suggested.

Naruko seemed lost. "What does it matter which god the seal's power belongs to?"

_**_**The seal has the essence of the Shinigami. I am not so contained**_.**_

"Yes, it matters. Amatsu-Mikaboshi is a destructive entity regularly associated with doom and disasters. Long story short, I saw one of its priests summon it the same way the Yondaime summoned the Shinigami, and it was dead set on killing us. The Nibi told me it was a dangerous being that caused trouble and cataclysms in the past."

She cringed. "Haku roughly explained me the side effects of your seal, and… and think of it. Maybe it's _not_ a side effect. Maybe it's _the goal_. To use you as a way to cause as much damage as possible to the multiverse. Each time you entered a new world, you ended, directly or indirectly, confronted by disasters. Maybe letting Madara follow you was intentional from the part of whatever will remains in your seal."

_**What proof does she has? Mere suppositions-**_

_And maybe it was twisting my thoughts to try causing destruction, _the Amekage thought. _And… and maybe Madara knew all along, and did not care. _"We… must discuss this in private," he said. "Best to not be eavesdropped. Some of us might react badly."

Kazama opened his office's door, and stopped moving. Naruko blanched, and Yugito's jaw tightened.

The office was a small, dark room equipped with a single window. The Amekage's men had gotten rid of every item of value, and beside a chair, a desk, and candles to brighten the place, it was completely empty.

But someone was in the seat, waiting for them, his arms crossed.

"It has been weeks since last we met," Susanoo whispered. "I wanted to speak with you for a long, long time."

Yugito's chakra skyrocketed. "How did you sneak in here?"

"Please, I would be a poor ninja not to have developed counters against sensors." Susanoo glanced at Naruko, who was glaring at the masked man venomously. "I wished to speak with you, Kazama Arashi, and you too, young girl. Yugito Nii… be gone from my sight."

"Yugito, go warn the others," Kazama said, the kunoichi vanishing instantly. The blonde man entered the office, followed by his female counterpart. "So you have returned. Tsukiyomi told me you had all but abandoned his cause."

"I answer to no one." The mismatched eyes narrowed dangerously. "How does it feel to be a puppet of Amatsu-Mikaboshi? The power, the dark promises of omnipotence…"

"So it was true..." The blonde man clenched his fist. "Who cares? You pursued us for it."

Susanoo shook his head in the negative. "I thought you would use it for my group's benefit," he corrected. "Until you showed what it could do. It opened my eyes… to fate's design."

"Cut the crap." Naruko snorted. "Child of the Prophecy, that's it? The chosen one? Well, I have been called this, and I meet no qualification."

"Of course you don't, for I _am _the chosen one." Susanoo chuckled at the girl's astonished expression. "Who else could it be? I have the power and the motives. The signs match. And the darkness I am destined to fight," he glanced at Kazama, spilling killing intent, "Is standing in front of me."

_He's insane, _the Amekage thought upon adopting a fighting stance, imitated by his student. "I have no wish to cause an age of darkness, destroy the universe, or whatever."

"Perhaps not _yet_," Susanoo conceded. "But this is inevitable. The future is written, you fool. A path has been laid in front of us, and the only choice we have is to embrace it or suffer. Too long have I strayed from it and received pain as a result. As for you, you have chosen to embrace the power and in a week, a year, a decade, you will unleash it and bring about the end of this world, creating one where Mikaboshi rules absolute. I cannot allow it. I will remove it from you."

"And then what?" Naruko spat. "You're going to use the power for yourself?"

"So many are trying to resist their fate or are misguided." Susanoo glanced at the girl with an arrogant glint in the eyes. "Wouldn't it better if people were unable to do so? If one is born to be musician and tries to be a warrior, he will only know pain and suffering. The world I will create won't have such waste. It will be a world where everyone is assigned to the place where he fits best, and will live happy. All wars are caused because people try to resist their fate or gain something they aren't mean to have, and only end up fulfilling their destiny anyway… but not without pain and blood beforehand."

He snorted. "Think of yourself. You were born to be a sacrifice of Konoha, and since you have attempted to resist this fate, you have known only struggle and loss. Wouldn't have it been better, if you had simply stuck to the role that was assigned to you by the greater will?"

Naruko said no word for a minute, before opening her mouth. "This is why you hate me, isn't it? Because I'm the living proof you're wrong."

As Susanoo didn't answer, she carried on. "Because I have found happiness, friends, and a purpose by refusing the role _assigned _to me, your entire philosophy is bullshit. You just can't fathom someone like me can exist, and as such, you wish to destroy me or convince me I'm wrong. Otherwise, everything you have done to reach that point… would have been for nothing. Your self-justified behavior would become unjustifiable." He glared at him. "You're pathetic, Madara."

Kazama smiled in pride at his friend's answer. _Naruko… it seems you have grown wiser._

"What you believe in does not matter." Susanoo rose up from his seat. "Once you are dead, I will prove defying one's destiny is pointless. And this time, no one will save you. This time, I won't hold back. I won't stop until you are a red, grisly corpse under my heel. This is what you were born for anyway."

"There are a dozen of us in this castle, and you are alone," Kazama replied, both he and Naruko starting to make hand seals. "We only spoke with you to gain time. Things aren't the same anymore. We all have progressed, and we are all ready to end this here and now."

"And so am I." Chakra surrounded his body, creating an ethereal armor. "Enough talking." The room exploded in broken bricks, a giant of light shattering the walls and ceilings, bringing the fight outside.

_"Susanoo, the Heavenly Warrior! Come forth!"_

Two seconds later, both Kazama and Naruko were propelled outside by a swing of the ethereal giant's arms, a hundred meters above the ground. Using the Heat Wave, the Amekage managed to catch his female partner, and land peacefully outside the fortifications.

A few seconds later, Susanoo jumped toward them, his armor half-formed. The duo was forced to back away, leaving their enemy to crash where they had previously been standing. The Uchiha glared at them, as they put a healthy distance between them and him. "Say farewell to your friends," he hissed venomously. "_Forever_."

Kazama's eyebrows raised in horror, as the castle was vaporized in a flash of light.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yugito<strong>_

The Kumo-nin returned to the main hall... by breaking through a wall with a chakra-enhanced kick.

_**"Way to make an entrance, Kitten…"**_

"Listen, everybody!" Yugito shouted, as the entire group gasped at her in astonishment. "Susanoo is inside these walls! Kazama and Naruko have probably engaged him! We must prepare for the worst!" The gathered warriors were instantly on their guard.

Izanami's eyes widened suddenly, and she made hand seals, slamming her hands on the ground. "Edo Tensei!"

A few seconds later, a coffin of earth erupted from the earth, before exploding into shards, and Yugito's world was consumed by light and an abominable noise.

A split second later, she and the entire group were standing in the plains, surrounded by the dust of their former lair. They had been shielded from… whatever happened… by a green dome of light, projected by an individual near Izanami. Even the soil under their feet was glowing.

The person responsible for the phenomena was an old man in his sixties, although obviously an Edo Tensei, with grayish, dirt-like skin. He was tall, skinny, surrounded by an aura of power and majesty. He was clad in white priest robes, wearing a red necklace, and wielding a staff. His eyes…

Yugito recognized the man. She had seen him in Kumo's temples, seen his portrait in history books. This was the man who created Ninjutsu itself, the progenitor of all Shinobi, the one who defeated the first Bijuu and became the original Jinchuuriki.

The Sage of the Six Paths walked among men, reborn and _angered_.

"You are an Edo Tensei user?" Mei asked, disgusted.

"Against Madara, the end justifies the means," Izanami replied unperturbed. "I knew it would come in handy one day!"

"What is the meaning of this?" He asked with a raspy voice, maintaining the barrier. He leered at Izanami with a venomous glint in the eyes. "You are the source of this… of this soiled ritual? You are the _defiler _behind this-"

"I am afraid she isn't the only one guilty of it, honored Sage."

Yugito recognized the voice. It belonged to a hero from her Village, who she had witnessed lead Kumogakure when she was a kid. A great man with a dark skin, strong muscles, a long beard and mane, and with a tattoo on his arm. He was clad in a flak jacket, black pants, and was very, _very_unhappy.

The Sandaime Raikage advanced, backed up by three other individuals, a fourth descending from the skies and landing next to his comrades. "The Sage of the Six Paths… to stop my Dust Release, this barrier must be indestructible." The flying man, who was covered head-to-toe in bandages save his eyes, mused out loud. He was wearing an Iwa headband, and carrying two blades on his back. "It is a shame we meet under such circumstances. Truly a shame."

Yugito paled in horror. All of them had a Sharingan as a right eye, and a Rinnegan as a left.

_**"Crap…" **_The Nibi commented.

"Mu-sama?" Karasu's jaw dropped. "The Nidaime Tsuchikage? Alive?"

"Alive, no. Undead, yes." The bandaged man glanced at the one-eyed warrior with a hint of interest in his eyes. "Are you an Iwa-nin? You bear the Sharingan, yet refer to me as _sama_."

"I come from Iwa's Foreign Legion. _May we not share the same blood, but defend the Stone and what it stands for. We are the last line, the last defense, the last men to stand. We are the frontier no enemy will cross. May we write history with the blood of our dead and the hands of the __living__. _The Stone was more of a home to me than the Leaf ever was."

"I see… if you are from the Foreign Legion and learned its oath, you must be aware of my abilities." The mummy shrugged his shoulders serenely. "May I ask you to be the one to end my life? I will have to reveal my secrets to you to give you a chance to win, and it would be a shame if they were to reach other Villages."

"Agreed."

"Nobody attacks anyone until I get an explanation," the Sage commanded, staying still. "No assault will pierce this dome, be it from inside or outside. _Explain yourself_."

"We have been bound by a dark sorcery, great Sage." Yugito recognized the man as the First Hokage. "We have been sent to kill these people against our will."

"Sasori…" The famous Sandaime Kazekage, wearing dark robes that matched well with his black mane, glared venomously at the puppeteer. "You, I will feel no guilt about killing."

"I beat you once," the redhead cracked his fingers, unimpressed, "I will do it again."

"So I see people coming from Konoha, Suna, Iwa, Kumo, and my, even my home!" The Nidaime Mizukage, a blonde, tall and slender man wearing grey robes, smiled at Haku and Mei. His goatee and lack of eyebrows made him look funny, but Yugito had seen his old Bingo Book entry. He was not to be underestimated. "Nice to meet you!"

"You as well, Nidaime-sama," Mei smirked cheerfully. "I see death hasn't made you-"

"Could you stop chatting?" Yugito snapped angrily, glancing at the horizon. A large ethereal warrior was fighting Kazama and Naruko in the distance, the trio having started fighting outside the castle before the Dust Release wiped it from the map. "Susanoo is going to kill our friends while we're talking!"

"I am afraid you are on the list as well." A sixth man emerged from the earth, an arrogant expression over his face. He was carrying a war fan and wearing a red armor. Yugito instantly recognized Madara Uchiha… but his demeanor nor age matched none of the ones she had clashed with. "Sage-sama, please lift this barrier. These people are Mikaboshi worshipers, and fighting for its dark glory. They are criminals we are here to punish." He glared at Izanami. "Especially you. When the barrier falls, _your ass is mine_."

"Sorry, my butt belongs to someone else. I see being undead didn't improve you, you misogynistic asshole," Izanami rolled her eyes. "You didn't even add a woman or two to your group!"

"I cannot help if no kunoichi was worthy of joining this mighty team."

"Enough!" The Sage cut in. "None of the people present here bear the taint of the dark god. And you yourself have been brought back from the dead."

"The only criminal here is you, Madara," the Shodaime Hokage whispered. "Sage-sama, this man has been brought back from the dead, but is free and binding _us _to his will, with the help of an accomplice. _They _are the evil ones here."

"The Edo Tensei is a _necessary _evil," the red warrior shot back. "Good and evil do not exist, Hashirama. I see you haven't grown any wiser since last time we fought."

"_Nothing _justifies such extremes," the Sage snapped. "I did not teach mankind ninjutsu to create such abominations, but to _fight them_. If you are truthful, release this technique now, and we will settle this peacefully. I will seal the darkness away from this world once again, if needed."

"I am afraid such an option is out of the question," Madara snorted. "They are going to die, and we still need Mikaboshi's essence to improve the world."

The Sage glared at him. "No one willing to use the darkness' power is worthy of trust, and no one unwilling to settle arguments through diplomacy is worthy of my help."

"Sage-sama, please, protect these people," the Third Raikage asked respectfully, glancing at Yugito's headband. "We are all dead, but they are alive, they are the future. These are the people we all fought for and died to protect."

"It seems we are facing an international force," the Nidaime Tsuchikage noted. "I see ninjas from all nations, a samurai, a monk… such a pity we are to fight each other. I would have liked to learn how this group came into being."

"So be it…" The Sage of the Sixth Paths glared at Madara. "I will free all these souls from their chains… starting with yours."

"You won't be able to fight all of us at the same time." The Uchiha took his battle fan. "Hashirama, with me, we take out the old geezer. Such a shame we are to fight against one another, but you leave me no choice. Everyone else, kill the rest when he lifts the barrier."

"Coward," the Sandaime Kazekage hissed with a disgusted sneer, as iron sand flew out of his robes, creating a dark shroud around him. "We are not puppets, to fight your battles in your place!"

"You are a puppet, and as a puppeteer, I will send you back to the underworld." Sasori cracked his neck. "Chibaku, with me. We have perfect knowledge of his abilities, and we have the equipment necessary to resist his Magnetism."

"Two puppeteers against a puppet you controlled half your life?" His student chuckled. "The irony isn't lost on me."

The Third Raikage's jaw tightened, and he glanced at Yugito. "I fought armies for Kumo," he said, his body being covered with lightning. "And I stood triumphant… but I never fought _against _my men. Only _you _can beat me. You _must _beat me."

"I will," the Jinchuuriki said, the Dark Wolf silently unsheathing her blades and backing the kunoichi up.

"Not alone you won't," Kakashi said, preparing a Chidori. "I will break your armor. I made this jutsu for that reason. It's time to put it to use and see if I get to claim to have killed two Raikage with it."

The Nidaime Tsuchikage stared at Karasu, and prepared a cone of light within his palm. "You know what you have to do."

"Buddha, with me," the one-eyed Jinchuuriki said, the monk nodding silently and taking his staff in hands. "He can split himself, so I need a backup. A _good _back-up."

"What're your names?" The Nidaime Mizukage asked to Mei and Haku, cracking his neck. "It would be nice to learn the names of the women about to rough me up."

"Haku," the missing-nin said, her body being covered with a layer of ice. "I am sorry, but I will have to use lethal force."

"Mei Terumi." The Kunoichi smiled. "By the way, there is a question I was dying to ask for years… what is your _name_?"

The man chuckled. "It's an S-Rank secret, sorry One-Eye… but you might learn it if you defeat me!"

"It seems I will have to kill you twice, Madara," Izanami said pointedly, glancing briefly at Susanoo in the distance as her Sharingan blazed behind her mask. In one gesture, she got rid of her kimono. Underneath, she was wearing a purple sleeveless shirt, black pants, and a sheathed sword. "I've friends to help, Sage, so… I'm going to release my control over you, when you lift the barrier. Can we make it quick and help my boyfriend? I will accept the price you ask."

"I will help you defeat them, dark woman," he replied, ignoring Madara's venomous sneer. "We will discuss your punishment for your sorcery later." He extended his arms. "Ready? Then let the gods bless us!"

The dome vanished in a flash, and the battle started.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kazama<strong>_

When he saw a green dome, the Amekage understood his friends were safe. "It appears you underestimated us," Naruko added, preparing a Rasengan. "Sensei?"

"Yes," Kazama made hand signs, "I remember the first time we crossed path… it was you against the two of us, and much to my dismay, it ended in your favor. Today is the rematch, Madara."

"Cursed witch…" Susanoo swore, before glaring at the duo. His armor had finished forming, taking the shape of a dark, purple knight, having a sword and a bow instead of hands "No matter. I will defeat you both, and my thralls will finish off your companions. None of you shall escape this realm alive!"

"What is the meaning of this?"

Kazama blinked as Tsukiyomi teleported next to him. Naruko glared at the newcomer, but her sensei grabbed her shoulder, and silently indicated her not to do anything. "Susanoo… what madness is possessing you?" The masked man asked.

"I am doing what you did not have the guts to do!" The Rinnegan user snapped angrily. "He will never help us realize our visions! Mikaboshi will eliminate you the second he has no further use for you!"

"You think betraying a Kami does not come without a price?" Tsukiyomi narrowed his lone Sharingan. "I am surprised you can still stand."

Kazama's eyes widened. "So you knew all along?" He hissed. "You lied to me!"

"I never lied, I simply… omitted details." The masked man glanced at his counterpart. "What are you planning to do?"

"I will extract the power inside him and put it to good use. Why bother convincing him to join us, when we can take his essence and rule?" Susanoo extended a hand. "Tsukiyomi, there is still time! In the name of our partnership, let us fight together, instead of against each other! We can share the spoils… they stand no chance against the two of us! With the power under our control, the multiverse will bow down to us!"

The man narrowed his lone eye. "No," he said, surprising Kazama. "I have taken this man as my apprentice and adoptive son. I refuse to betray him… as you have betrayed me. Without Mikaboshi to back you up, you are the one in trouble."

"Fool… this is not like before!" Susanoo clenched his fists. "Before coming here, I absorbed the knowledge of countless ninjas with the Human Path. I may have lost some power, yet, I am stronger than ever! Stronger than the three of you!" His ethereal armor roared. "You have chosen your own doom!"

"Way to end a partnership," Tsukiyomi replied, summoning his own guardian entity as protection. "You two, try flanking him."

"So… Madara and us? Fighting together?" Naruko blanched. "This… this is temporary, right, sensei?"

"_Very _temporary," Kazama confirmed, although he was inwardly confused by Tsukiyomi's words. _Is he manipulating me?_

"Come!" Susanoo roared, upon charging. "Come and _die_!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN:_ **Thanks ABitterPill and Third Fang for their help.

Sorry, no omake this time. In fact, no omake until I finish off this battle.

Because... here we are. The last battle against Susanoo, and the end of the Madara gang. The battle should be, according to my estimations, around two chapters long and pure awesome. They will have to redraw the maps after it, 'cause the landscape is going to take one hell of a beating. I think only the story's true final battle will beat this one in awesomeness.

Some reviewers noted the Dark Wolf did not seem evil... because she has yet to be in a position to commit rather heinous acts _yet_. Make no mistake, she's like a unholy cross between Mass Effect's Saren Arterius, Dragon Age's Meredith, and Darth Vader. That should speak for itself. I think I hinted some dark elements of her background already.

Oh, and I'm glad some of you did guess who was Izanami's trump card. I actually thought Kishi was going to do that in canon with Kabuto's mysterious coffin (I thought: what else could scare the big bad villain of the story?), until the big reveal it was actually Madara.

Oh, and about Mito supporting her husband's rule... it was decided BEFORE I discovered the Shodai was actually a Naruto-wannabe (I find quite funny he was the one having introduced Tsunade to gambling). It explains a few things, like giving the Bijuu to enemy nations... having Mito supporting him from behind the scenes strikes me as the only reason the clans wouldn't rebel after that decision. And I'm a bit sad the Nidaime Hokage is painted in a rather negative light by the other characters/the story. His actions were quite wise, especially when you look Sasuke's insane actions. He had to prevent the rise of a second Madara, and not giving the Uchiha clan anything (like the Police) after they helped found the Village would have done exactly that. He IS wiser than his brother.

Also... I got past the 400,000 words. That should mean something isn't it?

Would you kindly add a review before leaving? Let's break past the 1,000 reviews count!


	41. Chapter 38: Apocalypse, Part I

Here we go... it took me 400,000 words to get to this battle, so let's rock! Here is the first half of it.

Also due to the characters describing events through their personal point of view, and only Kazama being aware of her true identity, the Dark Wolf will be referred as male through the chapter, until her gender is revealed to everyone later.

**Important: **thanks you readers and reviewers for granting my wish for 1,000 reviews. You are awesome!

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 38:<strong>_

_**Apocalypse, Part I**_

When the fight started, the first thing the reborn Tsuchikage did was project a cone of light at Karasu's face.

Moving quickly, Kitsune put himself in the way and blocked the cone with the Samehada, which devoured the projectile before it could do any damage. As Kitsune adopted the shape of a werefox, Karasu leapt to his side and exhaled a blast of flames toward Mu.

"A Chakra absorption technique? Funny… I have one myself." The Tsuchikage raised his hands, and the fire was extinguished upon contact. "This Rinnegan is so astonishingly powerful…"

"Karasu-san, do you have a plan?" Kitsune, adopting his dragon shape as the Samehada fused with his flesh and bones. He waved his staff, channeling chakra into it in order to reinforce it. "You know more about him than I do."

"Since ninjutsu is useless, I guess close combat and Genjutsu are our only options." Karasu made hand signs. "Try immobilizing him. His Dust Release is insanely destructive, he's a good swordsman, a Doton master, and-"

"And I am a _nonperson_," the Tsuchikage said, as his body and swords phased out of sight. "Try locating me by sound!"

Kitsune closed his eyes. "Monk Secret Technique: Third Eye!" Suddenly, his blackened sight was replaced by a beautiful view of currents of energy, lights, and shades of colors. Mu became visible again as a skinless skeleton armed with twin blades, a red haze guiding his every move.

_The Third Eye is the sight of the soul, _Chiriku had taught the were-dragon, _It dispels all illusions and __reveals__ the truth to its user._

Swinging his twin blades, the walking ghost tried to behead Kitsune, unaware his enemy could see him. Blocking the attack with his staff, Kitsune proceeded to disarm his opponent by making use of his superior strength and speed. Unfortunately, Mu's hand went past his guard in the process, seized the dragon's throat, and smashed his skull against the earth.

"Iwa-nin, I'm above the creature's neck!" As Mu started absorbing Kitsune's chakra, weakening him, Karasu managed to kick the undead in the face, freeing his prey. As the Tsuchikage released his hold and stumbled, the one-eyed Uchiha finished his technique.

"Genjutsu: He Who Walks Behind The Rows!" Instantly, the Tsuchikage seemed restrained by something invisible, a look of pure terror over his face. Kitsune realized he was under the influence of a potent illusion, and what he was watching did not appear to be pleasant.

Moving at once, Kitsune impaled the man through the heart, using his staff like a spear. Then he pushed the man to his back, paralyzing him. Opening his eyes, the were-dragon looked down at his prisoner, as he became visible again. "Now!"

"Alright," Karasu approached, making hand seals. "Keep it down until I seal him."

The dragon obeyed the command as best he could… and was promptly punched in the ribcage. Another Tsuchikage had emerged from his other self's torso, and quickly freed his other half by kicking the staff and its wielder back. Then he made hand seals nearly faster than the eyes could follow.

Karasu, reacting faster, attempted a kick to the head… only for the second half to rise up and stop the blow with his palm. The Tsuchikage's first half finished his sequence, and spears of rocks erupted from the earth toward the two Naruto. While Kitsune was fast enough to dodge, Karasu, much to the monk's horror, was torn to shreds…

… And turned into an ugly scarecrow.

"Impressive, I didn't notice upon contact," the Tsuchikage mused with his two bodies, as a fire blast fell from heavens down to them. The zombies both raised their palms above and devoured the technique effortlessly.

Kitsune stared upward, and quickly noticed Karasu… and the two wings of black feathers on his back.

"Hey, Buddha, you think you're the only one with animal-based powers?" The Uchiha's entire skin was slowly covered with black feathers. His nose turned into a beak, his hands into talons. "Tengu Mode: Released… on your zombie ass!"

"Great, I'm fighting a ninja zoo." The twin Tsuchikage went through a slightly different set of hand seals. "I would move if I were you. The _Blind Bandit _is about to throw big rocks at you."

Two seconds later, boulders were propelled toward the two hybrids. Karasu dodged them, and dive bombed toward one of the halves, whereas Kitsune shattered the incoming projectiles with his staff.

One Tsuchikage levitated and intercepted Karasu, restraining him, whereas the second one slammed his hands against the ground and caused a massive landslide in Kitsune's direction. The dragon jumped over it, only for his tail to be caught by the double. He was thrown against the ground, and Mu grabbed his neck again, beginning to drain his chakra… again.

"I'm going to take it all…" Both clones warned to their captured opponents.

"Wish granted," Karasu whispered, his body releasing red, awfully familiar chakra in insane quantities. Mu frowned… and then chuckled, as his body started to turn red as well.

"I see, he's going to overload me," the double holding Kitsune mused, before locking eyes with the dragon. "Can you do the same?"

"No," Kitsune chuckled, activating the Samehada's ability by seizing Mu with his claws. "But I can do the _opposite_," he whispered, sucking out the undead's chakra.

"Oh… impressive," the Tsuchikage noted, quite happy to be defeated, as his body started to weaken. Kitsune pushed him back, and then tossed the undead to his back, inverting their former position. The Kage seemed to smile… and then he raised his eyebrows. "Release me. Quick-"

Kitsune wasn't fast enough. Karasu was thrown at his face like a canonball, breaking his hold and making him roll a few meters away. As both the crow and dragon rose up, boulders hit their faces and pinned them to the ground.

One instant later, one double grabbed both their necks, tightening his grip until the teens started struggling to breath. Kitsune, horrified, noticed the other clone shaping a cone of light with his hands.

"Sorry, you fought well, but…" the Tsuchikage's voice became saddened, as his double prepared to annihilate the captured duo with a Dust Release. "It seems I am too stro-"

An armored man kicked him in the face, shattering his skull into a mix of brain cells and broken bones.

While Kitsune was astonished, it couldn't compare to the remaining clone's dismay. He pointed the cone at the newcomer, and fired it. The armored man merely raised his hand, and the attack was surrounded by a grey sphere. A second later, it completely vanished into nothingness, and the double was cast aside by a powerful tidal wave forming out of thin air.

With his iron gauntlets, the mysterious man proceeded to break Kitsune and Karasu's restrains. "I'm Kuebiko," he said. "Sasori informed me you had faced an ambush, and I teleported here as fast as I could."

"Ah, so you're the guy I was looking for… gotta call you Titanium Man," the one-eyed Uchiha coughed as he massaged his neck. "I'm Karasu, and the guy is Kitsune the Buddha… or Dragonman. I'm still unsure on that nickname."

"Titanium Man?" Kuebiko chuckled through his helmet, before glancing at his side. Both halves of the Tsuchikage were recovering from their wounds at high speed. The armored man groaned. "Edo Tensei… how much I regret devising it…"

"You made it?" Kitsune asked, horrified.

"My greatest mistake. Look, we will talk about it once they are neutralized. If they are restrained, I should be able to break the control over the chained soul." He adopted a fighting stance. "I take down one of them, you two the other."

"Right, right…" Karasu groaned. "Let's kill some zombies."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Haku<strong>_

"This creature," the Nidaime explained, summoning a giant clam with Kirigakure's symbol on its shell, "Is going to cast a power mirage genjutsu!"

"I've read your dossier in Kiri's archives, thanks for the details," Mei Terumi replied, firing blobs of lava at the summon. Unfortunately, the Mizukage created a wall of water as protection while the clam produced a thick mist that quickly covered the clearing. "Damn. Haku-san, memorize the creature's location and destroy it. The mirage is nearly impossible to break otherwise."

"Done," the snow woman whispered, before the mist separated them. "Mei-san?" The steam was probably messing with the sound…

"Sorry, she isn't there for you, Bad Girl," the Mizukage whispered, as he appeared before her, advancing menacingly. He seemed somewhat surprised Haku didn't appear fazed in the slightest. "No attack? No scream? Come on, blink at least!"

"You are a mirage," the teen replied, closing her eyes. "I will locate the real one."

"Sorry," the Nidaime's voice echoed, "But the mist also messes with noise, and even _scent_. There's a reason it's considered the strongest _Hiding in the Mist _technique in existence. It fooled the Inuzuka and the Uchiha alike…"

Haku twisted around, avoiding the Nidaime's hands and catching his sleeve. Then, she proceeded to turn them into ice.

"Oh… a Yuki?" The Mizukage became living water and separated himself from his own frozen arms. Afterward, he turned himself into a blob and attempted to crush Haku under his weight. The kunoichi leapt backward and replied with a volley of ice darts. The water-man didn't bother to dodge them. "Don't tell me… you located me by examining the temperature around you?"

"Zabuza-sama and Kuebiko-san taught me well," she replied, breathing in deeply and releasing a dragon of animated ice with the following sharp exhale. The creature attempted to swirl around the Mizukage and freeze him, but the man regained a human shape and dodged with an elegant jump.

"The Ice Dragon Technique… only Yuki masters could handle this jutsu, and you're smart to exploit my Hozuki nature by freezing me…" The man commented, firing bullets of water from his fingers, each able to pierce flesh. Haku created a sphere of ice around herself as protection, and the Mizukage grinned. "My… it seems I'm fighting a Golden Egg from Kiri."

In the distance, the earth shook, and the mist started vanishing. The Nidaime's grin widened, as blobs of lava flew at him. "Two Golden Eggs in the same lifetime!" He noted, upon dodging the attacks easily. "Incredible! My Village grew really strong in my absence!"

"We all strive to live up to your example and legacy, Nidaime-sama," Haku replied politely, using her shield of ice as basis to shape two dragons of the same material. The beasts crawled and pushed the Mizukage back.

"Oh, this' the most fun I had in my entire life! Or afterlife! Or whatever!" The man laughed, as Mei emerged from the mist and released a long stream of fire in his direction. With hand seals, he created a barrier of liquid as shield. "You killed my summon, and next you corner me... only that asshole Mu could pull it off!"

"Defeating the Nidaime Mizukage… _that _is what I signed for," Terumi grinned wickedly. "How long I have missed fighting for my life…"

"Crap…" the duo heard the Mizukage whisper, as the wall of water transmuted into steam. When it dissipated, the Nidaime wasn't alone. "The Steaming Danger Tyranny… it seems the boost of the Rinnegan was bigger than I expected."

Haku blanched in horror, upon noticing the little, Chibi-creature happily jumping in place at the Kage's side.

And then the second. And the third.

"With Edo Tensei's self-regenerating chakra and the peerless chakra control I gained with my eyes… it appears I'm not limited to one anymore," the Nidaime muttered, as his three clones raced toward the women. "I suggest you to run away really, _really_ fast. Your shields won't protect you from _that_."

"We aren't fast enough to dodge," Haku replied, biting her finger. "Mei-san, behind me!" She ordered, her partner obeying. _Hopefully, Orochimaru-san, you were right…_

As the clones were within an inch of the duo, Haku finished her hand seals sequence and slammed her palms to the ground.

The explosion that followed was powerful enough to shape a small crater in front of them, melting the earth and causing the temperature to rise to nearly intolerable levels. However, the summon, a colossal purple snake, was barely bothered, having shielded his summoner and her partner from the hit.

"I have been used as a shield… _twice_. Within a month." Manda groaned, before laughing uproariously. "See, Orochimaru? I told you it would happen, _again_! You owe me twenty goats and ten bulls!"

"I should have chosen better when I made that bet…" Orochimaru sighed, glancing at the female duo from the top of his reptilian friend's head. "Haku-san, are you alright? Summoning us both must have been a hard blow to your chakra reserves."

"I'm fine, thanks to your special summon contract," she replied, although the technique had taken out half her reserves. She felt quite weakened, but not enough not to fight. _I still have a third of my chakra left, I think…_

"You can summon snakes?" Mei asked, blinking upon recognizing Orochimaru. "I see… would you mind helping us?"

"Of course not," the Snake Sage replied, briefly nodded at Mei, and glanced at their opponent. The Mizukage was creating new clones from one kilometer away from them. "Who is it?"

"A mammal without eyebrows," Manda chuckled. "And look at his attire! Hard to take him seriously. At least Alpha had the taste to dress herself _with style_."

"_You _don't have eyebrows!" Mei pointed out, apparently unfazed by the strange situation.

"I'm the most badass reptile in the entire _galaxy_, perhaps the _universe_, what did you expect? A mustache?" The beast touched its horns with its tail. "_They're _more intimidating than eyebrows, and they work as aphrodisiac-"

"We will continue this discussion later," Orochimaru cut in, intertwining his fingers. "We will deal with the clones, so try defeating the main one."

"We will," Haku said, as three more explosive clones rushed forward like arrows.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sasori<strong>_

Dodging the iron sand was easier said than done.

"Not so easy without your dirty nerve gas, is it Sasori?" The Third Raikage hissed, cones of metal flying toward the two puppeteers. The redhead puppet master, making good use of his body's unnatural agility, avoided them easily, while the slower Chibaku was reduced to deflecting them with blasts of chakra produced from his hands.

"I won't need it to defeat you." Sasori's forearms widened, revealing cannons underneath. A second later, he unleashed a barrage of explosive kunai at his former boss. "I released a SOS signal that Kuebiko's group should pick up," the redhead told his student. "It's only a matter of time before reinforcements arrive." Susanoo's team was a force to be feared, and Sasori himself in his group's chances of winning.

The Kazekage raised his hand with a frown. "Using metallic weapons against me is-" His scowl deepened. "I see… a special alloy?" He wondered, as he shaped a shield of iron sand to protect himself from the attack. Then he pointed his hands at Sasori, as if he was a puppet… which he was, technically. "Your body is made of metal, hence controllable."

"I wouldn't bet on it," Chibaku replied, propelling himself above the man with a jump and attempting to crash on him and squash him like a bug. The undead dodged without effort and avoided further rock-shattering punches from the cyborg. "Hey, you were supposed to be weak in close range!"

"The Sharingan allows me to predict your actions. I know your next moves before _you _do." The Kazekage grounded his teeth together. "How is it possible? I can feel you're both made of metal, and yet I can't affect your movements."

"Simple: our generator disturbs your magnetic fields and interferes with them enough to make them… unnoticeable." Sasori's cannons then shot black spheres at the undead warrior, allowing Chibaku to quickly retreat. Having fought masters of magnetism more than once in his life, the redhead had prepared accordingly.

Snorting, the Kazekage surrounded himself with a sphere of iron. The projectiles exploded against it, liquefying the metal instantly. "Wait," Chibaku cut in, "Aren't you supposed to tell us your weaknesses?"

"Against anyone else, I would have," the Kage replied, the iron sphere firing bullet-shaped projectiles at them. While his teacher was fast enough to dodge them, Chibaku simply let them come, his armor too thick for them to cause any damage. "But Sasori is too dangerous to be left alive, and I wish to have my revenge. I will explain my weaknesses to you once he's finished off."

"You allow your grudges to get the better of you," Sasori mocked him, projecting green liquid from his fingers toward the shield, "Pathetic."

"You are an insane, psychopathic serial killer, and just as bad, if not _worse_, than the people controlling me," the man replied, the liquid corroding the protection and revealing him. "Acid? My, you have improved. How many innocents did you torture to test it out? What about your human puppets? How many of them did you make?"

"Around two hundred," the redhead shrugged… and then raised his eyebrows, as the Kazekage flew toward him at incredible speed, his boots turned into reactors. The puppet master attempted to dodge, but the man was faster and tackled him to the ground hard enough to leave a deep trench on impact.

"Sasori?" Chibaku attempted to target the Kazekage, but he was too close from his teacher to be shot safely. The Sandaime's flesh transformed into cables, which linked themselves to the redhead's body. The puppeteer attempted to free himself, but his limbs did not respond to his mental commands. _My hands..._

"It appears you are about to become a puppet yourself," the Kazekage noted, Sasori fusing with his torso against his will. "The irony isn't lost on me."

"He's overriding my systems," Sasori noted stoically, as his body became unrecognizable. Suddenly, without warning, he pointed his arms at his own student. His eyes widened in panic. "Naruto, flee! I cannot control my limbs!"

Chibaku, activating the jetpack in his back, managed to avoid a stream of flames, quickly followed by spears made of iron sand. "Nice," he deadpanned, struggling to maintain a straight trajectory. He pointed his hands at the Kazekage's head, firing blasts of chakra in his direction. The man created a wall of steel as protection, his iron sand floating around him...

Leaving himself defenseless, when Sasori's hand grabbed his face, the puppet master struggling to maintain control over himself. "This is useless," the Kazekage whispered dryly. "My metal is already deep inside your artificial spine. Soon, I will reach the heart... and you will be dead…"

"I am a puppeteer," Sasori replied darkly. "The only one who decides my death is me. _Defcon One_."

Suddenly, the redhead's body was surrounded by chakra, burning the Kazekage's metallic body. "What… what are you doing?" The undead asked.

_Sasori glanced down at his newest discovery. A blonde jinchuuriki, having fled his country after one last humiliation... or something. The puppeteer did not truly care for his history, only for his potential, although he pretended to be kind to the child to earn his trust. Having the Kyuubi under his control would allow the spymaster to increase his influence over the continent. Hell, he might even sell the boy to a Hidden Village willing to afford the price. Or perhaps could he turn him into a human puppet..._

_But he had said his family name was 'Uzumaki'. The same clan his family was a distant relative of... Somehow, he felt something. A strange feeling he did not understand. Could it be..._

_Could it be _affection_?_

"You haven't overridden my system enough to prevent my self-destruct mechanism." The redhead shrugged calmly. "I prefer death over killing my student and serving anyone against my will. Since I cannot halt your technique's progress… I'm taking you with me, down to my grave."

"Sasori, no!" Chibaku panicked, as the Kazekage vainly struggled to free himself. "Are you insane? Don't do this!"

_It was a look in the boy's eyes and a whim that pushed Sasori to teach the kid puppetry._

_It was mere curiosity at first. Sasori wanted to see how a Jinchuuriki would do with the finest art of Sunagakure. He never expected more than passable results... until Naruto proved himself to be astonishingly good at it. Of course, it was motivated by the desire to earn a compliment from his new 'employer', but the redhead also noticed a real thirst for knowledge in the boy. In weeks, he was able to manifest chakra strings. In a year, he would probably be able to manipulate a puppet on his own..._

_For some obscure reason he didn't understand himself, when Kumo offered to buy the kid with enough money to buy a country... Sasori replied with a cold '_no_'._

"You have no chance against both of us," his teacher shot back, "Worse, I will die anyway. Hence, the most logical course of action… is to preserve your life, at the cost of my own."

"What happened to your goal of immortality?" His student asked, obviously hoping to dissuade him. "To become the greatest masterpiece?"

_It had been years since Sasori took Naruto under his wing, and the spymaster never regretted his choice._

_Naruto was a prodigy in the field of puppetry, and potentially able to surpass Sasori himself. He was bright, smart, efficient. True, his... peculiar interest in women was somewhat worrying, but the redhead would deal with his student's libido in time. All in all, he was the spymaster's greatest achievement._

_As much as he hated to admit it, the redhead had grown to like this little blonde he found on the roads through sheer luck. He had seen Naruto grow, he had consoled him, taught him, mentored him... and he liked every second of this tutoring. Was this what Chiyo felt when she raised him? Was this why she had been so sad, after he left Suna? _

_Progressively, Sasori's lifelong quest for immortality had become a secondary objective. He had found a better calling, a goal he thought would be much more fulfilling._

_To one day watch Naruto surpass his mentor, and be there to congratulate him._

"By passing down my knowledge to you, I have already achieved immortality, Naruto." The puppet master smiled warmly at the fond memory. "As for my masterpiece… _you _are my masterpiece. I shaped a wonderful successor. So… farewell, son. You were my proudest achievement."

_He put his hand on Naruto's hair with pride, as his student created his first puppet. True, it wasn't made for warfare and couldn't be brought to the battlefield, but it was the proof of the boy's progress._

_The puppet was human-shaped, with red hair and an emotionless visage. It was a carbon copy of Sasori himself._

_"It's for you," Naruto said, "I made it for you, Sasori-sensei."_

_"Naruto..." the spymaster smiled warmly. "I'm proud of you."_

Sasori let death claim him, convinced he had saved his student.

It was all that mattered.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Chibaku<em>**

With these words, his mentor exploded.

Well, it was more of an _implosion _than anything else. A black sphere formed out of his body, growing and absorbing the iron sand and the Kazekage's body. Then, it reduced in size, vanishing without a sound, leaving only a nail behind.

Chibaku was paralyzed by the turn of event. "Sasori? Sasori? It's not funny… come on, get out of your hiding spot! I know you've survived! You always survive, you're worse than a cockroach! So… come on…"

_**"Look, meatbag, I'm sorry to say that but…"**_The Kyuubi whispered, with a hint of sympathy, _**"He's gone for good. No one could survive th-"**_

"Shut up!" Chibaku snapped in anger and denial. "Shut up! He's not dead! He can't be dead! He's… he's immortal! It's just a bad joke from his part! Just… a bad joke…"

Sasori didn't reply anything.

"It's… impossible… what am I going to do next?" Chibaku fell to his knees. "You were my world…"

Then, he noticed an arm growing out of the nail.

And a torso, and a face-

Immediately understanding, Chibaku rose up and fired another chakra blast at his opponent, before a wall of dirt stopped it. "In all of earth, there is iron," the Third Kazekage noted, regaining his full shape and body. He deeply scowled, cursing his situation. "Damn you Sasori… if you had sealed all of me, Edo Tensei wouldn't have recreated me!"

"I will finish the job," Chibaku promised darkly, "All your iron sand was consumed. You lost your trump card."

"Unfortunately… I earned the seat of Kazekage long before I mastered and improved the Shukaku's techniques." He slammed his foot against the ground, and suddenly, the earth underneath turned into a pillar, bringing the man to a higher height. "Because, I can control the land itself with my very will!"

"Yeah, you traded iron for dirt, nice trade!" The cyborg deadpanned, his shoulders opening. "FIRE!" He shouted, missiles flowing at his opponent.

"I'm afraid this body is not without its own tricks," the Kazekage replied, his Rinnegan shining and firing yellow beams at the projectiles, making them explode midair. "I don't even know half of-"

"Shut up!" Chibaku flew with the jetpack and furiously punched the man's face, shattering half of his skull. "You killed my dad, _asshole_!"

"Sasori was your father?" The regenerating mouth asked in confusion, as the Kazekage's arms turned into cannons. The cyborg was forced to retreat to avoid yellow beams, while the undead reformed. "Why are you sad? You heard him, you were just a mean for him to feed his twisted ego! He didn't love you! You were just another doll to him! Don't believe his lies!"

"He sacrificed himself for me!" Chibaku shot back, drawing from the Kyuubi's chakra in rage. Red power tainted his armor crimson, increasing his speed. "He sacrificed his dream of eternity so I could live! If that isn't love," he pointed his arms toward the Kazekage with boundless fury, "Then I don't know what is!"

The red blasts he released destroyed the pillar the Kazekage was standing on, alongside a large part of the landscape… but the undead managed to dodge by propelling himself upward. "I see- beware!"

A massive hand of stones rose from the ground, catching the flying Chibaku by surprise and restraining him. As he vainly struggled to free himself, the cyborg could do nothing more than watch, as the Suna-nin's shoulders turned into missile launchers and fired a dozen projectiles at him. "Sorry," the undead whispered with genuine sadness, "I have won…"

In an instant, the sky turned into countless blades of wind that slashed the missiles at once before disappearing, making the projectiles explode simultaneously before they could reach their target.

"_What_?" Both Chibaku and the Sandaime wondered, as a blast of fire freed the former and another violent blast of wind forced the latter to retreat. The cyborg glanced down, and noticed his saviors.

"Yo," an armored individual chuckled, lazily waving at the puppeteer, "Did someone call out for a hero? Extra awesome? No pickles?"

"I was in the middle of a smoke!" Omoikane snapped angrily. "Someone's gonna pay for that damn it."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yugito<strong>_

The Raikage was at their throats the very second the barrier vanished, his fist raised with malicious intents.

Kakashi quickly summoned his Susanoo, and its white hands caught the zombie's arm and shoulder, restraining him briefly. Yugito seized the opportunity to draw in the Nibi's chakra, adopting her version two state, her blood mixing with the blue essence. Meanwhile, the Dark Wolf prepared to bisect their opponent in half.

The Raikage was faster however. He raised four fingers and used them to effortlessly shatter the Susanoo's arm into shards of solidified chakra. "Get back!" He ordered, as he raised his arm, lightning racing on his thick skin, "The fewer fingers, the stronger the Hell Stab will become!"

"_Offense_ is the best defense," the Dark Wolf shot back, parrying a punch with his right hand's katana, much to Yugito's astonishment. Then he raised his left hand's katana and lowered it down.

The Third Raikage's skin was nicknamed the "strongest shield" for a reason. It resisted the assault of the Eight-Tails and the weapons of an army of ten thousand Shinobi. It was so naturally invulnerable only a Bijuu ever managed to inflict a scar on it.

So when the Dark Wolf's sharp blade cut through the Raikage's torso like butter, shaping a large gap in the skin and ribs, Yugito couldn't believe her own eyes. And if the Raikage's expression was of any indication, he was amazed himself.

Then, the Dark Wolf hissed, suffering the aftershock inflicted by the lightning armor. Frighteningly, the bloodlust emanating from the armored warrior only grew in intensity. "I will skin the flesh from your bones," he promised with wrath in his voice.

Taking advantage of the Raikage's temporary surprise, Yugito attempted to claw at the one unprotected part of his body, the eyes. Unfortunately, the Sharingan swirled, and the undead easily dodged the sneak attack. "I… I can see your every move!" Kumo's former leader panicked, as a kick of his left leg barely missed the head of the Nibi's vessel, who promptly backed down. "I've never felt like this before!"

"Try dodging this: Amaterasu!" Kakashi roared, unleashing a stream of black fire at the man in such quantity evading the inferno was an impossible feat. The Raikage took the attack to the face… and promptly kept advancing, three fingers raised and ready to pierce the Susanoo, completely unfazed.

Acting quickly, Yugito unleashed a fire blast at the hand, deflecting it slightly. The Raikage's attack missed, but he promptly headbutted the Susanoo's ribcage instead, cracking it. The aftershock sent Kakashi to the ground while the undead prepared to finish him off.

Wind was cut in half, a blade of air throwing back the Kumo-nin. "Blood for the blood god," the Dark Wolf stated with disciplined fury, his blue eyes now shining with a yellow glow and blades becoming surrounded by fire, "Skulls for the skull throne!"

Down to two fingers, the Raikage was forced to deflect the swings, avoiding the sharp edge. If the electroshock affected the armored warrior, he didn't show it. Perhaps he had descended into a state where he couldn't feel pain anymore. "Much to my shame… I must tell you my weakness," the Kumo-nin shouted, "Turn my own technique against me! It's how I got that scar, not because of the Eight-Tails!"

"My blades will be enough to rain fire upon your soul," the Dark Wolf replied with a voice full with cold, controlled rage, his attacks methodical and ruthless, each blow aiming to kill and mutilate.

"Easier said than done," Yugito noted on the Raikage's advice, before glancing at Kakashi. "If you combine the Raikiri with the Susanoo-"

"I should achieve similar strength to his technique," the Konoha-nin nodded, his ethereal armor recovering from the Kage's onslaught. Then, it gathered a sphere of light in its palm. "I should be able to pin him to the ground, and then we could restrain him."

"I have a few seals that might do the job, if someone immobilizes him long enough," Yugito replied, thanking her foresight to have asked Mei to teach her the basics about it back in Konoha. "Not enough to seal him completely, yet he should be restrained long enough for another to finish him off."

"I will give you an opening." Kakashi adopted a fighting stance, and charged.

Meanwhile, the Raikage, seeing the new attacker coming, sent the Dark Wolf flying with a kick to the chest. He raised his arm, only his index raised and protected by a spear of lighting, and raced forward. An instant later, Hell Stab and Raikiri collided, causing an impressive explosion of light.

At first, the arms were heavenly matched. And then, the Susanoo started to win out.

The Raikiri progressed, vaporizing the Raikage's finger, hand, and forearm. But as impressive as it was, the attack wasn't strong enough to progress further. The Kumo-nin managed to deflect the Susanoo's arm with his remaining hand, continuing his reckless charge forward unhindered. "The Hell Stab… overpowered?" He whispered, "Amazing…"

Moving like lightning, Yugito put herself in the way and quickly fired a blast of chakra at the man's eyes, and he predictably dodged… only for the Nibi's vessel to tackle him by surprise and toss him to the ground, restraining his arms with her claws. "Now!" She ordered, as Kakashi prepared a second Raikiri.

"Careful!" The Raikage attempted to warn her, but his skull moved faster than his lips. He headbutted Yugito's chest with the power of a cannonball, propelled her upward, and quickly rolled on himself to dodge the Raikiri. Then, he rose to his feet, while the Susanoo was still at loss of momentum.

The Raikage's fingers broke past the armor, and reached Kakashi's chest, drilling through it.

Yugito's eyes narrowed in horror, as blood flowed from the wound. The Konoha-nin collapsed, the Susanoo falling into pieces. "No…" she whispered in despair. "NO!"

"I am so sorry…" the Raikage apologized… before noticing the Dark Wolf trying to flank him again. Acting quickly, he grabbed Kakashi's corpse, seized the blade he was carrying, and tossed the Konoha-nin at the armored juggernaut. If his expression was to be trusted, he was ashamed by his own action.

The Dark Wolf did not blink, as he callously shoved the copy-nin out of the way before confronting the Raikage in a sword duel.

Temporary leaving the battle to the swordsmen, Yugito jumped to Kakashi's side. The Konoha-nin was laying on the ground, blood flowing from his torso, which he vainly tried to keep from leaving his veins. "Stop moving," she ordered, putting her hands on his chest, "If I keep my chakra flowing, perhaps I can-"

_**"Kitten," **_Nibi whispered darkly, _**"The stab severed the main arteries and damaged the heart. Not even the Kyuubi itself could undo that kind of wound."**_

Her expression must have worsened, for Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "My father's sword…" he whispered weakly, upon glancing at the Raikage. The man, although a dashing swordsman, was heavily outmatched by the Dark Wolf's ferocity, superior skill and twin blades. "Used in such manner… honestly, what a way to go…"

"D-don't wallow in your despair idiot, there's still a chance for you to survive," she lied through her teeth, more to herself than Kakashi.

The man wasn't duped, his chuckle being followed by a bloody cough. "I left despair behind me… it's not as if I wasn't prepared for this moment… I just wished it was at seventy in my bed." He locked eyes with her. "Yugito… would you mind promising me something?"

"Yes?" She asked, unwilling to deny the man's dying wish.

Kakashi mustered the strength to reach his mask and take it off, revealing his mouth from which blood was flowing. "Protect them," he coughed, "But mostly… guide _him_… you're wise, you will be…"

"I will," Yugito whispered as she seized his hand, "I promise."

Kakashi smiled peacefully. "Obito, Rin, sensei... Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke… why such faces?" He asked to thin air. Obviously he was hallucinating. "I'm… coming for you…"

In the meantime, the Dark Wolf had managed to disarm his opponent by shattering the stolen sword with a strong swing. The Raikage exploited the samurai's temporary loss of momentum to kick him on the chest, propelling him toward Yugito's feet. The armored man was instantly on his feet.

And the Nibi's container blinked, as the Raikage was surrounded with black lightning. "RUN!" he shouted, pointing his fingers at the trio. "R-"

A second later, Yugito's world was swallowed by a thunderstorm. Her vision was temporary blinded by a powerful flash, the grass was burnt to ashes, the earth melted. But the legendary Black Lightning did not kill her, although it once massacred a thousand soldiers in one battle.

Kakashi had managed to rise up when the Raikage had raised his fingers, putting himself in front of his teammates with his last breath. His white Susanoo was shining proudly under the moonlight, having stopped the blast and shielded everyone from a certain demise. The effort had probably consumed whatever chakra the Konoha-nin had left in his flesh, and his Sharingan had become a white eyeball.

"Those who abandon their comrades... are worse than trash..." Kakashi whispered, closing his eyes. "This time... Obito... I won't run away from it..."

He kept standing in silence for a few seconds, and Yugito realized he was dead already.

Kakashi Hatake had died on his feet, shielding his comrades with his very body.

As the corpse fell on his knees and the Susanoo started dissolving into nothingness, Yugito stared blankly at it for a few seconds. She rose up silently and glanced at the Raikage, who was still recovering from the use of Black Lightning. _Matatabi?_

_**"Yes, Yugito?"**_

_Give me your full power. I'm going to use everything we have. Fuck collateral damage._

_**"… If you do this, you will burn through your reserves and be out after what, five minutes?"**_

_Long enough._

As the Nibi's chakra flowed through her veins and her flesh turned into blue fire, as two tails grew out of her tailbone, Yugito stared at the Dark Wolf. She briefly discerned a hint of respect in the blue eyes, as they glanced at Kakashi, and renewed rage, once they focused on the Sandaime. The Nibi's container observed the old Kage, and cracked her neck.

_Raikage… you overcame the Eight-Tails… but can you overcome me_?__

* * *

><p><em><strong>Izanami<strong>_

It took Izanami ten seconds to realize she wouldn't need to fight. The Sage was just too good.

Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were many things, but weaklings they weren't. They had been considered the strongest ninjas of their time, the best of the best. They possessed Bloodline Limits of legendary levels, and their skills had been refined through decades of training and warfare.

And the Sage was _wasting _them like they were _genin_.

"You are stronger than my sons, I will give you that," the man noted, his arms crossed, impaling a dragon of wood from underneath with blades of rock. He didn't have to move to do ninjutsu, apparently. A mere thought was enough to command the forces of nature. "And according to your abilities, you are from their blood. Ironic… your forefathers couldn't get along in life but feared me, and now long after their death their descendants are united against me."

"If you had chosen the elder brother as your successor, none of this would have happened!" Madara growled, unleashing a black blaze at the man. "You cursed this world by choosing the younger!"

"Oh? So this is how history chose to remember this foolish sibling rivalry?" The Sage briefly lifted a finger, and the blaze was dispersed by a strong gale. Seconds later, Madara barely dodged sharpened rocks thrown at his face. "Idiot. The elder would be the realist preventing the younger's foolish idealism from dooming us all, and the younger's kindness would temper the elder's arrogance… so I declared _both of them _as my successors, because together, they would become the world's greatest heroes. Unfortunately, they were already at each other's throat as I laid on my deathbed. I suppose each of them gave a version that served their ego the most. Children…"

Hashirama proceeded to create forest of long, gigantic strangling trees around the Sage, and then summoned a dozen giant summons to back up the attack. Meanwhile, Madara activated his Susanoo, a giant bird-like samurai. The Shodai shaped a giant, Buddha-shaped statue of wood the size of the Kyuubi, which was covered by the Susanoo. The engine of destruction was probably a match for the Nine-Tails himself, yet, as it raised its thousand hands, the founder of Ninjutsu did not appear disturbed in the slightest.

"It seems I will have to use my hands to defeat you," the Sage noted, extending his arms. A powerful shockwave devastated the forest, and propelled all the attackers away. A powerful wind tore the giant statue to shreds, and it fell into pieces to the ground. "I am far from impressed."

_Well, if this continues, I should go help Kazama instead of slacking off, _Izanami thought, observing the fight from the sidelines. _But if I leave my range of control over the Sage… he might break free and perhaps rebel. I can't allow that._

Silently, the woman intertwined her fingers, and her shadow grew in size.

As Hashirama rose up to his feet, solid shadows took the shape of a hundred spears and impaled him through all limbs and vital organs, paralyzing him. Madara glanced, astonished at the spectacle. "A Nara technique?" He asked his former student, before moving to dodge gigantic fireballs unleashed by the Sage. "No… it's something else entirely!"

"There are so many things I didn't tell you about me, you wouldn't believe half of them." As her shadow was keeping the Senju restrained, Izanami carefully approached him, preparing to seal him. Unfortunately, one of his summons, a giant bird, tried to dive bomb her. "Oh, well," she channeled chakra in her sword, "I will kill you personally."

She didn't have to. Explosive tags fell out of nowhere and blew up the animal and turning it into a red rain of blood that went past Izanami as she turned intangible. Dozens of tags descended from above, killing the other summons and helping restrain the Shodai Hokage.

"Konan-san," Izanami beamed in joy, as the blue-haired woman gracefully landed at her left side, "Good to see you. How did you know we were in trouble?"

"Everyone in the entire region can see the devastation, flashes, and high level techniques, Izanami-san," she replied aloofly. "I came as soon as possible. Where is Kazama?"

"Away, but first thing first," she pointed a finger at Madara, "You are going down, jerk."

"The Rinnegan? Confusing..." The Sage said, stepping forward. "I would advise you to surrender, young man, and end this cursed technique. My patience is at an end."

"I don't think so," the man replied, his Susanoo raising both its arms toward the sky. "Bansho Ten'in!" The entire world shook briefly, and Izanami blanched in terror upon staring at the sky.

The moon was growing closer, slowly, surely.

The bastard was going to have it _crash into the Earth_.

"Are you _insane_?" The Sage asked in horror, showing genuine worry for the first time in the entire fight. "You will destroy the entire planet!"

"With the Edo Tensei, I will survive the crash, and with the existence of alternate universes… I can always restart the Moon Eye's plan somewhere else," Madara gloated, "But can you stop the moon and fight me at the same time? Now that I have moved the satellite out of its orbit, even slowing down the descent must be a tremendous task on your old shoulders!"

"This is… Madara, if there was any good left in you, it is gone," Hashirama growled, imprisoned by Konan's tags and unable to move. "You decayed from a great ninja, to a great monster!"

"Silence, fool," the Uchiha snarled, making hand seals, and unleashing a volley of fireballs at his opponents, "You have no idea just what would happen if the Darkness wins today! One planet is a small sacrifice to avoid it!"

As Konan and Izanami moved out of the way of the blasts, the Sage effortlessly created a green, circular barrier around himself, and raised his hands toward the sky. "I will try putting it back into its orbit," the Sage warned, "But I must focus for this. I am sorry, but you will have to defeat him on your own."

"I beat you once," Izanami whispered. "I will do it again." _After that... I will make sure you never touch me, ever again..._

"Beat me?" Madara smirked arrogantly. "Surely you jest. Without your pet dog, you are no match for me."

"Alright… now I want to wipe that smile out off your face." Izanami cracked her neck. "Konan-san?"

The paper woman silently nodded, and unleashed a rain of explosive tags at her opponent.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Naruko<strong>_

The duel of two Susanoo was a spectacle one had to witness at least once in his or her life.

The giants of light fought strongly and viciously, their swords locking, parrying arrows of chakra with arm swings, ravaging the landscape as easily as gigantic summons could. They were evenly matched, with no victor in sight.

"Naruko," Kazama whispered to her ear, "I'm going to open a gateway into his armor. I want you to target the man inside."

"How can you do that?"

"With my bare hands," he replied. He made hands seals, and suddenly, his feet projected fire from underneath, propelling him forward. "Fire Release: Jet Fire!" She heard him shout, as she raced in pursuit as fast as she could.

When he reached Susanoo's ethereal armor, Kazama extended his arm and punched through it, his iron gauntlet shattering the protection into pieces thanks to the speed boost. Madara managed to catch the blonde's fist into his palm, briefly losing a tiny amount of white blood upon touching the spikes, and promptly grabbed the teen's throat with his remaining hand.

"Rasen…" Naruko whispered, upon jumping above her mentor. "Yari!" She shouted, shaping the ball into a long sharpened spike.

Susanoo's eyes widened briefly. "Shinra Tensei!"

What followed was the most brutal attack Naruko ever experienced. An invisible force blew up both animated armors into shard, Kazama was propelled into the clouds, Naruko was send to fly and crash around two hundred meters away, and Tsukiyomi barely managed to keep himself attached to the ground. The field was ravaged, turned into a large crater.

Naruko, however, quickly rose to her feet, and glanced at Susanoo in the distance.

She locked eyes with the man's Sharingan, which swirled like a crimson whirlpool.

The field turned black, and the moon became red. Rivers of blood flowed from a throne of corpses. Susanoo was sitting triumphant atop the bodies of her friends, and Naruko herself was powerless to stop it. Her hands were chained, and she stood naked before the man's sadistic gaze.

"It's not real… Kai!" She shouted, but failed to free herself. "Come on, you can break out of it…"

"This is reality," Susanoo corrected, leaping in front of her. He was wielding a long, vicious whip. "And you are next. Time to… _discipline _you."

_No… no…_"I'm not afraid of you!" She snapped, as she attempted to break the chains, but they seemed truly real. They felt strong and cold and made of steel, and she couldn't access her own chakra.

"Yes, you are," the illusion mocked her, and raised the whip. The weapon hit her back with the speed of a treacherous snake, and Naruko clenched her jaw to prevent herself from screaming. Blood flowed from her wound, but she refused to give Susanoo the satisfaction of seeing her in pain. "I'm going to kill you like I killed everyone you love. Give up… and beg. _Beg _and I may spare you. Beg, like a dog. I want you to call me master..."

"Go fu-" the illusion whipped her ass next time, and the blonde bit her tongue. The pain was racing through her body. _It's messing with my brain… it's not real, it's not…_

"It would be so easier if you admitted my superiority." Susanoo whipped her cheek next, tainting it red with blood. Naruko struggled to keep a facade of strength and dignity. "Beg now… on your knees, and kiss my foot. I want to see you lick my sandal…"

"I refuse…" She managed to mutter, the pain growing more intense. "To submit… to a fake…"

He whipped her back again, and then her other cheek. "I'm real. I am your master, your god, and you are my slave. You are afraid of me… because I'm stronger."

As Naruko's vision started to blacken, she managed to utter new words. "Alright… you want the truth?" She grinned. "Yes, I'm scared… but not of _you_…"

Surprisingly, the illusion's assault briefly stopped. "Oh?" It widened its mismatched eyes mockingly. "Is that so? You can't deny you're afraid of me."

"I'm not afraid of Madara… I'm… I'm afraid of losing _them_," she replied, glaring at the fake Susanoo defiantly. "I'm scared this illusion becomes the truth… and it might happen… but over my dead body first! I may be a dead-weight and I'm not going to deny I'm unsure if I can win… but I will fight anyway! Because what happened to Gaara won't repeat itself! Because even if they don't love me by choice, _I _love _them_! So vanish, for I must fight the real Madara… or die with _my family_."

The illusion stayed silent, then started laughing uproariously and kicked her in the ribs, making her gasp in pain. "You will fail. Just as you failed again and again and again. You're a dead last, a failure, a miserable, lonely liar. What can you do?" he asked, as he raised his whip again. "Ah yes... beg. Beg for my mercy."

"I may be a failure… and I may die as one…" She joined her fingers. "But I will never, _never _beg you. Kai!"

And this time, it worked.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tsukiyomi<strong>_

"That should take care of her," Susanoo whispered, before glancing at his counterpart. "My Tsukiyomi may not be as... perfect as yours, I admit, but she will spend the next three days standing there, experiencing a scenario I repeated time and time again in my head-"

"You gloat too much," the masked man snorted, unleashing Amaterasu's flames on his opponent. The Rinnegan user raised his arms and consumed the flames' chakra without any problem.

Teleporting behind his opponent, Tsukiyomi stabbed the man's spine with a kunai… or would have, had not a beam of light pierced his cape and blew up in Madara's face.

Using Izanagi to manifest again a few meters away, Tsukiyomi watched as his former partner got rid of his black robes to reveal the body underneath. The sick white flesh was fused with pieces of machinery and weaponry. _He used the Asura Path to heavily modify himself… must be how he's able to survive without Mikaboshi's favor anymore._

"How many times will I have to kill for you to stay dead? A hundred times, perhaps? No matter. I can counter all your techniques, and you none of mine!" Susanoo pointed his left hand at Tsukiyomi, attracting him in his direction like a magnet. Kazama's mentor teleported away to escape the invisible hold.

Right above Susanoo.

Opening the gate to his pocket dimension, Tsukiyomi rained explosive projectiles and chakra-absorbing rods down his opponent, who instantly stared at him. He raised his right arm, which had taken the shape of a long cannon. A yellow beam vaporized the weapons, alongside their user himself.

Activating Izanagi again, Tsukiyomi returned from the dead, and threw a dozen Fuma Shuriken at his opponent from behind. _With all his abilities, the only way to kill him is close combat… or to have him waste all his chakra. _It was going to be a battle of endurance.

Suddenly, reality felt apart.

_The sky was darkness. The sun itself was black._

_Konoha was silent. The Hokage Tower had crumbled. The city was in ruins, its citizens turned __to stone__. The Hokage Monument was nothing more than dust._

_In the center of the disaster, Kazama Arashi was standing. Tsukiyomi knew it was him, although his student was barely recognizable. His entire body had become nothing more than a walking shadow, keeping the same shape, a living void in the picture of creation. His eyes were stars, and his mouth a smirk of light._

_**"So… why so silent, Izanagi?" **__The__ shade asked to thin air. __**"Are you afraid? Sad? Can a god feel despair? Or… can you feel at all?"**_

_"As of now," a strong voice replied, "I only feel disappointment in you Naruto Uzumaki. You have sacrificed your heart to the darkness for the power to achieve your ambition. Your hubris cost you, instead of benefiting you. You did not have the strength of will I hoped would come with your boundless pride."_

_**"I brought justice," **__the shade shot back with a hint of anger. __**"I brought order. I will build a perfect world. I do not regret my choice."**_

_"Then you are well and truly lost," the voice replied. "Farewell, forgotten soul. You have taken the path another laid before you, instead of your own. You have chosen to become a lone shadow, when you could have been the brightest sun. I pity your decision."_

_And darkness consumed everything, and the sky never became alight again. And Madara shook hands with his student, as fellow rulers of a world of ashes._

_And creation howled in despair._

Tsukiyomi blinked at the vision. _Was that__… the future? _He thought, as Susanoo parried the attack with punches and retaliated with missiles and laser beams. Kazama's mentor dodged them all, more preoccupied by what he had seen than his opponent.

It proved to be a mistake, when Susanoo closed the gap between them and unleashed a series of Gentle Fist-based strikes. His enemy easily dodged them… and realized it was a fake assault when the Rinnegan used grabbed his torso, absorbing Tsukiyomi's chakra to prevent him from turning intangible. "One hundred Izanagi… it would take forever to kill you the clean way," the fatalist noted, before chuckling cruelly.

"What if I ripped your soul apart instead?"

Tsukiyomi then saw two ethereal purple forearms emerging from his flesh, and reacted quickly. Activating his Sharingan, the masked man activated the Amaterasu, burning both his body and Susanoo himself.

When he used Izanagi to reappear again, pain raced through his arms.

Falling on his knees, the masked man glanced at his forearms, which were starting to rot. Then he looked at Susanoo, who quickly absorbed the black fire like a living sponge. The ghost of two arms lingered in his hand, slowly vanishing from the physical realm.

The bastard hadn't taken all his soul… only two limbs.

_The throne room couldn't really be called a room at all. It was a series of obsidian pillars surrounding a seat of crystal, without roof, without walls, without guards. Around, there were only an endless black sky, and a barren, silent wasteland. The air was chilling, and the few people present were devoid of humanity._

_Absentmindedly, the almighty shadow of Kazama glanced at the sky, and moved the stars out of the way, until he could see the blackened, corrupted sun in the distance. __**"This is not how I imagined my victory."**_

_"Kazama-sama?" A black knight looking like a wolf turned his head to better listen._

_**"I expected more fanfare," **__Kazama said. __**"Now, after this long crusade, the multiverse is so… silent. So still. I miss Naruko, Izanami, even Chibaku. They had the gift to bring ambiance."**_

_"Kazama-sama, they betrayed you and your vision, plotted your destruction," the black knight replied coolly. "It was a necessary sacrifice in order to achieve your vision… for the multiverse to see your light. There is no need to regret them."_

_**"No, of course, Dark Wolf. Only you were loyal to the bitter end… yet, my heart is empty… so empty it kills me." **__Kazama watched the stars. __**"Ever since I have become the embodiment of the void, my hunger has never ceased to grow. Obedience did not fill it, and no matter how many lives I consumed, how many worlds I devoured… I was never satisfied. Is this why Tsukiyomi set out to conquer the multiverse? Because it was the only way to fulfill the void in his bitter life? I will have to ask him the question once he returns from his dominion."**_

_"This is the downside of victory," a new, yet somewhat familiar voice added. Tsukiyomi blinked, upon recognizing the individual. "Once you have it, it feels hollow. Now the entire multiverse bows down to you, now your vision of a world where you rule unopposed has come to pass, where freedom is dead, and where Amatsu-Mikaboshi is almighty once again… you have nothing else to thrive for."_

_**"Is this why you founded the Teikoku, Warlord?" **__Kazama's star-eyes narrowed. __**"Because your victory was absolute?"**_

_"Yes. Once my world had knelt before me, and peace brought upon all corners of the land, I thought I would enjoy the heaven I created. I was wrong." The man chuckled. "I grew bored to of having everyone kneeling before me, even if I pursed this goal all of my life. So, one day, on a whim, I purposefully let my subjects rebel, purely for the pleasure of crushing them again. And I realized… it wasn't victory I was seeking, Kazama. It wasn't people's acknowledgment. It wasn't revenge, or good, or justice, or whatever. It was… the quest for power. The struggle you do to earn a victory, the joy of crushing one's enemies, the battles to fulfill a wish, rather than the wish in itself. And I began a circle of rebellions and conquests. It lasted a few years, until my subjects were so despaired they ceased to fight back altogether. I almost considered destroying my own universe in my ungodly boredom."_

_He glanced at the stars. "And then, I discovered the multiverse, and thanked the god who made this possible… learning later it was _you_. I built the Teikoku to __light__ again the fires of conquest, and with an infinite supply of worlds to dominate, I thought I would never be bored again. Finally, I met you. The second we crossed gazes, I immediately understood we shared the same lust for power, the same ungodly hate. You denied it and refused my offer the first time, of course, but I knew you would, even in your insane dogmatism, change your mind. You were… _fascinating_, and I wanted to see how far you would go. And here we are: victorious, with the Infinity conquered and under our complete control. Maybe is it time to __light__ the fires of conflict anew… to feed our thirst for blood and devastation."_

_"This is insane," the Dark Wolf protested. "Kazama-sama, you have enforced true order over this chaotic world. What this man suggests… would be against everything we did. Our sacrifices would have been for nothing."_

_**"I refuse to bring disorder to my realm for your entertainment, Warlord," **__Kazama said softly, with a hint of disgust._

_"Who suggested such idiocy? You should be less narrow-minded, and more flexible in your thinking. Where is the sinister, driven man whose violence I have come to love, I wonder?" The Warlord chuckled. "I have a better idea." As Kazama said no word, the monster grinned._

_"There are other __multiverses__ out there, are there not? Waiting for the reaping. Perhaps… it is time to expand. To start the cycle of death once again."_

"What… is this?" Tsukiyomi wondered, as he returned to reality once again. "Is it… the future?" Was he seeing across the veil of time through Mikaboshi's eyes? Was it caused by overuse of the Izanagi? "It is… so confusing…"

"You're gibbering to yourself now, aren't you? How low you have fallen..." Susanoo mused, kicking his counterpart in the ribs and sending Tsukiyomi to roll. "You're harder to kill than I expected… very well. I was keeping this for Izanami, but since you insist on being a thorn in my side…" He made hand seals, and a coffin of earth formed around his opponent, closing instantly.

Tsukiyomi tried to phase past it, and failed. Teleportation became impossible as well, and the Sharingan noticed the seals on the walls. "Oh crap…"

"We shared the same power once, of course I would have the means to counter it," Susanoo gloated, as the coffin shook, probably being buried underground. "My… perhaps a grave robber will find you in some distant century!"

Madara could only curse his opponent at that point.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kazama<strong>_

Using the Jet Fire Madara taught him, Kazama managed to fly and gently land on the ground, after the Shinra Tensei propelled him away. Tsukiyomi and Susanoo were fighting each other, giving him time. _With some luck, they will mutually slaughter each other…_

A part of him wanted to rush at Tsukiyomi's rescue, but the ruthless Shinobi leader in his heart crushed these feelings. The brief respite would allow him to plan ahead and analyze the situation. _Susanoo can absorb chakra… meaning ninjutsu isn't an option. Unless…_

He glanced at his fist. The blades on it had drawn a little of Susanoo's blood, when the man had caught his punch. _Excellent._

Kazama removed his helm and dropped it to the ground, before summoning one Shadow Clone. Then, as he traced a symbol on the ground, the blonde let his double lick the white fluid. It probably had a horrible, bitter taste, but the clone grinned malevolently. His skin turned black, red lines drawing themselves where the veins were supposed to be.

When Kazama finished drawing the seal on the ground, a circle with a triangle inside, Susanoo had imprisoned Tsukiyomi inside a black coffin, which phased through the earth and vanished from sight. The Shadow Clone quickly jumped inside the symbol, just as the Rinnegan wielder glanced at Kazama. The teen had seized the Kusanagi.

"You want to experience Mikaboshi's power, _right_? Well…" Kazama raised his blade. "He taught me this."

In one swift swing, he beheaded his own double. At the same time, Susanoo's skull fell from the neck.

As the terrible memory flowed through his brain, Kazama briefly experienced the pain of his clone, but shrugged it off. Susanoo fell into dust, and the blonde quickly created another double, intending to repeat the process. After all, it wouldn't be the first time Madara suffered lethal wounds and survived…

It was at this moment he noticed Susanoo preparing to sucker punch him in the back.

Moving faster, Kazama dodged, but the masked man dispelled the Shadow Clone with his fist, and deformed the seal with his foot. "That hurt," the Rinnegan user whispered, his eternal Sharingan transforming into a white eyeball. "But now, it's just you… and _your doom_!"

"Next time, I'll go for the heart," Kazama whispered, backing down and releasing a stream of fire at his opponent. The man raised his hands, absorbing the attack, and then an invisible force attracted the blonde to his nemesis like a magnet.

"No more rituals!" Susanoo snapped angrily, catching Kazama's forearm with one hand and removing the bloodied gauntlet with the other, tossing it and the Kusanagi away with the same action. "No more tric-"

Kazama smashed a Rasengan into his white mask with his free hand.

The object exploded into shards, and the man was propelled backward, barely managing to regain his footing upon hitting the ground. Kazama rose to his feet, ready to incinerate his enemy with a Katon technique…

But then, he saw his enemy's face.

"Horrific, isn't it?" The ghoulish, hairless skull said, its white skin as pale as milk and his lipless mouth revealing the man's sharpened teeth for all to see. The eye socket where the Sharingan used to be shined briefly before it was filled by a second Rinnegan. "I do not have long to live myself."

"Yes… you have minutes left before I kill you," Kazama replied. "You're going to follow Tsukiyomi soon enough."

"My, why so angry?" Susanoo gloated. "It's because of you he was beaten. If his idiotic paternal feelings hadn't made him foolish enough to-"

Naruko smashed a Rasengan against his back while he was occupied talking.

Kazama briefly stayed still in astonishment, before seizing the golden opportunity. Rushing forward, the blonde prepared a Rasengan, aiming for the heart this time. Naruko imitated him, and soon, they were within an inch of the dead man walking.

"Be gone!" Susanoo roared, extending his arms. Both his attackers were thrown backward by an invisible force, but they managed to correct themselves. "You little… the Kyuubi dispelled my Tsukiyomi, didn't it? You can't do anything right without the fox!"

"No. I did it on my own. My willpower overcame your illusion." Naruko smiled and began circling him, trying to put herself behind her opponent. Kazama nodded, and started doing the same, forcing Susanoo to move carefully in order to avoid losing sight of one of them. With a thought, the Kusanagi floated and returned to the Amekage's hand. "As for the Kyuubi… I will not use it. I can't use it."

"What?" Susanoo asked in genuine surprise, Kazama silently thinking the same thing.

"You heard me." Naruko glared at her enemy. "And even if I could use it… I wouldn't… as I would prove you _right _if I defeated you with it. The blessing I received at birth would just have been better than _yours_. So… I will beat you with my own strengths. Not because destiny favored me… but because I can make my own fate."

"You fool…" Susanoo's one eye widened. "I will kill you, and I will kill your friends _next_. How can you hope to defeat me? I am Uchiha Madara, founder of Konohagakure, destroyer of nations and wielder of the eyes of heavens themselves!"

"She doesn't have to defeat you. _Time _will." Kazama smirked. "You are already dead… how long have you left? Hours, minutes? You will lay in your own blood, like at the Valley of the End, alone, beaten, forgotten."

"You don't know what you're talking about…" Susanoo said, unable to hide the comment had hit a sensible point.

"Oh, I see… so you were a hypocrite since the beginning!" Naruko mocked him mercilessly. "You should have died when Hashirama Senju beat you… but you refused to die and accept your fate as a loser. You went against your own destiny since the moment you survived your duel with the Shodai." She gave into a cheerful laugh. "How funny!"

"Shut up…" he threatened.

"Why? It's so amusing!" She laughed happily. "I never knew Madara Uchiha could be such a wonderful clown!"

"I said SHUT UP!" Susanoo roared, extending his arms toward her in rage.

Kazama seized the opportunity to unleash his chakra chains at him, but the Uchiha managed to dodge them… only to be hit by a kunai covered with explosive tags. The projectile exploded against his chest, propelling him into the crater having resulted from his own Shinra Tensei. "Got you!" Naruko grinned.

"He's still alive," Kazama warned, and the following event proved him right. A cloud of smoke filled the field, and a towering giant was summoned where Susanoo crashed. The blonde blanched, upon recognizing the creature's shape.

Atop the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, Susanoo glared down at his opponents. "Let's go," he whispered ominously.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Thanks ABitterPill and Third Fang for betaing.

And thanks all reviewers for making Echoes break past the 1,000 reviews! You're awesome! Wonderful! THANK YOU AGAIN!

On the chapter itself now:

Karasu's Tengu Mode is a special ability which details will be revealed later. The Sage of the Six Paths is a league of his own, because I think someone able to create the moon and beat the Ten Tails (which is as strong as all armed forces in the world on its own) alone can waste anything in his path (and with the Edo Tensei... yeah). And yep, Haku signed the modified scroll of Snakes. As for Naruko attacking Susanoo in the back... Madara gloats too much. I think if, in canon, he had just shut up wasted all the Kage/Shinobi with repeated meteor strikes, the bad guys would have won already. And the Dark Wolf can cut anything (if the Raikage wasn't a zombie, he would be dead by now).

As for Tsukiyomi's defeat, remember Susanoo has the same abilities, plus the Rinnegan. One on one, defeat or retreat were the only options. Hell, I think someone with all the Rinnegan's powers combined in one body and the Sharingan at the same time is night unbeatable, unless fighting a group able to flank him or taken by surprise. Just ask Tobi. On the other hand, he never perfected his Sharingan to Tsukiyomi's level due to having to focus on the Rinnegan as well, hence his illusion is breakable, even by Naruko. I think it highlights the fact Susanoo is all about pure power and discards what doesn't blow up the enemy.

For Sasori and Kakashi... I think I succeeded more with the latter than the former. Writing Sasori's evolution from the selfish sociopath he is in canon (and was in Echoes' backstory) to the more human version of Echoes was quite hard. Especially since his sacrifice/passing the torch was pretty much the summit of his character development. And before you call the sacrifice senseless: with the iron sand, the Sandaime would have massacred Chibaku long before he could be rescued. Kakashi's demise... I hope I made it as badass as it should be.

Next chapter is half-done and will conclude the different battles in a very awesome way! And since I got my 1,000 reviews, I will publish it before Atlas' next chapter (also half-done)!

And would you kindly add a review before leaving?


	42. Chapter 39: Apocalypse, Part II

Here is the second part of the Susanoo fight. Time to end it with a bang.

Many of you have been disappointed with Sasori's death... Echoes is on the 'realistic' end of the 'realism versus implausible' scale, or at least it tries to be. In real life, the fact you survived World War 2 does not mean you can't be killed in a random armed robbery because a shooter shot first. Even a highly experienced ninja might get killed because the enemy managed to seize an opportunity at the right time (which is how Zabuza and Jiraiya managed to kill Amaterasu much earlier).

Oh and yes, the Dark Wolf and her world will be a big shout out to Warhammer 40K. Zetsu itself will have similarities with Nurgle. You can shudder now.

**Important:** if you're reading this, you're awesome. No kidding.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 39:<strong>_

_**Apocalypse, Part II**_

"To create water out of thin air… Tobirama, it must be you." The Second Tsuchikage commented while floating like a feather, missiles of water nearly hitting his vitals but always missing at the last moment. "Have you been raised from the dead as well, this time by the other side?"

"Not exactly," Kitsune heard Kuebiko reply as the armored man continued his assault. "The Kinkaku Force never really got me."

"I had my suspicions when those moronic brothers never brought back your corpse for all to see. A ninja shouldn't be considered dead as long as a doubt exists." The Tsuchikage retaliated by propelling sharpened rocks at his opponent as he kept his cool, casual tone during the dialogue. "You shouldn't have invented Edo Tensei. It is… an unpleasant experience."

"You should focus on _me_," Mu's double warned Kitsune as the dragon barely dodged a powerful chakra-enhanced kick from the undead. The foot impacted on the soil making the earth tremble. "Leave the original to the old tree-hugger and deal with me first!"

"I'll try!" The dragon replied, retaliating with a swing of his staff. The reanimated Iwa-nin easily parried the blow with one forearm and hit Kitsune's nose with the other.

"Don't worry… I'm going to release a badass technique on his rotting ass!" Karasu shouted, biting his mutated finger. "Summoning: Thousand Crow Attack!" He slammed his hands to the ground.

Nothing happened. Karasu stayed motionless, and repeated the process silently, nothing happening. "Well… this sucks."

"Summoning doesn't work across alternate worlds!" Kitsune shouted, stepping to his left side to avoid being crushed under a large boulder. The Tsuchikage's double was combining hand-to-hand combat with middle-range Doton to prevent the hybrid from exploiting any opportunity that might present itself. He was forced to stay constantly on the move to survive.

"Right, right… plan B." Red chakra swirled around Karasu's body, creating a crimson shroud above his feathers. "Yo, Buddha, don't you have some super monk technique to defeat evil spirits? Or something holy enough to beat up a ghost?"

"There… there is one," Kitsune admitted, "But… I'm too inexperienced to try it without focusing for a minute or two beforehand. It's not practical in such a difficult fight!"

"I'm going to give you the time," the Uchiha chuckled, charging to claw at the undead's face. "Don't take too long! I wanna live you know?"

Kitsune nodded and took a few steps back, praying to heavens his friend would be fine. Planting his staff in the ground, the dragon released his hold over it and adopted a specific stance. His left hand made a half-ram seal, and he extended his right arm down with his palm parallel to the ground.

The dragon then worked to achieve perfect clarity of the mind. His spirit had to be untainted by earthly desires and emotions… which was easier said than done when Karasu was slowly being backed into a corner by the clone's ruthless onslaught. One boulder hit the crow-man's wing, breaking it and resulting in the Uchiha preventing himself from screaming.

_I mustn't be alarmed. I must be as still as the rock, as peaceful as the tree, as clear as the river. _The dragon took his breath, and uttered the special technique's name. "Welcoming Approach: Thousand Armed Murder."

A source of light manifested in his back taking the shape of the heavenly spirit of the founder of the Fire Temple. He was said to be the first monk to have achieved true enlightenment, shedding his mortal skin to become a truly pure being. The spirit was thrice Kitsune's size, and had the shape of a golden, peaceful man with a thousand hands. The entity was supposed to grow stronger depending on how close the user was to true clarity of mind, and the summoning paled compared to Chiriku's, who made the spirit ten times bigger than its caller.

When it noticed the undead Tsuchikage, the heavenly spirit turned red, and punched the undead with all its hands.

Thanks to the Sharingan, the clone managed to dodge the first fifty strikes… and then was promptly hit by the remaining _nine __hundred and__ fifty_, each punch shattering his bones to dust and piercing his fake flesh. When the heavenly spirit vanished, the Iwa-nin had been reduced to a pile of ashes.

Which was beginning to reform…

"No round two!" Karasu joined his palms and slammed them to the ground. "Dead Man Sealing!" Red lines were drawn on the ground, and then became ethereal crimson chains, which promptly restrained the undead.

Two seconds later, he was captured in a red sphere.

"Got it!" Karasu chuckled, before reacting quickly to prevent Kitsune from collapsing to his knees. "Hey, you're alright?"

"I'm fine… the summoning is taxing, both physically and mentally." The dragon glanced at Kuebiko. "Do you-"

It happened in a grey blur. The armored man vanished, and the remaining Tsuchikage exploded into dust and broken bones. While the human eye couldn't understand what happened, Kitsune's picked some thanks to his scenes. It was like Kuebiko punching and kicking the undead multiple times in a single second.

He had done it so fast…

Reacting quickly, Karasu proceeded to use his sealing technique on the original Mu as well. By the time chains started restraining him, the Tsuchikage had regained his mouth to breath, and lips to utter last words. "Congratulations," he said with a serene tone, "You've got stronger, Tobirama… and you two…" he glanced at Karasu and Kitsune. "Well do-"

He vanished, turned into a red sphere before he could finish his sentence.

"We'll speak later," Kuebiko told the duo, "We have more pressing matters at hand."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Haku<strong>_

The landscape wouldn't survive the battle.

One after the other, clones charged at Manda's skin and exploded on contact with his body, without damaging the beast in the slightest. In fact, the serpent appeared merely annoyed. "My scales are tougher than diamonds, mammalfuckers!" The snake boasted for all to hear. "They're _unbeatable_! _Respect my authority_!"

"I would beg to differ," Orochimaru commented, pushing back the living bombs with earth techniques, allowing Haku and Mei to race toward the original undisturbed. "I _did_ manage to graze them. Multiple times."

"_Un_-_beat_-_able_!" Manda stressed.

Ignoring the arguing duo, Haku and Mei closed the gap with the true Mizukage. The Nidaime smiled upon seeing them coming, and turned into water. "Here we go! Hozuki Secret Technique: Demon Fish!" He multiplied in size, reaching the size of a house. He charged forward, his hands taking the shapes of maces.

Both Mei and Haku dodged, and retaliated on the spot. The snow woman unleashed another dragon of ice toward her opponent, while the older kunoichi fired multiple shots of lava at the water construct. Putting his liquid nature to good use, the Mizukage twisted to avoid all assaults, before countering with his Water Bullet technique. Haku summoned a barrier of ice to protect herself, while Terumi was simply agile enough to avoid being hit.

With his colossal foot, the giant Mizukage smashed the ice apart, forcing Haku to leap backward to avoid being crushed. Mei seized the opportunity to unleash a blaze at the ninja's back, evaporating half of it. "Hozuki Secret Technique," the man whispered ominously, "Water Blob!"

His arms extended forward, catching Haku's head by surprise. The girl struggled, as she felt the water attempting to break past her lips, nose and ears to drown her.

A blob of lava separated the arm from the rest of the Mizukage's body, freeing the kunoichi. The water fell on the ground, harmless. "Thanks, Mei-san," the snow woman whispered.

"You're welcome," the older woman chuckled happily, before deflecting bullets of water with a fire jutsu. "Mmm… Haku-san, since the water becomes harmless once separated from the body…"

"Then it means there is a core controlling the technique, while the rest of the body is plain water," Haku guessed. "The core can control any water in contact with it and reshape the body with new material."

"Oh? You realize you just pierced the single greatest weakness of the Hozuki clan _in one fight_?" The Mizukage grinned wickedly, before stopping a new blast of fire with a shield of water. "Yeah, I would have considered you both for the post of Sandaime if I had crossed paths with you before my death… why the hell did you show up _after _I bit the dust?"

"Aren't you going to tell us your core's location?" Haku asked, freezing the air itself. The water on the ground solidified, her breath became visible, and the Mizukage slowed down slightly.

The undead turned his arms into axes of thick liquid and attempted to cut the women apart... without success. The difference in speed was too much for him to overcome. "Why bother? You're going to beat me without the info-" A blast of fire blew up his face, his jaw regenerating in an instant. "Just like I said. Nice idea, to freeze the air, I'm having trouble moving at all."

"That's only the beginning," Mei replied, unleashing a torrent of fire on the Mizukage, who had become too slow to dodge. Much of his body evaporated into steam, reducing the Kage's size.

Soon, he was half the size of Haku herself. "My," the Mizukage laughed happily, before unleashing a few water bullets with his fingers. "I'm still in the game! Although I look like a brat…"

"No more," Haku replied, upon dodging the projectiles, "Ice Release: Winter Prison!"

Instantly, the steam's water condensed, surrounding the Kage with a sphere of ice. The man tried to free himself, but since Mei had gotten rid of nearly all his liquid, he was powerless to break past his containment field. "Ah, I see! You separated the water from my body so you could turn it _against _me!" the undead gave them the thumb up. "Smart idea! And nice teamwork, team hot babes!"

"Now, my turn." Mei made hand seals, and Kanji slowly covered the sphere of ice. "Now… what about our reward?"

"Ah yes, I almost forgot…" The Kage grinned. "My real name is-" The technique sealed him before he could finish his sentence, and Mei let go a disappointed sigh.

Haku turned to look at Orochimaru. The clones had fallen into pieces the second their creator was sealed, and the snake summoner and his ally stood triumphant among craters. "Surprised, mammals?" Manda asked, before laughing uproariously. "Where's the next battle? I'm going to allow others to admire my divine _awesomeness_ a bit longer. You should grovel at my tail for my royal kindness! Because I _totally _do _not _help because I like you!"

The three humans present sighed in unison.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chibaku<strong>_

Without the iron sand, the Kazekage was forced onto the defensive against the assault of three dedicated warriors. _Losing__ one's trump card and being __outnumbered__ will do that to you…_

"Wow!" The mysterious armored man chuckled, parrying thrown rocks with wind techniques and countering with gusto. "How much did I miss these kinds of fights? Good old ninjutsu, the Asura Path on steroids… and no giant creatures that will make me potentially lose my sanity just by looking at them! Just a good old normal battle to the death!"

_Yeah, definitively the Fe- _Chibaku thought, dodging a sharpened spike of stone at the last second. "Damn it!" He roared, blasting at the flying Kazekage with Kyuubi-enhanced beams. "Why won't you die you undead cockroach?"

"I can control any metal in a kilometer's radius, as long as I can use the appropriate resonance and push enough chakra into the magnetic field," the Suna-leader replied coolly, telling them his weaknesses. "Unfortunately, I have much materi-"

Three snakes as big as lions erupted from the earth from underneath the Kage to bite his neck, arm and legs, before crashing him back to the ground below. Then Omoikane summoned more reptiles, which promptly restrained the man in a flurry of scales and muscles till barely any part of his body save his head was visible.

Wasting no time though, she reached down with the dexterity of a snake and seized his temples with a vice like grip. "Chakra Drain!" She shouted, her hands shining blue. "You may have reserves that recuperate at incredible speed, but I'll still drain you enough to prevent you from even twitching anything bigger than your fat head!"

The following falls of the formerly floating projectiles proved her right. Both of the woman's companions leapt to her side. "Guess we just have to seal him off now." The Feral Gale noted, raising his arms to make some signs. "I'm not an expert, but I can keep him down long enough for us to get one of the…"

The Kazekage's eyes widened under the woman's hand. "Oh no… get away from me! Your armors can be-"

A kick from Omoikane hit Chibaku's head, pushing him back. The woman released her hold over her captive, who promptly blasted away the snakes with missiles fired from his fingers. As the puppeteer regained his momentum, he realized both his saviors started floating, their body twisted like broken dolls. "Magnetized…" the Kazekage finished with a saddened tone.

"Oh crap…" Omoikane cursed with her eyes wide, watching as the undead unwillingly clenched his fists.

If Chibaku still had a jaw, he would have cringed at the horrible sound of imploding bones that followed these last words. The armors tightened, shattering the people inside, twisting the flesh, crushing the meat. Blood flowed from the joints in the armor, and the two were tossed aside.

"Team killer!" Chibaku roared in anger, firing a new blast of chakra at the Kazekage. The man slammed his feet to the ground, summoning a wall of earth as shield. A hand of stone detached itself from the ground to kill the puppeteer, but the cyborg, having suffered from this trick already, activated his jetpack. The projectile missed, but just barely.

_**"Well, meatbag, it appears your saviors couldn't save themselves," **_the Kyuubi noted, as the Kazekage fired a volley of missiles at its container. _**"I suggest putting our differences aside, and letting me handle this. He's too strong for you."**_

_My armor won't survive the resulting inner damage, _Chibaku replied, doing his best to dodge the attacks. His right arm transformed, turning into a long cannon. _There is the Death Ray…_

_**"How do you expect to aim with-" **_The Kyuubi went quiet for a split second. _**"Oh, it seems my counterpart has awoken."**_

A surge of malevolent chakra caught both the puppeteer and the Kage's attention, as the spot where the Feral Gale had been tossed was covered with a red aura and consumed by a small explosion. When the dust settled, a crimson four tailed humanoid whose 'skin' was a mix of chakra and blood stood, though it was swaying a bit from side to side.

_**"Ow," **_the hybrid groaned in a distorted tone that seemed far too calm for someone that had been crushed horrifically moments before. _**"Mortally wounded to the point of relying on Kurama in order to survive… of course… this IS just like normal… knew I forgot something."**_

The Kazekage's Rinnegan shined brightly, and a laser of light hit the dazed and transformed demon vessel head on, throwing him to his back. Rocks covered him, shaping a structure with the form of a pyramid. _He's going to kill him for good this time, _Chibaku noted, horrified.

_**"Who cares? That's our chance to shoot the Kazekage when he isn't look-" **_The puppeteer was already flying toward the structure. _**"Damn it, you idiotic selfless meatbag!"**_

"Rock Funeral!" The Kazekage shouted, clenching his fists, but Chibaku's explosive kunai launcher was faster. The structure crumbled under the assault, and the cyborg promptly caught the possessed demon vessel before flying away, dodging a laser beam in the process.

_**"Thanks!" **_The Feral Gale shouted, using his chakra control to adhere to the armor and reduce his air resistance to virtually nothing so he wouldn't impair the puppeteer's flying. _**"This guy is **__**more annoying than Gaara… do you think a Bijuudama would keep him down**__**?"**_

"You can do that?" Chibaku asked, shocked. "Shouldn't you be… well, possessed?"

_**"**__**It's extremely hard to maintain control in this form, **__**but I can manage for a while**__**. **__**Problem is I'm not good enough **__**to launch **__**one of those**__** while flying. **__**It's a pain to aim accurately.**__**" **_He glanced at the Kazekage, whose onslaught had stopped. Instead, he was grinding rocks into dust, surrounding himself with it. _**"Shit! He's extracting the metal from the earth!"**_

Two seconds later, several hundred metal spears shot toward the flying pair, both of which were swearing prolifically as the carrier bolted away as fast as he could. Much to their dismay, they had discovered that the projectiles were homing types as Chibaku attempted to turn in every possible direction to avoid getting hit.

"I can't get rid of these things!" The cyborg swore as the beast on his back seemed to grow a second torso and slash away a handful of projectiles that had gotten too close. "We'll get nowhere like this!"

The Feral Gale growled as his body returned to having only one upper body, clearly just as irritated by the situation as his companion. _**"Oi. Bud, how much do you value your eardrums?"**_

The cyborg barrel rolled while pulling up at high speeds to avoid another close encounter. Neither knew or cared at that point, but at the speed they were going the G forces they were experiencing would have killed most humans. "I don't have eardrums! If you have a plan, do it already!"

The four tailed beast grinned savagely before warping its body like clay so that it was facing backward at the storm of metal that was still following them and arcing its head back. _**"Just checking!" **_

Snapping its head forward, the beast unleashed a massive demonic powered, wind amplified, roar that distorted the sky beneath him so much that one could actually see the air contort under its power. Each and every metal missile following the pair failed spectacularly upon encountering the shockwave and was subsequently crushed and slammed back to the earth, along with multiple stone outcroppings in the area near the Kazekage.

"_**Go!" **_

"Right!" Chibaku snarled as he arced backwards and dove to the earth at their fastest speeds yet. Even though their target was barely a dot in the distance, the human puppet could not mistake his chakra signature for anything else. Both arms pointed forward, the puppetman fired off as many missiles as he could from his non-transformed arm while trying to aim with his altered one.

Looking up, the Kazekage frowned at the sight of his oncoming opponents and the salvo of explosives barreling down upon him. Helpless to prevent his body from moving, the Kazekage's chakra flared as he manipulated all the metal around him he could at once, warping the earth into cylindrical towers all pointing to the sky. Soon enough, he was equipped with two dozen cannons the size of houses, and fired multiple white beams at the duo that utterly destroyed the oncoming explosives.

"Shit," the puppeteer cursed, barely dodging the attacks. A ray of light grazed the Feral Gale's side, causing a large white gash to appear and him to hiss in pain. "I'll never be able to drop you to the ground or aim my arm like this!"

_**"With your arm? That **__**thing's **__**a**__** laser**__**?" **_The demon vessel looked at Chibaku's warped arm as if seeing it for the first time, then without warning placed his own arm on it and somehow fusing it into a twisted and larger version of the original, aimed it before tilting his head to avoid being decapitated by another ray of light. _**"Focus on dodging and getting closer! **__**I'll aim and power the thing for you! **__**Fire on my mark!"**_

"Roger that!"

The puppeteer put everything he had into the jetpack, and flew down like a meteor. Beams upon beams were fired in his direction, but he dodged them with incredible grace, and perhaps, the energy of one fearing for his life. A particular shot destroyed his left leg, but he managed to keep a fairly straight trajectory.

_**"NOW!"**_

Chibaku shot.

Enhanced by the Feral Gale's chakra in addition to his own demon's power, the laser adopted a red color, and grew in intensity far beyond what it was initially designed to handle. The power behind it was so great that the puppet and demon nearly forced to a stop due to the recoil.

The light first hit the Kazekage's neck, atomizing the skull and the higher part of his torso, blasting all the cannons that were in the way. The moment the beam had disappeared, the tower cannons that had still remained standing had collapsed into dust and scrap, but the Kage started regenerating almost immediately.

_**"The hell you will!" **_The Feral Gale launched himself from his ally and tackled the Sandaime's remains into the earth, creating a small crater in the process. Before the dust had even began to settle, he had flashed through several seals with his warped hands and managed to seal the man before he could recover.

_**"Here we go…" **_ The container muttered under his breath before getting back up, turning around, giving Chibaku a thumbs up and somehow smiling so that one of his fangs shined unnaturally brightly. _**"Got him!"**_

"I saw." Chibaku sighed, exhausted, while ignoring the urge to shudder at the absurd and bizarre sight in favor to inspect his current status. His arm was nothing more than melted slag, the laser having melted it, and his leg was all but gone at this point. "You know what? Let's never do something like that again. Ever. It's too badass to accidentally risk ruining the memory."

The demonic humanoid smirked, giving him a very terrifying image. _**"Told you lasers were awesome."**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yugito<strong>_

"Get back!" The Raikage's expression was one of pure despair, as he charged toward the transforming Yugito. His finger was surrounded with lightning. "Hurry!"

"I am your opponent!" The Dark Wolf cut in viciously, attempting to bisect the man with a swing. The man, reacting on instinct, dodged with a step to his left side, only to be pursued by the masked warrior. With a swift horizontal strike, the samurai assaulted the undead's face with savage vigor.

The undead groaned, as his eyes were cut into blood and dust, and the Dark Wolf moved on for the kill. Unfortunately, the Raikage's fingers aimed for the helmet. With reacting quickly the samurai managed to avoid a fatal blow… but the helmet was broken into metal shards. The warrior staggered dazed, and the Sandaime attempted to seize the opportunity to target the heart next.

A giant blue tail hit him and sent him crashing far, far away.

**"Behind me," **Yugito roared, having taken the shape of the Two-Tailed Cat. She stepped forward, shielding both the Dark Wolf and Kakashi's corpse. **"I will finish him off with a single blow!"**

"How?" The Raikage asked loudly, upon being back on his feet. To the woman's soul vision, he was a walking skeleton, a puppet to a red force's will. "I fought the Eight Tails himself to a stalemate! While I am amazed to see you can control the Two-Tails-"

**"The Hachibi never focused nearly all its power into a single attack!" **The blue flames composing Yugito's body increased in heat, turning white and luminous. She opened her maw, and condensed a Bijuudama.

"Then do it fast!" The Raikage raised his index, building up the power necessary for a new Hell Stab. "You don't have much time before I close the gap and pierce your heart!"

_**"He's right, Yugito," **_Matatabi pointed out. _**"We should hurry."**_

_We've got enough time… I hope. We've yet to test it in live combat, __but now's as good a time as any! _Yugito swallowed the Bijuudama, and focused on altering its affinity.

A Bijuudama did not have any elemental affinity save for the natural corruption of demonic chakra, and as such the effort to alter it while it was in the Tailed Beast's stomach was tremendous. Matatabi, having a special link with fire, infused it with its Fire affinity, while Yugito's chakra added Lightning chakra to the composition. The product increased in temperature, pressurized and ionized.

_Plasma… _Yugito thought, as she opened her maw_, BREATH!_

And she fired it all at the racing Raikage.

The legend about the Amaterasu's flames being hotter than the sun's was pure exaggeration, as they had failed to get past the Sandaime Raikage's skin. However, plasma was by nature hot enough to melt anything in its way, even the mountains surrounding Kumogakure. Against the Raikage's _ultimate defense__, _the Nibi's _ultimate offense _prevailed in spades.

To Yugito's eyes, it was all a flash of light, and the animated undead's annihilation. The body was atomized, reduced to nothing, as was anything in the path of the beam. Forests far, far away soon became the victims of wildfires.

When Yugito regained her human form, having wasted nearly all her reserves on this ultimate technique, her clothes had been consumed by the heat. Meanwhile, her body was being healed from the burns she suffered by what was left of Matatabi's power covering her skin like a blue haze. Racing forward, Yugito closed the gap separating her from the Raikage, whose skeleton was beginning to reform slowly, starting with the skull.

With a few seals, as the Raikage's head finished recovering and the skeleton was covered by ligaments, Yugito unleashed her sealing technique, and grabbed the undead's shoulders. Blue lines of symbols covered the body, restraining him. "Beaten... in a single stroke…" Was the one word the Sandaime uttered before being silenced, promptly falling to the ground.

Yugito breathed heavily as she glanced down at body. She was exhausted, naked, had only a fifteenth of her reserves left at best, but she had _won_. "I think we've earned our victory."

_**"Indeed… but do not fall asleep on me. We've have **__**other battles to fight**__** and you have to get dressed."**_

The kunoichi sighed… and blinked, as a pile of clothes were thrown at her feet. "They are mine," a feminine voice whispered, "But you need them more than I do, Yugito-san. They should be somewhat close to your size."

The woman tilted her head to the side, and blinked in surprise. The Dark Wolf had sheathed _her _blades, and was carrying Kakashi's corpse on _her _shoulder, and the broken helm in _her _hand. _Her _face was unmistakable, although _she _had received a still bleeding horizontal scar under the left eye, where the Hell Stab grazed _her_.

Yugito chuckled at the revelation. "I see. Nice disguise. I admit, the change of voice tricked me. I am pretty sure there is an interesting story behind it…"

"This will be for another time." The samurai shrugged. "We should hurry."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Izanami<strong>_

"I see you did not remember my lessons," Madara narrowed his eyes malevolently, a purple ethereal thoracic cage shielding him from Konan's explosive tags and a few of Izanami's fireballs. "You must really hunger for punishment, woman."

"Shut up," Izanami replied with an angered tone. "I've killed you once, on my own. I will do it again."

"When I was old and by treachery!" His eyes started bleeding, and a black inferno formed around him before progressing in his opponents' direction. "Today, I am at the peak of my fighting abilities!"

"Which isn't anything to brag about," Izanami bantered back, as she bit her finger and slammed her palms to the ground. A powerful wind pushed back the Amaterasu's flames, and a house-sized, blue praying mantis appeared to shield the two women.

"Milady Mikoto," the creature spoke respectfully with a female voice, glancing at Madara. "If I remember well, I shredded this male apart once already and tasted his heart. Did I fail your orders?"

"No… he's just too stubborn to stay dead." Izanami jumped atop her summon's head. "Konan-san, behind me. Kamakiri!"

"At your command, milady Mikoto," the insect raised its sharpened arms. "Akuma no Kaze!" Blades of sharpened air were thrown by the summon, each able to cut through stone.

The Susanoo manifested around Madara in all its glory, dark stopping the assault without any problem. It adopted the shape of warrior of light with four arms, each wielding a sword. "Yes… I think you owe me one life," the mastermind noted, his weapons moving forward, "I will have to teach you respect again."

_She was chained to an operation table, stripped of her clothes. The old bastard was glancing down at her, his eyes radiating with killing intent. "You truly thought you could escape my grasp?" __He__ asked softly. "I have four Kage obeying my every command through the Edo Tensei. There is no place where you can hide."_

_"L-let me go!" __She__ hissed, the chains preventing her from phasing away. "I'm not your tool!"_

_"You're my apprentice, and you shall obey," he replied. "I brought you back, nurtured you, treated you like my own daughter… and this is how you reward me? By running away?"_

_"You forced me to-"_

_"People are less likely to notice the hidden dagger when you open your legs for them," Madara shot back cruelly, searching through his tools. "Deal with it. I told you time and time again: you are no one. You are only __good for carrying out__ the Moon's Eye plan and destroy my enemies. And since you are intent on defying me… Perhaps is it an opportunity to learn a thing or two __about__ your condition… "_

_He brought out the scalpels, and approached her face._

_"I will have to teach you respect today."_

The haunting memory of the pain she experienced that day fueled Izanami's rage, as her summon stopped the swords with her own arms. Seizing her blade, the woman channeled fire chakra into it, the iron becoming wreathed with blue flames. "Konan-san, seize the opening!" She ordered, jumping forward. "Kenjutsu: Descending Sun!"

While the Susanoo was kept in check by the mantis, Izanami rotated on herself midair, cutting through the ethereal armor, the enhanced sword leaving a slight wound into the thing's torso. As she teleported away a second later to avoid a swing the woman grinned savagely. Moments later, the explosive tags slipped into the temporary flaw of the armor reached Madara's skull and blew it apart without discrimination.

"I tire of this!" He snorted, his jaw instantly reforming. Two of the Susanoo's four hands completed a seal sequence, in coordination with the Uchiha Lord's own fingers. "Shattered Heavens!"

The dark sky lightened as a dozen room-sized red stars fell upon the world below. "Shit," Izanami bit hr lower lip in anger, "Kamakiri, retreat! You aren't fast enough to dodge!"

"But mil-"

"Do it!" She ordered, causing the summon vanishing into smoke with a saddened groan. Konan flew away as the first meteorites impacted on the ground, each causing a tremendous explosion, while Izanami decided to dodge with repeated teleportation.

"Shinra…" Konan raised her hand toward a particularly large meteor. "Tensei!" The rock was sent to fly in another direction.

Madara's, to be precise.

"Oh fuc-" He managed to blurt out, before his own technique hit his armor, vaporizing it into shapeless chakra.

Izanami, not being stupid enough to think Edo Tensei wouldn't regenerate her old tormentor, immediately unleashed a powerful fireball toward the spot where he used to stand, which was followed by a hundred of remotely controlled explosive tags.

A powerful shockwave pushed back the projectiles, most probably the same technique Konan used to turn back the meteor against its caller. Madara stood one more time, his skinless flesh slowly recovering from the meteorite impact. "Bansho Ten'in!" He shouted, raising his hands at both women.

Instantly, both were attracted to him, as if he had turned himself into a living magnet. Loosing contact with the ground, Izanami and Konan were caught by Madara. His hands grabbed their faces and began tightening the grip, probably aiming to shatter the skulls…

Izanami's shadow moved on its own, and cut the bastards' forearms in half.

"Shit," the armless man grunted, his eyes blazing with unrestrained fury as his former limbs fell into dust. "Amatera-"

Izanami slammed her palm on the upper part of his face and channeled fire chakra into it. Madara screamed in pain and anger as his eyes and forehead were consumed by flames. "Shinra Tensei!" Konan roared, as the undead was thrown to his back by a powerful artificial gravity, keeping him pinned to the ground.

Izanami's shadow became three dimensional, adopted the shape of stakes, and impaled the man thoroughly through his spine, hands and feet. "Time to teach you respect, it seems," the woman mocked him, as she searched into her pockets.

"What are you going to do? Seal me off? I will get out eventually, even if it takes me a century." Madara's burned jaw groaned as his skin healed on its own. "Only one person could send me back to the pure world, and he isn't likely to."

"Oh, well sorry to disappoint you, but with the secret of Edo Tensei kept in Konoha's scrolls , I knew sooner or later, some idiot would have the _bright _idea to bring you back from the dead to beat his enemies. As such, I extensively studied Edo Tensei… _and _its flaws." She brought out a talisman covered with seals. "This will sever your connection to your summoner, and sever the binding keeping your soul chained to this lump of dirt you call a body. So… I guess I should tell you _goodbye and good riddance_!"

"You little-" Izanami shoved the object down Madara's throat, reducing him to dust. His flesh was turned into inanimate ashes, leaving only a pile of old bones behind.

"So you have indeed used this technique," Konan whispered softly.

"Are you going to blame me?" Izanami shrugged.

"No," the paper woman replied, much to the Uchiha's shock. "I can see the circumstances," she glanced at the moon above, which the Sage was slowly putting back on orbit, "Called for extraordinary measures. Kazama taught me sometimes, someone _has _to dirty his hands to make the world a better place."

"Oh, it seems little Konan-san has turned into a bad girl when I wasn't looking!" Izanami chuckled, before glancing at the captured Hashirama. "First thing first…" She brought out another talisman, shaped differently. "This should free him of Susanoo's control, but he would stay on earth. Let see how Madara will handle being blown up by his own petard."

"Pretty bad I hope." Mei Terumi's voice was somewhat stern, as she and Haku leapt to the Uchiha's side carrying a sealed sphere of ice. Atop a giant snake, Orochimaru of the Sannin was trailing them, much to Izanami's surprise. "We'll explain later his presence later. We've got a Nidaime Mizukage that would probably _love _to go kick his former slaver's butt."

"Funny, I've had a similar idea in mind," Chibaku muttered, carrying both a restrained Sandaime Kazekage and a bloodied, unrecognizable corpse… and riding on top of a four-tailed red humanoid fox. The living puppet chuckled at their discomfort, struggling to keep balance with the one intact leg and arm he still had left. "Don't worry, he's harmless… I think."

_**"**__**I wouldn't put anything valuable near my mouth if I were you though**__**…"**_

"I think I want one for my birthday." The puppeteer chuckled dryly. "The Kazekage is a jerk, but better have him as back-up in our state."

"I see we've all survived our battles," a mysterious man noted, backed up by Kitsune and Karasu, each of them carrying a red sphere. He saluted Orochimaru, who nodded back, and then startled upon noticing the bloodied corpse. "Oh no…"

"Sorry… neither she nor… nor Sasori made it…" Chibaku apologized with a sad tone, most of the people present staring at him with sympathy in their eyes.

"I am afraid… they aren't our only losses…" Yugito Nii looked prettier in her new black shirt and shorts, which did _nothing _to hide her voluptuous curves. Izanami actually had to stay focused on the corpse she was carrying not to leer at her… and realized Kazama would probably get pissed upon seeing his fallen friend. "Kakashi… sacrificed his life for us…"

"His death will be avenged," the Dark Wolf replied, carrying the Sandaime Raikage by the neck. Izanami was actually surprised upon seeing her female, somewhat familiar face. "Where is Kazama-sama?"

A powerful series of explosions in the distance answered her question. "What are you waiting for?" the Sage of the Six Paths asked, upon lifting his barrier. The moon appeared to have been stabilized.

"Nothing," Izanami replied. "Nothing at all."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kazama<strong>_

Kazama watched up in dread, as the smoke cleared out, revealing Susanoo atop his summon.

The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path stood in silence, immobile, inanimate. It was overshadowing the Naruto duo with its colossal size. "You thought you were the only one able to command this creature, Kazama?" Susanoo chuckled. "Forgive me, I forgot… you can't use it at all. Because you are unworthy… because you are the darkness it was created to defeat."

"I signed the contract," Kazama replied, unable to hide the fear in his voice. "It can't be used against me!"

"No… of course not…" Susanoo's fingers transformed into long grey cables, which linked themselves to the creature's skull.

"Not if it isn't _forced _to."

The statue roared horribly in pain and anguish, almost making the blonde's heart stop beating. It was like listening to a wolf howling to the moon, or a man being tortured into madness. For a split second, the Amekage felt pity for the summon.

Then it raised its leg.

Kazama and Naruko used a shunshin to avoid being crushed by the creature's foot, the attack shattered the earth underneath. "Fire Release: Great Inferno!" The Amekage unleashed a dragon-shaped blast of fire, which caused a large explosion upon impacting against the giant's arm. He had hoped to target the head, but the beast had shielded its summoner at the right time.

The statue roared madly, and a powerful shockwave devastated the surrounding battlefield, the effects similar to a Shinra Tensei. Kazama was pushed back, and barely dodged a punch from the creature with a Wind jutsu. Gathering fire-natured chakra in his feet, the blonde flew through upward, intending to attack Susanoo directly. Meanwhile, Naruko was climbing on the statue's back, adhering to it as if it was a wall.

She reached Susanoo first, and attempted to kill him with a new Rasengan. The man caught her wrist and threw her toward Kazama, who managed to catch her midair. "Got you!" He grinned… before realizing the protuberances on the statue's back were shining brightly.

A minute later, Kazama was on the run from a dozen beams of white chakra, each with the potential of killing him. "Any plan?" Naruko asked, carried by her mentor.

"Susanoo is too well protected to be attacked head-on…" The Amekage muttered, remembering the lessons Tsukiyomi taught him on tactics. "And I can't avoid it forever," he noted, as the statue started pursuing them on foot, each of its movements causing a small earthquake. "I guess we will have to kill the summon first… easier said than done."

"Without a Bijuu to back me up, nothing in my arsenal can take it down…" Naruko muttered darkly. "My Imperial Water Tide might phase it a bit, but…"

"Mmm…" Kazama frowned. "I have been working on a jutsu that could do the job… but it takes so long to prepare that I'll never have the chance to put it to use in time. I need the statue immobilized for that."

"What kind of jutsu is it?"

"Something inspired by a friend's technique." Seeing Nagato's moon-maker jutsu had been a sort of epiphany. "I have a plan…"

Two minutes later, the statue opened its mouth, releasing dragon-shaped blue lights in their direction. Dodging with an agile maneuver, Kazama landed on the ground gracefully, placing Naruko at his side. Next, he rotated and summoned his chakra chains.

The long chakra-constructs swirled around the giant monster's legs, restraining them. The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path kept its balance, and prepared to fire new chakra beams.

Naruko, adding her Water affinity to her Rasengan, shaped it into a blue sphere and threw it at the creature's face with the force of a cannonball, the water chakra helping it maintain its form for the entirety of the flight. The monster raised its forearms to block, interrupting its own technique in the process. "Imperial Water Tide!" the girl shouted.

Upon contact, the sphere exploded with relentless force. Gallons upon gallons of pressurized water were released, enough to create a small lake. The technique's shockwave caused the monster to stagger… and thanks to the chains restraining its legs, to fall onto its back loudly. The resulting earthquake almost put Kazama to his knees, but he managed to keep his balance.

"Now…" Naruko whispered, her technique probably having drained much of her reserves. Kazama nodded, and created two shadow clones.

The original joined his hands, and focused his chakra on a single point. A sphere of concentrated chakra, as blue as the clearest sky, began to manifest, no bigger than a needle's eye. Meanwhile, one of the clones surrounded it with fire chakra, until the core was protected by a two-foot diameter sphere of pure yellow supersaturated chakra. Finally, the final clone covered it all with a shell of wind chakra, preventing the whole thing from vanishing.

"It's beautiful…" Naruko noted, observing the sphere. "How does it work?"

"My friend's technique used a core of chakra so condensed it was able to create fake gravity, which would then be surrounded by rocks and other material," Kazama explained, "I discussed with a Katon master about the potential applications of a similar technique. The fire chakra will compress the core until it fissures… and then it will destroy everything in a certain radius."

As the statue started getting back on its feet, Kazama had his chains swirl around the sphere. "But it has a delay before it explodes, meaning if I do not have the time to use it well, it might explode in my face… I will have to find ways around that."

The chains moved like a flail, and threw the sphere at the monster. "Marebito: the Celestial Envoy!" Kazama shouted, as the object impacted upon the creature's head.

The resulting explosion was something to behold.

A blast of fire incinerated the statue into ashes, creating a pillar of flames around it. An earthquake shook the entire battlefield, and the two blondes were almost crushed by a powerful blast of air. When the dust settled, only a ravaged husk remained of the Demonic Statue. Only ashes, smoke, and burning grass.

As Kazama stared at the devastation, he beamed with glee, in spite of his exhaustion. The technique had burned much of his reserves.

_I've done it, _he thought, _I've surpassed the Yondaime Hokage… at long last-_

A beam of light was fired from his left side, forcing him to dodge. While Naruko managed to escape the attack as well, the shadow clones were vaporized on the spot.

"Impossible…" Kazama whispered, upon looking at the source of the attack. "Unless… you fled before I launched my technique?"

"You kids are not the only ones who can play possum," Susanoo snarled, two cannons forming from his shoulders. He raised his hands at the blondes. "Time to die! Bansho Ten'in!"

Like a living magnet, the man forced both his opponents to fly in his direction. As the cannons pointed toward their face, Kazama tried to find a way to escape the hold…

And then Susanoo's jaw was shattered by an armored gauntlet.

The attraction being nullified, Kazama and Naruko landed on their feet, watching astonished as Kuebiko moved on to attack Susanoo again. As the Uchiha parried, he was hit to the torso by both Kitsune, who had retaken a human shape and wielded both his staff and the Samehada, and a humanoid crow. "The _hell_?" The girl gasped.

"Sorry for the delay," the crow added, with Karasu's voice. "We had to fight a few undead on our way here!"

"Be gone, shadows!" Susanoo roared, repelling the trio with a Shinra Tensei… and being forced to use a Shunshin to avoid a cone of light aiming for his head. Reappearing three hundred meters away, he glared at the source of the attack, upon putting his jaw back on place. "Impossible…"

Kazama watched in astonishment, as all his ragtag clan, Konan, an unknown four tailed Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, and a few individuals he did not recognize leapt to his side. They were bruised, wounded, but alive.

At least, until he saw Yugito carrying Kakashi's remains. "No…" He whispered, before realizing Sasori was missing, and that Chibaku was carrying a bloodied, unrecognizable corpse on his back. "No…"

"We will grieve later," Izanami cut in, and then glared at Susanoo. "You truly thought I did nothing while my teacher was gone? I found counters to the Edo Tensei two months ago, jackass!"

"Surrender," a mummy-like man noted, backed up by five individuals Kazama identified as different well known Kage and a sage all in white. It did not take long for the blonde to understand, upon seeing their mismatched eyes, that Susanoo had brought them back from the dead. "Your hold over us is broken!"

"How can people this malevolent be so powerful… I wanted to defeat you the clean way, but you leave me no choice. Edo… Tensei!" Susanoo snarled, as a hundred coffins emerged from the earth, each of them releasing an undead, mindless warrior. The Amekage clenched his jaw upon recognizing some of them. Hanzo, the Nidaime Hokage, the Golden and Silver brothers, Yagura…

And Nagato.

"In spite of your strength... you're just a bunch of misfits and outcasts!" Susanoo mocked them. "You are _alone_! Doomed to be since the moment you were _born_! Don't you get it? No one is going to save you!"

Kazama glanced worried at the spectacle, and then at his allies. They were bruised and wounded, and they were outnumbered ten to one. It was a lost cause. _Unless… _An idea crossed his mind. An _insane _idea. "No... not alone."

The blonde focused, and the dark voice whispered to his confused mind vague promises of power. _**So, you finally accepted my help? Allow me to lay waste to this rotting madman.**_

_Sorry but no. It would just prove him right... whereas my solution would confirm his belief is just shit. _Kazama grinned. _I will ask for someone else's help. Can you teleport others here? Not open a gate, just bring them in._

The creature seemed genuinely surprised for a second. _**Who do you want me to bring?**_

_Everyone willing and able to help us._

In a blink, the entire clearing was consumed by a white light, briefly blinding Kazama and forcing him to close his eyes. When he opened them again, he couldn't repress a gasp of surprise.

The voice had obeyed. It had summoned _everyone_. Kazama was no longer leading two dozen warriors…

He was leading an _army_.

"Oi, Kazama-san, dear ladies, long time no see!" Jiraiya grinned from atop Gamabunta's head, his student at his side. The pervert had burns on his face, but strangely, it made him look cooler. "Mind explaining how I went from a hot bath to… _this_?"

"Naruto…" Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at Kitsune, with a sad smile, a giant monkey backing him up, surprised. "You shaved your head, I see… even bald, I can still recognize you."

"Jiji…" The monk nodded at him. "It has been a long time."

"Yugito, is that you?" Mabui asked her blonde friend, beaming with joy when the Nibi's vessel recognized her. "It has been so long!"

"Little cat, this is so surprising!" Killer B grinned, upon noticing his old ally. "I would have made a rhyme on this, but my heart is too happy for it!"

"Yugito-san, Mei-san…" Kazama briefly grit his teeth at seeing Minato Namikaze, but loosened up upon seeing Mikoto Uchiha, a masked ANBU, and an unknown woman at his side. Their horrified expression when they noticed Kakashi's corpse was downright depressing. "Oh no…"

"Ninety, Twenty? Nice to see you again!" Chibaku waved off at two copies of Naruto, one male, the other female. In fact, Kazama blinked upon realizing they were accompanied by dozens of blondes sharing the same face…

"Hey, Chibaku!" The woman smiled cheerfully. "We've earned names, you know? We will give them later!"

"President-sama," 'Ninety' bowed to Orochimaru, "We await your orders."

"Well, Naruko, it appears you are in trouble," Itachi, Godaime Hokage whispered. "Allow me to lend you a hand."

"As much as I am intensely curious about how exactly I was summoned from the End to this place…" An older Kabuto Yakushi noted, his hands glowing with chakra, "It appears we're in it for our life, eh, Kuebiko?"

"Mikoto… it seems this time," Kushina Uzumaki reached Izanami, much to her uneasiness, "I will be able to help you."

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruko grinned at the Chuunin. "You're alive!"

"Of course, no way Mizuki is ever going to kill me," the teacher grinned. "May someone explain me what is happening?"

Karasu whistled, clearly impressed. "Wow. Just.. wow."

"_**No kidding." **_The shrouded Feral Gale nodded in agreement as he inspected the gathered army. _**"Someone's definitely screwed tonight."**_

"So true," the Uchiha smirked.

"Kazama-sama!" A samurai wearing the Akatsuki's colors knelt at the blonde's side, imitated by over a thousand soldiers and ninjas. "We will die at your command!"

"Well, that's a surprise," Naruto Senju noticed, his mother Tsunade and sort-of aunt Shizune walking at his sides, followed by Katsuyu the slug boss. "I admit… I didn't see it coming."

"Neither did I," a familiar voice whispered, making Kazama's heartbeat accelerate. _It can't be…_He had missed the voice's owner. Naruto's quest to see him again had started this entire adventure. The teen stepped forward, wearing a white shirt and black pants. He was wielding a long, sheathed katana, and his Sharingan was swirling like a whirlpool. "It has been years, Naruto. I can still recognize your chakra, after so long..."

"Sasuke… no, I'm still standing, as you can see," the blonde chuckled softly. Inwardly, however, he was astonished _he_, of all people, had been the one to answer the call. "Years? To me, it feels like decades."

"Indeed. Wait, Orochimaru? _Mother_? _Itachi_?" Sasuke blanched upon glancing at the ragtag army. "Is this a genjutsu?"

"No," Kazama shook his head. "They're allies. I… I will explain later. Are you willing to help?"

The teen said nothing, but then nodded sharply, unsheathing his blade. "Are we going to fight them?" He asked, pointing at Susanoo and his undead squadron. The madman had stayed motionless for minutes, unable to process the new situation.

_He _was the one outnumbered ten to one this time.

"Everyone!" Kazama shouted, drawing the mismatched army's attention. He pointed a finger at Susanoo, as the corpses of the dead were deposed on the ground. "This man is Madara Uchiha, the greatest criminal of our land! He has defiled graves and forced the dead to fight in his stead! He murdered thousands and committed crimes beyond your comprehension! No more! _I_ summoned you all, to ask you a favor… help us kill him! Bring justice to monster, and rest to his victims! _With me_!"

And with a single battle cry, united by bloodlust and loose alliances, the group charged. "Bring it!" Susanoo roared, his thralls striking back.

It took Kazama ten seconds to realize they had already won.

Susanoo's undead thralls were strong no doubt. They regenerated from wounds and fought with ruthless efficiency. But they were outnumbered by the best warriors the multiverse had to offer and did not stand a chance.

Kushina, in the early term of her pregnancy, still managed to defeat a Kumo-nin with a powerful sealing technique while Izanami pinned him to the ground.

Killer B transformed into a giant ox and proceeded to lay waste to a dozen ninja. Mabui teleported the torso of an enemy a hundred meters away, ripping it in half.

Exhausted and tired, Yugito still managed to beat the crap out of an Iwa-nin with her bare hands.

Sarutobi's monkey turned into a staff, which the old man used to crush a Kiri-nin in one swoop. Iruka sealed him quickly afterward.

Minato Namikaze, more blur than ninja, teleported left and right, wasting anybody in his way. The ANBU, Mikoto, and the unknown woman following him proceeded to give a trashing to a man dressed like a Raikage.

Mei drowned two ninjas in a sphere of water Haku proceeded to turn into a prison of ice.

Naruko, Kitsune, and Chibaku teamed up to restrain a reborn Nidaime Hokage with a combination of Rasengan, blasts of chakra, and Samehada's swings.

The Dark Wolf ripped a Mizukage in half with one swoop of her blade and ruthlessly continued shredding him apart while he was still lying helpless on the ground.

Jiraiya and his apprentice proceeded to crush Kumo-nin twins with two Rasengan each to the torso.

Tsunade and Shizune effortlessly pinned an Uchiha undead to the ground as Naruto Senju restrained him with roots. Katsuyu divided into a thousand slugs to swarm enemy summons.

Itachi and Karasu teamed up and created the strongest stream of fire Kazama had ever seen to burn a reborn Yagura to ashes.

Kabuto, Kuebiko, and the four-tailed Kyuubi ganged up on Hanzo of the Rain and pushed him into a corner in a battle which tore apart the landscape.

Sasuke effortlessly cut a Kazekage in half with a sword of lightning, before burning his remains with a fireball.

Orochimaru, atop Manda, led his army to fight a corps of Iwa-nin, and won without breaking a sweat.

Kazama's army, commanded by Konan, swarmed the enemy with a mixture of fanaticism, loyalty, and genuine bravery.

The mysterious sage in white wasted Nagato without even trying, burying him under a mountain of rocks.

Susanoo himself was forced to fight the five Kage he enslaved, now free from his influence and more than happy to pay him back for their enslavement.

"Do you understand now, Susanoo, how much this destiny crap _is_ crap?" Kazama shouted, while beating up a nameless undead. "It's not destiny that shall beat you today! It's not the darkness, or whatever... It's everyone we befriended! We are outcasts and misfits yes, doomed to be lonely... but we _changed_ that!"

Quickly, the Rinnegan user found himself the last one standing, and Kazama decided to end this now. "Everyone!" He shouted, his voice resonating through the battlefield, summoning his Storm Flail to end the Uchiha's life. "Let's finish this!" He took his breath, and unleashing the enhanced Rasengan like a thrown shuriken.

Soon, this attack was followed by countless others.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Susanoo<strong>_

Susanoo raised his head and faced his doom as a dozen beams, Bijudama, high level jutsu, explosive kunai, and fireballs rushed in his direction. Time briefly stopped for the Uchiha lord, as he saw the end of his life coming. Alone against an army, he had no chance of survival and he knew it.

_Is it… is it my fate to be defeated? _Susanoo thought helplessly. _Were… were this girl and Kazama right? Was I the foolish one, instead of the chosen one? Was I wrong since the very beginning?_

Madara was confronted with one final choice: accepting his destiny and dying, or trying to fight his doom?

For the one time in his life, he chose to defy the inevitable.

"Shinra…" He joined his palm, and let go most of his remaining chakra. "TENSEI!"

The shockwave threw back the attacks, sending his enemies fly in all directions and ravaging the entire landscape. Susanoo's heart briefly stopped working, before returning. One more attack like this one, and he would die. _But… I will not give up. It cannot end like this. All Izuna and I did… it can't have been for nothing._

"I refuse… to give up!" He snarled, joining his palms again. "I… I sacrificed too much to lose! I endured more pain than any of you! If I'm going down… I will take all of you down with me, to the Pure World!" He shouted one last time. "SHINRA-"

His heart failed him.

His heart stopped beating, this time for good. The stress of his strongest techniques had been too much for his body to handle. He had consumed all his reserves in the heat of the battle, and was now paying the price for it. His body went numb and a headache set his brain on fire. His flesh started turning to dust, bringing him to his knees. All he could do was to roar in pain and rage.

Susanoo's vision started to blacken, until soon, the rest of his life was consumed. His life passed before his eyes in a chaotic order, from his final battle with Hashirama Senju, to the founding of Konoha, to his countless duels during the clans' era.

He remembered his childhood, and the brothers he lost to the wars that plagued the world back then. He remembered digging their graves with Izuna, as they stood as the last of their line. He remembered the death of his father at the hands of the Senju, his brother's descent into madness and loneliness, and his own foolish attempt to cheat death.

His final memory was of his brother, back when they were children. Izuna was staring at him with a smile on his face, confident his brother would create a better world as he claimed. Susanoo promised he wouldn't lose Izuna like he lost his parents… another promise he couldn't keep.

"Brother…" He uttered as last words, "You must be so disappointed…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kazama<strong>_

Soon after he and his companions rose up following Susanoo's final Shinra Tensei, the Amekage was welcomed by a most horrifying sight.

Susanoo's body was changing as he was screaming. His skin fell apart, his eyes shined with a ghostly glow, and his body turned grey. Slowly, the flesh became ashes, and after a final roar, the man fell apart into dust, only leaving clothes behind.

Madara Uchiha had finally succumbed.

"Did…" Naruko narrowed her eyes at the robes of her former sworn enemy. "Did we… win?"

Kazama glanced at the dirt, waiting for Susanoo to reappear again. This time, he did not return for another round. The blonde turned around to face his gathered allies, watching him with worried expressions. The Rinnegan in the five Kage's gaze vanished, confirming their victory.

"Yeah…" he told them, with an exhausted tone, "We won."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Death<strong>_

It was that cursed Edo Tensei that led death to its prey.

Unaware to all, the Shinigami was observing the gathered humans, glaring potently at its essence's thief. If it could, it would have killed him on the spot, but unfortunately the rules binding the gods prevented it from acting without sanction from a higher authority. The ruling Kami had made it clear they wanted to judge the darkness' spawn themselves, and any preemptive strike would be punished.

Leaving the impure world, the Shinigami sent a simple, short message to its superiors. One that would result in absolute justice and, it hoped, the execution of the thief. How long it would take for the message to reach its destination, it did not know, but the sentence would surely snap the Kami out of their inaction.

_**"I have found them."**_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **thanks Third Fang and ABitterPill for betaing, as ever. And thanks you readers and reviewers who follow and support this story.

First, I would like a minute of silence to mourn Young Justice, one of the best superhero cartoons since The Spectacular Spiderman and Justice League Unlimited, and which ends on a second season before we could see Darkseid blasting people with unholy eye beams and Superboy punching Lex Luthor's nose. Damn it.

Anyway, the battle with Susanoo is over... and the Reunion Arc has only begun. Yep, the title refers to multiple reunion_s_, as in _plural_. The arc should wrap up most of the ongoing plots of the story before the final arc begins.

Yugito's battle being a one-hit battle was intentional. It was pretty much a 'death or victory' moment: if the attack fails, she is nearly without chakra and as such extremely weakened (although she's still a badass), hence, why it is used only when there is no alternative. The mechanics is built around a real technology called plasma torches, as Kazama's new jutsu (developed during the timeskip) is based on real life fission bombs. And remember this statue did not have any Bijuu captured, hence, it is a LOT weaker than what it was in the canon Shinobi World War arc (which absorbed SEVEN Bijuu). And for the Nidaime battle, Haku and Mei, due to being able to control or counter water easily, are pretty much his worst match-up. I believe he would have prevailed against most of the other teams but here he was fighting his natural predators.

The 'Kazama summons everyone the team ever befriended' was originally the way I intended to end the story's final battle (or penultimate battle), before I got a better idea. The Feral Gale is no exception to the gathering. Some of you may not like him, and I understand, but I really wanted everyone to be present for it. Hell, the whole point of the mass summoning is to open the way for interesting character development. And unravel the fabric of reality. As for why they're all ready for battle... ninjas are always ready for that.

You may have noticed Gaara and Kazama's former team beside Sasuke are absent. This is entirely intentional. And the 'thousand arms murder technique' is actually canon and used by Chiriku (at least in the anime; didn't check out in the manga) against Kakuzu and Hidan. How can a _monk_ technique have _murder_ in its name is still beyond me, however.

For the FG and Omoikane being wasted (and in the latter's case, killed) by the Kazekage is my way of mocking the 'rescue means flawless victory' cliche. Kuebiko will explain Anko's backstory later (I intended to give her a bigger role, but I thought I already had too much work with the main cast to do). For Susanoo's death, Shinra Tensei is extremely chakra taxing, as is just about everything else he used during the fight. It seemed fitting he would be defeated by his reliance on overpowered techniques that slowly exhausted him (as it almost happened to canon Kakashi _twice_).

I am also closing the poll with the next chapter, so remember to vote if you didn't do it yet. For Atlas' readers, next chapter is around three quarters done.

Oh, and don't forget checking out Echoes' page on tv tropes ^^ Big thanks for those who worked on it (especially the Zogg, AQZT and CaellachTigerEye).

Would you kindly add a review before leaving?


	43. Chapter 40: Taking a Rest

**Disclaimer:** you're reading this? Then you're awesome. Think positive.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 40:<strong>_

_**Taking a Rest**_

Kazama hated funerals.

To be honest the only ones he had been present at were the Sandaime's and Kakashi's students', and he had disliked both of them. Losing a loved one was one thing, but acknowledging you wouldn't see them ever again was another.

Ironically, he was burying arguably the most skilled members of his team. The ones he never _expected _to outlive.

Besides Kakashi and Sasori, around twenty people had died during the battle. Omoikane was the third casualty, and a few of Orochimaru's soldiers did not survive the fight. Susanoo was gone for good, but the price had been too heavy for his liking even if in hindsight it was remarkably small given the scale of the battle.

He had opted for something quiet. Only the people he had summoned were inside Ame's main tower for the ceremony. Konan had used her Rinnegan to restore the bodies, even Sasori's, from dust. But the souls were gone, and the woman had no idea how to use Nagato's reviving technique.

_If only this Sage could help._ He mentally grumbled. The powerful ninja had left with one of Kazama's Shadow Clones to attend to a more pressing matter, and wouldn't return for a while.

As the body of Kakashi was buried inside a coffin of metal, Kazama noticed Kushina Uzumaki approaching until she stood at his side. "I would like to give you my condolences," she told him with a soft tone. "I know how it feels to lose someone you love… and to be helpless."

"Thanks," he replied politely. Most of the gathered individuals had offered words of consolation as well. Minato Namikaze and his cronies seemed especially shaken up by the event. Although his old grudge toward the man was still strong in his heart, the Amekage accepted the Yondaime's condolences with cold politeness.

The redhead crossed her arms. "I heard your first option was a funeral pyre, before Konan-san convinced you to preserve the bodies and entomb them in Ame's Hero Shrine. Why?"

"Someone," he spoke, remembering Madara's lessons, "Told me a bird of fire, the phoenix, could be reborn himself through flames. Having shed my old life for a new one, I had become a phoenix myself. Maybe… maybe I hoped to see the dead rise from the ashes, like this creature of legend." Kazama shrugged. "A childish, vain hope…"

Kushina briefly glanced at the graves. "No one could hold such a thing against you," she said.

"Do you need any special attention?" Kazama asked, glancing at her belly. "I don't know… a servant to attend your needs, perhaps?"

"Kazama Arashi, I'm going to carry your alternate self 'till I can spank him," she joked with a sly smile. It reminded the ruler of his old own childish grin he abandoned long ago. "Don't worry, Uzumaki women are strong. We don't need help for something small like this."

"Good to know…" Kazama trailed off, slightly impressed… and then he noticed Izanami advancing in their direction. He exchanged a glance with Kushina, and the blonde narrowed his eyes in comprehension. "I think you two would better spend some time together. It might be good for both of you."

"I hope so," Kushina replied ominously before leaving.

Once isolated Kazama walked to the center of the room and coughed loudly, attracting everyone's attention. "First," he began, "I would like to thank you all, personally, for your help in defeating Uchiha Madara. You saved us from certain death, and allowed his victims to rest in peace. For this, you have my thanks, and the gratitude of my loved ones. Until I regain enough control over my power to send each of you back home, you are welcome in Amegakure. I will have my men prepare rooms, beds, and attend to your every need. Ask for anything, and you will get it."

As the gathered ninjas were taken to their rooms by the palace's workers, Kazama approached the remnants of his closest circle. Chibaku in particular was staring blankly at Sasori's coffin. "I am sorry. I should-"

"You couldn't do a thing, boss," Chibaku snorted as Naruko glanced at him sadly. "I… I would like to watch over it for the night, alone. My new body does not need sleep unlike the rest of you. You guys need it more than I do right now."

A brief glance to the group confirmed his words. Yugito looked as if she could collapse at any moment. Kitsune, Karasu and Naruko were barely better off. With a final nod, and in Yugito's case, a last salute to Kakashi's coffin, they separated. The Dark Wolf argued she needed to escort Kazama wherever he was, but the Amekage simply _ordered _her to get some rest for herself.

As the night would end in a few hours, Kazama decided to take a quick rest in his room, as he would have to deal with Ame's problems the next day, and most probably send back these people back to their own world before their absences could be noticed.

However, Sasuke had a different idea in mind. "Naruto," the Uchiha told him, "We need to talk."

"Sasuke…" the Amekage narrowed his eyes. "Please do not use that name. I abandoned it for good after my fight with Orochimaru, and I have grown to loath it. Kazama Arashi is who I am, and will be."

The missing-nin winced noticeably, and scowled. "It's what I wanted to talk about," he said, "I… I want to apologize."

Kazama raised an eyebrow in genuine surprise. Sasuke _apologizing_? "For what?"

"You know why," the Uchiha snapped, "I almost murdered you at the Valley of the End, abandoned the Leaf, and… it's because of me you vanished fighting Orochimaru."

Alright, this was definitively strange. "If I remember well, you did not hesitate ramming a Chidori through my chest last time we met," the blonde pointed out dryly, "What made you change your mind? To be blunt, I expected someone else, like Gaara, to answer the call."

Sasuke lowered his eyes. "Nar- Kazama…" he trailed off. "It's hard to help others when you're dead and your body left to rot under the sun."

The Amekage's blood ran cold in his veins. "Gaara… is dead?"

"Sunagakure has been destroyed, its citizens massacred. The Element Nations are on the verge of collapse." The Uchiha sighed. "The world went to hell soon after you vanished."

Kazama locked eyes with his old teammate. "Alright… let's talk."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chibaku<strong>_

The puppeteer was left undisturbed for an hour before two people arrived and sat at his sides. "Couldn't sleep?" He asked rhetorically.

"Nah," Karasu replied, "To be honest, I rarely sleep. Too many nightmares for that."

"Ditto." The Feral Gale yawned before looking at the graves around them. "These kind of funerals reminds me of how things used to be before Ero-Ni… Ghost saved my ass." As the Uchiha raised an eyebrow, the teen sighed. "I'm mentally older than I look. Short version, I fought Madara along with half of Akatsuki and lost. Badly. Luckily I was sent back in time to correct things. So far I managed to prevent a lot of tragedies. I lost my mentor too, but I believe I can save him this time around… I think."

"How lucky you are." The puppeteer spoke, with a hint of jealousy. "Many of us would kill a lot of people for that chance."

"Yes…" Karasu trailed off. "But a new chance is not a guarantee of success."

"Nope. In fact there's a bigger chance of failure when you try to do what I did." The Feral Gale sighed. "Because it happened once means it can happen again, even if you try to stop it. It's likely something worse can happen at one point or another when you mess with the long term plans of S ranked criminals and international politics. You can't be in control of everything. The best you can do is push in the right spots at the right times at the right amounts and keep your ears open."

"I take it things haven't gone according to plan," the Uchiha observed.

"Before I came here, there was a good chance that war could break out between Iwa and Konoha." He snorted. "The Jinchuuriki of the Gobi apparently had a grudge against the Yondaime, heard about me, busted out of prison, snuck into the Land of Fire along with several dozen inmates who either also hated dad, hated Konoha, or just wanted to kill someone important. They then pretty much wrecked everyone under my command including several clan heirs while we were returning from another mission. Then he and I fought and pretty much reshaped the landscape in the process. You can imagine what the political scene was when word got out. Jinchuuriki escaping from their villages and causing havoc in another major nation isn't something that can be ignored. And no, nothing even close to this happened the first time around."

Karasu nodded. "For want of a nail."

Chibaku winced, understanding how bad the situation was. While his recent travels had been hectic, they were all short term. Most of the worlds he had visited he had only been in for a week or two. Playing the political game, especially long term, was something he and Sasori had avoided whenever possible simply because it wasn't worth it and caused more problems than it solved. It also took forever for anything to get done. Why bother trying to work the system to expose a traitorous political client over the course of months if not years when killing the target and stealing information and money in a single night works just as well? "I thought that Ghost or whatever was supposed to help you to stop this stuff from happening."

The Feral Gale snorted bitterly. "Heh. Him? He helps occasionally and he does train me, but more than half the time it's more than clear that me, my problems, my friends, Madara, and even my world are nothing more than entertainment for him. I can't do anything about it because he's just THAT much stronger than anyone and everything else my universe can produce. So in a sick way, my, no my world's existence could be considered a tragic parody of sorts, with events being led around by forces that don't really care about the people's or the planet's well being in the first place."

"You're serious?" The puppetmaster asked bewildered. The idea of the events in his life and home being little more than part of a higher existence's entertainment was nothing short of sickening to him.

The Uchiha rose an eyebrow. "That's… really messed up and that's coming from me. This guy is supposed to be some kind of god?"

"Human with the authority and power of one." The eldest Naruto shrugged. "Gods and immortals are really fucked up in the head in one way or another even if they don't seem like it. They see things we don't and their logic is just as tweaked. A word of advice: if a genuine god or existence with similar authority ever comes to you and offers their help, get it in writing and quadruple check it first. Then do it again. That is if you can stay alive or sane while near it in the first place."

The Feral Gale glanced at the memorial to the fallen, switching subject. "When things get too nuts, I sometimes dream of history repeating itself. Sometimes I wonder if I could have done much had not Ghost and co helped me… and if I wasn't such a damn oblivious idiot the first time around." He looked at Chibaku. "If you hadn't acted to save me from the Kazekage's Rock Funeral…"

"You helped me beat him, so I guess we're even." The puppeteer crossed his arms. "If I could try time travel… I wonder what I would do. Perhaps would I try avoiding crossing paths with Five in the first place. Or try discovering how the hell Mei can dress like that. I mean, it's completely impractical."

"Chakra control is probably involved," the Feral Gale snorted at an inside joke that only he apparently got. "My guess is she _wants _to be noticed. It distracts most men and some women."

"To be honest, the Dark Wolf is the one I'm worried about," the Uchiha cut in. "I mean, beside the fact I thought she was a guy, look at her face. It's obviously little Naruko all grown up."

"Nah, you want the truly, _really _worrying part?" Chibaku sighed unhappily. "I used X-rays to see past her armor and her bust is quite… _developed_. I still have no idea how the flat lady is going to get them_._"

"Tsunade was very flat in her younger days, and now she has the biggest chest in the Leaf… and Hinata herself is no slouch either." The Feral Gale grinned lecherously and rubbed his hands together eagerly. Moments later he froze and began to shiver. "I fear I just damned myself as soon as I get back home for some reason."

"Hinata? Feral Gale, she's-"

"Could you stop calling me by my title?" He cut in. "It's fine the first few times but I don't want it to be used as my actual name. It's like calling dad 'Yellow Flash' all the time. After it loses its shock value you realize that 'Yellow Flash' sounds more like something you call a stripper, not a fighter. Call me Inari or something."

"Alright, Mister Feral Inari," Karasu mocked him, "Hinata Hyuuga is… well, last time I saw her, she wasn't anything impressive. As flat as a cliff, in fact."

"You would be surprised my poor unknowing Crow-kun. That sweater of hers has worked many wonders and miracles across the realities."

Chibaku chuckled at the sheer silliness of the scene. After losing Sasori, he did need something to cheer himself up. He glanced at Karasu. "And you?" he asked. "What would you do, if you could turn back the clock?"

The Uchiha snorted, and looked at the ground. "Probably send my bro to a psychologist so he wouldn't go crazy," he whispered, "And never crossing paths with _that _Sound-nin."

"Sound-nin?" Inari raised an eyebrow. "Kimimaro? Kabuto? That weird six armed guy?"

"Nah, a Naruto Uzumaki who joined Orochimaru… I think. How the hell he got to my world, I've no idea, but… we met and he gave me the trashing of the century."

Inari crossed his arms and frowned before looking carefully at the Uchiha. "… What happened to you?" He asked in a more mature tone. "I've seen you. You're always serene and smiling, even when fighting Uchiha 'A god I am' Madara. That not normal behavior…"

"There are no _normal _people," the Uchiha shot back. "Everyone is unique, and only _pretends _to be normal to blend with society."

"There's our level of tweaked, and then there's likely to gut their friends on a whim next Thursday afternoon tweaked." The eldest frowned. "I've spent enough time with both recently to recognize warning signs."

"You didn't answer the question," Chibaku pointed out. "Look, if you don't want to talk, we understand-"

"Keeping things to yourself is pointless and self-destructive." Karasu shrugged. "I'm the result of an extramarital affair between Minato Namikaze and Mikoto Uchiha, both dead. The former died when Kushina discovered his cheating ways and released the Kyuubi on his ass. Fortunately, Jiraiya managed to seal it in one of Mikoto's newborn twins."

"_Twins_?" Inari raised an eyebrow.

"I had a younger twin, Sasuke," Karasu told them, "And an elder half-brother, Itachi, the trueborn son of Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha. As you can guess, my true lineage did not stay a secret for long and the marriage deteriorated. When I was seven, they couldn't stand each others' presence."

"Did Fugaku…" Chibaku scratched the back of his metallic head. "Since he knew you weren't his son…"

"Actually he was a pretty good dad. He was aware neither I nor Sasuke desired our fate, and he treated us like we were his children. Itachi was good to us, as was mom. The rest of the clan however… Sasuke and I were outcasts. The clan resented Mikoto for her adultery, and her children by proxy. And let's not talk about the resentment _I _received from the Village as a whole."

"The more things change the more they stay the same in this case I guess," Inari sighed.

"I coped with the isolation by… well, being a clown." Karasu shrugged. "Sasuke… didn't."

"He went psycho, didn't he?" Chibaku guessed.

"Not at first. Due to my Sharingan and Madara's fabled ability to control the Nine Tails, Konoha feared the Uchiha clan might use it against them. We were progressively relegated to the outskirts and placed under close scrutiny. As a result, the clan started resenting me and bro for their newfound situation on top of being the result of mom's adultery. Soon after we started the academy though, Sasuke began to change, slowly, but surely. It was hard to notice at first, but he would spend days trying to decipher the Uchiha stele under our compound, avoided human contact as much as possible, and sometimes vanished for no reason. Then… one night, Itachi and I returned home after spending some time at Ichiraku's."

He shrugged his shoulders. "We found no one, which worried us. We raced through the compound, but all houses of the houses were empty. Then Sasuke appeared from out of nowhere, attacked Itachi by surprise and crushed him with Susanoo. Then he went after me. When I asked him what was wrong with him, he told me the spirit of Madara Uchiha had visited his dreams and taught him the truth about the Uchiha's eyes… that we had _'decayed' _by embracing the Senju's weakness instead of the bloody traditions of our ancestors. That the Mangekyo would grow in power the more heartless its wielder would become, and that by killing his relatives and stealing my eyes, he would be able to surpass the clan and _'see the light'_. But he hadn't full control over his new powers and was still too young to handle the Mangekyo safely, so I was the one who emerged as the victor in the end."

Both Chibaku and Inari did not say a word, disturbed by the implications.

"I lost faith in the Leaf after that." Karasu shrugged. "Their resentment warped by bro into that… that fiend. I left the town as soon as I could to walk the earth. Two years later I was selling my skills for the highest bidder when I got noticed by Iwa's Foreign Legion. They offered me a steady paycheck and did not care about my origins, age, or anything. The Stone turned out to be a good place where to live in, and its citizens, if austere, quite welcoming and supportive. Their stated resentment of the Yondaime Hokage is greatly exaggerated, and only a few old crones disliked me on sight. Iwa's Jinchuuriki mentored me, the Tsuchikage Onoki is very kind, when you look past his grumpy behavior, and I even started dating his granddaughter. Pretty much the perfect life."

"Kurotsuchi?" The Feral Gale laughed. "Quite the tomboy, isn't she?"

"Yeah… pretty much why we got so much chemistry." Karasu crossed his arms. "It was like in the tales, love conquers all… and then the Sound-nin crashed one of our dates and captured me."

"What happened to your girl?" Chibaku asked.

Karasu looked away, and did not bother to answer.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kazama<strong>_

Sitting on Kazama's desk, Sasuke massaged his temples. "You gotta be kidding me… alternate universes? And you are a Kage now?" He chuckled, having finally finished absorbing what Kazama had just told him. Of course the latter had left out some… disturbing facts, like the nature of his power or Izanami's identity.

The warrior figured it would be better if he did not tell Sasuke he was dating his mother.

"Ironic, isn't it? You achieved your dream… in another Village entirely. And you beat Orochimaru on your own. The guy who killed the Sandaime himself…"

"This is hard to believe indeed… but I've got the feeling it isn't _this _part that you have the most trouble swallowing." The blonde sat on his bed. "There is a very real possibility Konoha was behind the Uchiha Massacre. Of course, due to the nature of the information, it may, or may not, be true… but I intend to verify it when I return."

"If it's true… then it would mean…" Sasuke glanced at the broken mirror Kazama shattered days ago in blind rage. "Itachi…"

"Sasuke," the blonde cut in, monopolizing his old foe's attention, "I told you what happened to me, after my departure. Now, it's your turn. How did my former home go to hell? What happened to you after Orochimaru and I left?"

Sasuke glanced at the mirror again. "At first… I thought Orochimaru killed you and retreated elsewhere. Later that both of you died, possibly because you executed a suicide technique. Konoha sent rescue teams to examine the battlefield, as did Akatsuki. Without Orochimaru and Kabuto, the Hidden Sound disbanded. I recruited a small team to focus on Itachi… and I got my revenge by impaling his chest with a Chidori."

Sasuke snorted sadly. "He ranted. How he spared me so he could rip my eyes and gain the eternal Mangekyo Sharingan when I was old enough… he gloated how he felt joy when he killed mom and dad… but I prevailed in the end."

"I see…" Considering how Itachi had _trounced _Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai at the same time, it implied Sasuke had grown into a S-rank ninja during the three years he spent outside Konoha. Orochimaru did not lie when he gloated how much better of a teacher he was compared to Jiraiya. "And after that? You returned to Konoha?"

"No." The Uchiha chuckled. "I felt hollow inside. My entire life was built around avenging my clan, and when it was done… I realized I had nothing left to live for. It… it made me think about what I had sacrificed." He observed Kazama with a serious expression. "I realized… I had lost my _real _brother for nothing."

Kazama's heart briefly stopped beating at the admission, and he shyly glanced sideways, touched and confused. "So what happened next?"

"I… Orochimaru had Edo Tensei, and… he left notes." Sasuke shook a bit. "I… I thought I could at least try apologizing, maybe revive you for real. I captured a random thief and attempted to bring you back. Kabuto had smuggled some of your blood to analyze your Uzumaki's lifespan for his master… I tried to bring you back from the dead… and failed."

Kazama sighed sadly. "I guess we have all done nasty things for what we thought was the right thing," he admitted, "I'm not saintly enough to criticize your choices."

"I realized you were alive, somewhere, and I walked across the elemental nations in an attempt to find you. I even trained as sensor for this. But… Akatsuki had other plans. Deidara had a grudge on Itachi and since I deprived him of his revenge, he tracked me down and slaughtered my team before I managed to kill him."

"I'm not going to mourn him."

"After the battle, I tried to pursue my research on my own… and then you summoned me here." Sasuke rose up…

And knelt.

He knelt before Kazama, much to the blonde's bewilderment. "I… I truly apologize for what I did," the Uchiha whispered, "If you want to kill me in payback for my acts, I will gladl-"

"Sasuke." The Amekage seized his shoulders and forced him back to his feet. "I don't care about that time anymore. In fact, thinking about it, you were _right _to abandon Konoha, and _I _was a fool in trying to bring you back to it."

The ninja's jaw dropped, but the world wanderer did not let him talk yet. "I have come to hate Konoha, just as much as you hated Itachi," he explained. "They manipulated and shackled me, abused my trust… and they committed heinous crimes I intend to see punished in time. As for you… I could not understand why you chose to leave… but now, I understand… and I fully agree with your decision. It wasn't my right to decide for you, and since you almost died protecting me multiple times, I guess we're even."

He released his old rival. "Sasuke… we're not the kids who used to fight over some pointless rivalry for fame and recognition. We've both grown. We're both different people altogether. So… why not leave our past behind us, and look into the future as friends?"

The Uchiha nodded happily, and hugged his old teammate. "I missed you."

"The feeling is mutual." Kazama broke the brotherly embrace. "We'll talk about what we're going to do with our lives later. What happened to our world? Did Akatsuki go on a rampage?"

"It got progressively worse." Sasuke clenched his jaw. "After your disappearance, they tried to locate you while capturing the other Tailed Beasts. Since Konoha was as confused as them, they decided to investigate in the one other place where you could be hiding with adequate protection… the Village whose Kage you were best friends with."

"Suna… they attacked Suna…" Kazama clenched his jaw. "What happened?"

"The Akatsuki leader, Pain, annihilated the city upon realizing you weren't present. Tsunade was sent on a diplomatic trip to the place during the attack, and from what I understand, Pain beat her up so badly she's comatose." Sasuke shook his head in disgust. "He said it was a warning to the world… that he was the Sage of the Six Paths reborn, that his eyes were the fabled Rinnegan, and that he would bring God's suffering to all corners of the earth."

Kazama blanched at the evidence. _Nagato… _"And how did the earth react to this bold claim?"

"Before I was brought here, civilians were speaking of a Kage summit and a possible world-wide alliance to defeat Akatsuki. The last Jinchuuriki is the brother of the Raikage, and perhaps the only ninja in the world who can match Pain."

"And Konoha?"

"Tsunade is still alive, and as far as I know, Sakura and Kakashi as well… I think. I admit I focused more on your disappearance than the Leaf and you brought me here before I could learn more." Sasuke glanced at his friend's face. "What do you intend to do?"

_To burn the tree down to its deepest roots, and wipe the name of Konoha from all memories… but first, stop Nagato. I owe him this at least. _"I have important issues to deal with whose importance outweighs the fate of one world," he admitted, thinking of the ongoing multiversal collapse. "Afterward… we shall see."

He gave a tap to the Uchiha's back. "I would suggest you to get some rest. We'll talk tomorrow. Right now… I'm tired."

Sasuke gave him a sharp nod. "See you tomorrow… Kazama," he said, upon closing the door behind him.

The blonde let himself fall on his bed exhausted. "Damn it."

"Is something troubling you?" Kazama wasn't surprised as Izanami sat next to him, her beautiful face revealed for him to see. "By looking at you, one would believe we didn't get rid of Madara for good."

"I've lost two of my closest friends," the Amekage replied, "And now… there are new problems to take care off. It seems I can't ever catch a break."

The woman sighed. "Look, try to see the positive side. Your greatest foes are gone, your loved ones are safe, and it appears you rekindled your friendship with this… _Sasuke_." Apparently, she noticed the family resemblance. "It may have come with a price, but it _is _a happy ending."

She laid next to him, her hands caressing his face. "Perhaps is it time to… rejoice."

"No." The Amekage glanced at his lover. "Not now."

"What?" She glared at him, appearing angered. "How _dare _you defy story conventions? The big bad villain is defeated forever with the help of everyone you ever helped, a bright future awaits you… and now the girl asks to spend quality time with you. The ending wouldn't be right if we didn't do it! Your refusal makes me sick with anger!"

And here she was in her drama queen persona again. "Izanami, this isn't…"

"Kazama," she cut in, with a stoic face. "Life is too short to give this much forethought to all of your acts. It's not as if I'm going to get pregnant or anything. You might die tomorrow, or in a week, for any reason so… I simply want to advance our relationship to its next level when we have the time."

"It's…" he sheepishly intertwined his fingers. The prospect was attractive but… "I'm not in the mood after what happened."

"That's why it's important," she countered, with a smirk, "For a short time… we will think about something else than our problems. For once, stop worrying, and just go along with the flow. Enjoy the bright present instead of focusing on the future." She approached her lips from his own. "Enjoy…"

He put a finger on her lips. "What did Kushina tell you?"

Her reaction confirmed his suspicions as she glanced sideways, her previous amorous demeanor all but gone. "I don't want to talk about it," Izanami admitted, with a hint of sadness. "Look… one day I'll tell you, but right now I just want to forget it even happened and have a good time. I'm kinda tense and I wanna relax." She put her head against Kazama's chest. "With someone I appreciate, and who appreciates me in return."

"I see…" After an instant of hesitation, Kazama seized the back of her head and made her to lock into his eyes. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes…" she approached her lips from the blonde's, who this time did not resist. "Yes I want…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kuebiko<strong>_

Losing one's comrade was one thing, but admitting you _could _bring him back, but didn't, was worse.

Kuebiko had more than once considered using Edo Tensei to revive some of his closest friends and loved ones. In fact, it had been the main reason why he conceived the technique in the first place. In his mind, the sacrifice of a few prisoners was a small price to pay to see his wife and dead family one more time.

It was only after realizing how unbearable the situation was for the resurrected he decided to label the technique as a kinjutsu, and ordered his students never to use it unless all other options had been tried. The Nidaime Hokage was worried a second Madara or tyrant wannabe would rise one day, and the heroes of old age might be the only ninjas with the skill to save the Leaf, and perhaps the world.

The irony of seeing Madara turn the technique _against _him and used the Shodai as a tool wasn't lost on the scientist.

"How much time will it take to send us back to the Pure World?" The Tsuchikage crossed his arms. "As much as the opportunity to walk the earth again is enticing, the risk of us being taken over again is too great to ignore."

"It will take time, I'm afraid." Fukuro examined the seals his friend designed. "The technique is designed to end when the user decides it, and _only _in this case. It will take a few days before we manage to send you back manually."

"Meanwhile, you could spend some time here," Haku proposed. She had been assisting her tutor after the funeral, and Kuebiko was thankful for her emotional support. Kind people were rare in the Shinobi world.

"Personally, I'm in no hurry to leave," the Mizukage grinned, eyeing Haku. "Actually I have an idea to make up for all the destruction and chaos I caused: teaching."

Everyone glanced at him strangely.

"Yeah, I mean, I always looked forward to teaching my tricks to a Sandaime Mizukage, and well, guess how badly it turned out," he chuckled. "Now I've found two golden eggs from my Village! No way I'm not going to teach them a trick or two!"

"Really?" Haku blinked in surprise. "You would teach me and Mei-san?"

"As soon as she's back from her trip or whatever." He crossed his arms. "You don't intend to refuse, I hope?"

"Of course not," the snow woman bowed deeply. "It would be an honor to learn under a legend."

"As much as I hate to agree with the eyebrow-less wonder, the idea has merits," the Tsuchikage pondered, while the Raikage nodded and left the room, probably looking for Yugito. "I guess the youngsters deserve a reward for beating me. How fortunate there is an Iwa-nin among them."

"Unless there is a metal user among them, I will pass," the Kazekage stated, before glancing at Fukuro and Kuebiko. "I would like to apologize for… killing your friend. If I can do anything…"

"I do not see how." Fukuro continued working on the seals, barely acknowledging the man's words. "Anko Mitarashi rest in peace, I hope."

The Kazekage frowned slightly. "I thought her name was Omoikane?"

"Her real name was Anko Mitarashi," the scientist replied. "She was the student of Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, but he betrayed and left her for dead. She vowed revenge on him and attempted to master space-time ninjutsu to beat him… ending up trying one of the Nidaime's most obscure techniques."

"The one you used to survive your showdown with the Gold and Silver morons?" The Tsuchikage guessed, upon glancing at Kuebiko.

"Yes," the former Hokage confirmed. "She ended up lost in the Limbo between worlds, and like he rescued me, Vajra saved her from certain death. She spend some years with us trying to return to her home, but once she did she learned Orochimaru had been killed by his new apprentice. Some Uchiha called Sasuke, I think it was…"

"Afterward, having nowhere else to go and no goal in sight, she decided to stay with us," Fukuro noted.

"I see… and how did _you _join this group?" The Tsuchikage asked.

The scientist just grinned. "That story will be for another time."

Kuebiko shrugged, and then smiled slightly as the Shodai Hokage approached. "Hello, Aniki."

"To you as well, brother." The two siblings shook hands. "Next time you invent a resurrection technique, could you please add a failsafe to it? I am loath to have been used this way by our archenemy."

"I will do better next time," the man chuckled, before hugging the Senju. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." The Shodai broke the embrace. "So, what's going on? Are you still Hokage in your old age? Is Mito alive? Tsunade? Is Konoha stable?"

"I effectively retired when I started traveling through worlds," the former Nidaime shrugged. "My sister-in-law is dead, but the Kyuubi is sealed. Konoha is stable, Tsunade is a fine kunoichi… and the worst gambler in the entire history of the world. Worse than _you_."

"Impossible." The Shodai raised his eyebrows in astonishment. "How can one have a worst luck than my own? I lost a thousand poker games in a row!"

"She _destroyed _your record, and has been nicknamed the _legendary sucker _as a result." Kuebiko chuckled slightly at his brother's horrified expression. "But on the other hand, she has become the greatest medic-nin of the century, _without _your Mokuton."

"Excuse me to interrupt the family reunion," the Tsuchikage noted, "But something bothers me. Tobirama, why did not you return to Konoha, after mastering your space-time ninjutsu? Surely you could have by now."

"I tried to, but the problem is, the number of worlds is so high I spent _decades_ trying to find the right one." Kuebiko shrugged. "When I managed to find it, I learned Sarutobi sacrificed his life to seal the Kyuubi in the son of the Fourth Hokage. That only a few of my students were still alive, that my children and nephews had been killed in the Second Shinobi War, that nearly everyone I grew up with was dead. The Senju were gone, with the exception of Tsunade, as were the Uzumaki. Fifty years is a long time, especially when you can slow down your aging like I do."

The Nidaime crossed his arms. "I realized if I were to return, I would probably weaken the Yondaime's authority and cause more problems than I would solve. People would look up to me in times of need, and I had lost touch with the world and its politics. Even my enemies were gone. I realized I would be more helpful by using my knowledge to help populations from other worlds threatened by cataclysms. It was time to pass the torch. Old men must leave place to the young one day, and the era I strived into was over. My world had moved on, I did not."

"I see…" The Shodai crossed his arms. "And the Will of Fire? Did it work? Is the world safer?"

Haku tensed visibly at that, and Kuebiko glanced away. The memory of Alpha's raging insanity was still fresh in his mind. "In some worlds, it worked, but in others… it worked in the worst way possible."

Before the Shodai could ask what he meant, three newcomers opened the room's door. Kuebiko raised his eyes, recognizing the Feral Gale, Chibaku, and the one-eyed Uchiha he rescued. _Karasu, _he thought. _His name is Karasu._

"I have been looking forward to speaking with you." The Uchiha scratched the back of his head. "Vajra tasked me to show you something. Is there a pen and paper nearby?"

"No." The Nidaime shook his head, and glanced at his robotic ally. "Perhaps you have one, Chibaku-san?" As the puppeteer did not answer, the man frowned. "Is something the matter?"

"No idea," the Feral Gale shrugged. "He has been acting this way since he tried to show me his body's X-ray."

"Oh boy…" Chibaku whispered. "Kazama can use Shadow Clones in _that _way?"

"Kazama?" the Feral Gale blinked in confusion before apparently having an eureka moment. He turned to Chibaku and whacked the robot hard upside the head. "Don't tell me... he's using them _that_ way!?"

Kuebiko decided he _really _did not want to learn what the two were talking about.

"So… about that pen and paper…" Karasu spoke up again, not really caring that no one was paying attention to him at the moment.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yugito<strong>_

The woman was sitting on a balcony, staring at the stars above. She felt depressed, lonely, and confused. She would have gladly spoken with the Two-Tails, but it was sleeping, recovering the chakra it burned against the Raikage.

Then she was joined by someone else. The Kunoichi glanced briefly, recognizing Kazama Arashi, before returning to her previous activity. "The sky is beautiful tonight," she noted.

"Indeed." He crossed his arms and imitated her. Somehow, he felt a bit different. Yugito was used to seeing him as tired and older than he should be, but now he was… relaxed? "You couldn't find sleep either?"

"No." She shrugged. "I can't go home again."

The teen frowned in confusion. "I can teleport you back anytime-"

"No. I mean I can't go home because I'm no longer welcome there." Yugito sighed loudly in sadness and despair. "Kumogakure does not want me back."

Kazama narrowed his eyes. "What did Bee and Mabui tell you?"

"If I were to return, Kumogakure would surely have me hanged." The ninja looked down. "I am heavily suspected of having contributed to the destruction of the Vault, according to the investigation. If I were to reappear, I would confirm these suspicions… and probably pay the price for my betrayal. Yes, Mabui and Bee would do their best to help me, but… it would never be the safe. I would always have to fear for my life."

"But you _saved _Kumo." Kazama sounded well and truly disgusted. "Orochimaru was going to run it, no, your entire _world_, into the ground!"

"Kumo does not see it that way. They just see the traitor who caused the death of their beloved Raikage and conspired with the enemies of the nation." Yugito massaged her temples. "Now, Kakashi died to protect me… I admit I'm confused on what I should do-"

She gasped, when she felt Kazama's hand on her shoulder. "Trust me… I know how it feels when the good you do goes unrewarded," he explained, "As such… I am sorry you lost so much because you decided to follow your conscience."

The man gently, but firmly, forced her to lock eyes with him. "That's why I want to help you as much as I can. You lost a home but… my group isn't truly the most functional community in the multiverse but we would welcome you with open arms should you decide to stay. And if you do not, I can always teleport you to a place of your liking. Or maybe we could visit Kumo, and pretend you were forced to go along with our plans."

Quite touched by his offer, Yugito smiled widely. "Thanks but… I don't think the latter would work. To be honest, I think I would have attempted to kill Orochimaru without your intervention, only years later." She glanced away. "I did some things I am not proud of during the war… and what Kumo was doing was wrong. N thought the same, but…"

"But he let his craving for recognition get the better of his conscience," Kazama guessed, releasing his hold over his friend and glancing at the sky. "It's a flaw we Naruto Uzumaki share." He sighed. "How was he, before… before the war?"

"Pretty much like Naruko. After his first battles he… well, he kept pretending nothing changed, but it was easy for anyone to look past the mask and realize his heart was filled with remorse." Her special vision also helped. "Were you the same, once upon a time?"

"I did my best to outgrow this part of my short existence. I look forward into the future now…" he narrowed his eyes grimly. "That's what Kakashi would have wanted. For us to be happy. All of us."

Yugito nodded. "He made me promise, you know. To help your group."

The teen raised his head slightly. "He was a good man. The kind you don't meet often nowadays."

"Yes. That's why I intend to fulfill his last wishes." It was her time to put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, Kazama… what do you intend to do next? About the devil you keep contained? Matatabi said it was bad news."

"No idea." He raised an eyebrow. "Matatabi?"

"The Two-Tails' real name. The Bijuu are sentient beings, with a name and a identity." She frowned. "Weren't you the Kyuubi's vessel once upon a time?"

"We never got along. Truth to be told, we hated each other so much I'm fine with it gone." The Amekage gently pushed her hand aside. "Mikaboshi is a secondary concern. We have to deal with more immediate problems, and… thank you for staying with us."

Yugito grinned a little. "Thank you for offering me a home and a place among yours." She suddenly heard someone stepping in their direction.

"Oh, sorry to interrupt…" Mei Terumi suddenly frowned at Kazama. "Wait, aren't you supposed to have a girlfriend already? Seeing you two discussing _alone _under the moonlight," she grinned wickedly. "One may get the wrong idea…"

The Amekage blushed lightly, and quickly regained his usual, stoic demeanor. "You misunderstand the situation."

"Mei, where have you been?" Yugito asked. "You vanished after the funeral."

"I needed fresh air so I went into town." The kunoichi grinned slyly. "Nothing worthwhile happened unfortunately."

Yugito raised an eyebrow, upon noticing the ring on her friends' right hand. "Nice ring. Where did you get it?"

"This?" She touched the azure ring. It was placed on her index finger, and the kanji 'Water' was written on it. "It was a gift from a business partner, back when I was in Kiri. Nothing special, but I find it rather tasteful."

"And it is," a new voice noted. Yugito briefly blinked as Izanami phased through the floor next to Kazama, wearing her mask and black kimono. Her hair was less organized than a few hours ago, and the first thing she did was to put her arms around the Amekage's own and caress it tenderly. "Why did you take so long to return? I have so many things to show you…"

Yugito didn't need a memo to understand what the two had been occupied doing, and kept her mouth shut as the masked woman's lover touched her hand tenderly. "I just needed some fresh air."

"Mei…" Izanami whispered, "The proposition to join in a threesome is still on the table."

While Yugito palmed her face and Kazama's jaw dropped in shock, Mei simply gave her a lascivious smirk. "Perhaps another time… I would rather talk with our new allies first. So many interesting personalities… I am curious to learn more of the worlds they come from."

The masked woman seemed slightly disappointed, and glanced at Yugito. "And you, cat-san? Interested?"

Yugito briefly imagined the scene, and her skin turned red briefly. "Ah ah, I knew it cat-san!" Izanami's hand approached, and…

And grabbed Yugito's butt. "I _knew _you were open minded too."

"No!" The kunoichi shouted, pushing the masked woman's arm back in shame and horror. If the Nibi ever learned about this event, it would tease her all the time. "Sorry, but… no. It's not against you, you're beautiful and all, but-"

"You know, at this point, we should try an orgy," Mei joked with a sly smirk. "You seem already all worked up-"

"Stop talking," Kazama said, so red Yugito briefly wondered if he was going to die out of shame. "Just… stop talking. And Iz, control yourself!"

"Yeah…" Yugito shuddered upon remembering the contact. "That would be good."

"Pfff, you're too prudish… which is why I like making fun of you." Izanami embraced Kazama. "Fine, I will keep him for myself. But remember… you only die twice. "

* * *

><p><em><strong>Naruko<strong>_

Finding sleep was hard when two summons were fighting _right next _to your room.

"Say it!" Manda roared, his tail strangling Gamabunta's neck and having his head hit the paved ground. "Say _Uncle_!"

"NEVER!" The amphibian replied.

"Boys, perhaps you should make peace…" Katsuyu the slug tried to calm the situation, to no avail.

"Go Gamabunta!" Jiraiya shouted, before grinning to Orochimaru. "My summon is so much better than yours!"

"We aren't watching the same duel then," the man shrugged with a proud smirk. An entire crowd had gathered to look at the racket, and Amegakure's ninjas were keeping citizens away. Most of Kazama's guests were glancing at it from the balcony, some of them wagering on the outcome, and others, like Tsunade, face palming at the sheer stupidity of the battle.

"Twenty bucks," Itachi started with a sarcastic tone, "That Manda is going to win."

"Mmm… I suppose this will be closer than I thought…" Orochimaru chuckled, as Gamabunta grunted, managing to free himself and brawling with the snake. "Go Manda! I know you can beat him!"

"You know, for the other alternate version of a murderous psychopath, you're a surprisingly good guy to hang around Orochimaru," Jiraiya grinned. "It makes me sad over how your potential was wasted on vivisection at my home."

As the snake-man blanched, a fact Naruko found astonishing due to his pale complexion, Naruto Senju coughed. "Yeah, can I ask you why your followers call you President?"

"I have been elected President of the new Republic of Mankind, at least until we finish building our institutions," the man replied softly. "Since the deposing of our latest tyrant, there has been much work to do. Especially since armed groups are still fighting to put her back in power."

"Elected?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "You weren't designated by the Daimyo?"

"I was designated by the people," Orochimaru replied. "I believe it's time citizens get to choose their leaders instead of leaders choosing themselves. After we finish drawing up a constitution and placing power checks, no further authoritarian rulers shall be able to take over. If only we could get our hands on Alpha…"

"I thought you captured her?" Naruko asked with a frown.

"She was broken out of jail and has been at large for weeks." The leader crossed his arms. "Her second-in-command Three escaped as well. How, however, is still a mystery. As I said, armed militias have caused troubles ever since Alpha's downfall, and a few warlord wannabes intend to exploit the situation. Infrastructures are inadequate, and a pestilence outbreak has been detected."

"Mmm… you know, our world has been quite peaceful, and we've got nothing to do," the pervert Naruto noted. "Perhaps Ero-sennin and I could help you?"

"An excellent idea," Naruto Senju noted. "If Kazama-san is willing to send us to your planet, my family would be glad to lend you a hand to keep the disease contained. As a medic, it's my duty to help the sick anywhere I can."

"I've got the felling the three of us are going to get along perfectly," Jiraiya grinned, giving a tap to both Orochimaru and Tsunade, much to their embarrassment.

"It seems the Sannin are united again," Itachi told Naruko. "A force of legend we should all look up to. Such a pity it disbanded in so many universes."

"I guess it must be one of the variables," Minato Namikaze spoke upon joining the duo. He shook hands with Itachi. "I admit, it is a surprise to learn you became Hokage in one world Itachi. I thought Jiraiya-sensei would have taken the post, or perhaps lady Tsunade."

"In my case, I find the idea of you surviving the Kyuubi incident to be believable… however seeing you together with my mother is… strange. What happened to my father?" The Yondaime's embarrassed expression told it all, and Itachi frowned. "I see… so the Uchiha coup was put down in blood?"

"Not exactly… your father…"

"Became Madara's pawn?" Itachi guessed. "I see… my father is everything _but _treacherous in my universe, and stayed loyal to your legacy. It is unfortunate it didn't happen elsewhere."

"When you look at me and Kitsune-san, we are two completely different individuals," Naruko noted. "One Fugaku can be as different from another as I can be from Madara."

"True." Itachi glanced around himself. "Speaking of my mother, where is she?"

"With Kushina…" the Yondaime closed his eyes briefly. "Mikoto… she hides it, but she feels she's a replacement to take Kushina's place, at least for a time. As such, she wanted to speak with her and make peace with her feelings, even if it isn't _the _Kushina she grew up with."

Naruko nodded, and glanced at Amegakure. The town was lively in the night, illuminated with neon. The girl had never been to a city this big and strange. It was made of steel instead of wood, and Kazama-sensei ruled instead of one of the five Kage… "Is anybody interested in looking around?"

"Why not?" Itachi shrugged. "It's not as if I had nothing better to do. But I would suggest you to adopt a henge. I have no idea how citizens would react to your resemblance with their leader."

"You have a point…" the Yondaime used a henge to change his hair to black and eyes to green. "If it does not bother you, I would like to join you."

"Nice disguise," Naruko noted, upon imitating it. "Where would you like to go first?"

Leaving the palace was quite easy for the trio, and they found themselves visiting the streets. Much to Naruko's amazement, many establishments were opened, even so late in the night. As if the city refused to sleep. Parts of the town were damaged or under repair, but overall, the girl could hardly see any trace of the battle with the Sanbi her mentor mentioned.

The thing that shocked her the most, however, were the portraits.

In each and every street, they found a portrait of Kazama. Some were small posters, others paintings large enough to cover entire walls, associated with sentences like 'Our Protector', 'The Father of the Nation', 'No sin escapes His gaze'.

One was especially creepy. It represented Kazama facing down the looker with a serious expression, the slogan _'The Star God is watching you' _underneath. The eyes were as blue as the ocean, and as cold as ice.

"This feels wrong…" Itachi noted.

"I have seen these eyes before," Minato Namikaze noted. "They… they are bad news."

"Only the sinner should fear the gaze of the Maelstrom." A man in his thirties politely greeted them. "Are you newcomers? Foreigners looking for employment?"

"We're visiting," Minato answered hurriedly. "We were surprised to see so many portraits. The city must love its leader a lot."

"Its _god_," the man corrected. "The Maelstrom is the protector of the Land of Rain, our emperor and savior. We awaited his coming and heavens answered."

Naruko briefly wondered if the man was joking, until she realized, upon locking eyes with him, that he truly believed his words. The man shrugged at the trio's disbelief. "He killed the Three Tailed demon and revived the dead," he explained. "He brought order to the land, food for the poor, and shelter for the homeless. A god he is, to all of us. You would do well to remember that, or you will be taken for dissidents."

"Dissidents?" Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"Anarchists attacked the Emperor's home for the poor and the homeless yesterday, in retribution for the capture of their leaders," the man spat on the ground. "Last week, they tricked the workers into going on strike, even speaking of marching against the god's tower to meet him. Fortunately, lawful and fair-minded citizens dispersed them with stones and fire, and the police detained the organizers. They were chained."

"Why?" Minato raised an eyebrow. "Why did they go on strike?"

"The god asked the people to mobilize to rebuild the city, and put to work everyone. These parasites thought they were not compensated enough and that it was too much work. As if an honest job, civil rights, a home and food weren't enough for them! A good thing most of the population understands the god's will and put these parasites back in their place."

"And… what happened to the attackers?" Minato frowned.

"They were sent to the mines for ten years. The god thought executing them would make them false martyrs, and asked if they wished to complain about their work, then they would be given a reason to."

As Naruko paled at the implications, loud noises alerted her. A crowd was gathered before a stage, chatting and laughing. "Ah, that's the lottery," the civilian man told them. "Want to participate? I can give you my place, if you're interested."

"What the price?" Minato asked. "Money?"

The man simply smiled. "Nah… it's an honor."

Excited, and having been known for her luck, Naruko beamed. "I wanna try!" The man handed her a small, spherical stone, with the number 'seventy-seven' written on it with red letters. She briefly wondered how strange it was, but decided it was perhaps a local specialty.

In the end, they reached the announcer, who was standing before a large red curtain. "And the winner is… seventy-seven!"

"I won!" Naruko jumped on place.

"Astonishing…" Minato whispered.

"Not so much," Itachi shrugged. "I've never seen her lose a game of chance. My brother even nicknamed her _'Lady Luck's Little Bitch'_, which he was scolded for."

"Congrats, girl!" The announcer exclaimed, undoing the curtain. "Here is the prize! The first throw!"

Naruko paled in dread, imitated by her friends.

A woman was chained to a pillar of wood, her mouth restrained by a red scarf. She had been beaten up and her skin was littered with bruises and scars. Next to her, a kid was in the same state, although wearing shattered glasses. Naruko recognized a younger Yakushi Kabuto, Sasori's deceased assistant.

"These people," the announcer started, oblivious to the girl's astonishment, "Have spread lies on Kazama-sama, and sown the seeds of rebellions against his glorious regime! And what will their punishment? Death!"

"DEATH!" Behind Naruko, the crowded civilians happily prepared their stones. They were a hundred, for a hundred stones. "DEATH! DEATH! DEATH!"

It wasn't a lottery. It was a public execution turned into mindless entertainment.

"So, girl, are you going to throw it?" the announcer asked, with a serene, friendly smile - which made his following words all the more disturbing. "Don't worry. If the first throw miss, the others certainly won't!"

Naruko did indeed throw it.

At the announcer's face.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tsukiyomi<strong>_

He first tried to punch through the walls.

Upon realizing the coffin was unbreakable, he attempted jutsu. He was used to pain, and having his hands rotting was nothing unbearable. Unfortunately, the chakra couldn't progress through his arms. He tried to use the Susanoo, but the armor instantly vanished when he tried summoning it. Runes briefly glowed in front of him. "Chakra absorbing seals? How wonderful…"

Tsukiyomi was alone in the dark, with no way out.

"Curse you, Susanoo," he whispered. "Curse you."

Then, he heard the explosion. The ground shook, and Madara knew the coffin was being extracted from the earth. By whom, however… the Uchiha put himself on guard, ready to fight for his life if it happened to be a hostile individual.

A chain broke through the coffin, carving holes into the prison before eventually shattering it. Tsukiyomi did not wait, and freed himself with a charge. The light of the day illuminated his vision, but soon, he saw the shadow of his savior. "Why?" He asked, genuinely surprised.

Naruto Uzumaki, otherwise known as Kazama Arashi simply shrugged. "We need to talk." He glanced at the man's rotting arms. "Does it hurt?" He asked with a hint of genuine concern.

"When you have experienced death multiple times, pain becomes a hollow sensation." Madara Uchiha teleported to his student's side, finally free to use his techniques unimpaired. "You must rejoice, shouldn't you? In my state, this is the perfect opportunity to kill me."

"Why would I want to do that?" The blonde raised an eyebrow. "You have knowledge I need. And you are harder to kill than a cockroach. You would just use Izanagi to survive and get away, or hide on the other side of the earth to plot again. Keep your allies close, and your enemies closer."

"You have begun to learn," Tsukiyomi commented. "Is that why the real you is away, and simply sent a Shadow Clone to free me?"

The armored individual shook briefly, confirming the Uchiha's suspicions. "One is never too prepared."

"Indeed…" Tsukiyomi snorted. "But I could destroy this clone and vanish. Why are you so confident-" His Sharingan widened, as he sensed a familiar presence nearby.

"Let me present you the creator of Ninjutsu," Kazama spoke, as the Sage of the Sixth Paths put his hand on Madara's shoulder. "I'm guessing you have already met, correct?"

* * *

><p><strong>Omake:<strong>

**TV Tropes Will Ruin Your Life**

"Hey, guys," Chibaku told them, watching a computer monitor, "There's a documentary about us! We're stars!"

"Magnificent Bastard?" Naruko asked, reading the page. "Sasori? And Izanami is..."

"MIKOTO?" Yugito's jaw dropped.

"Hey, it's a spoiler." Izanami shrugged. "Wait, what do they mean by I'm a Darth Vader Clone? I'm not even on a respirator!"

"Big Bad?" Madara wondered. "They forgot Archenemy. After all, I'm the Green Goblin to Kazama's Spiderman, the Joker to his Batman-"

"Don't forget the Foe Yay," Kazama shuddered. "You're, what, obsessed with turning me into your heir? Pursued me across space and time like a Yandere? Watched me while I slept?" The silence told it all. "You did, you dirty old man!"

"Hey!" Kitsune complained. "The Crowning Moment of Awesome page is nearly empty! And my character sheet is so tiny!"

"You're not popular enough," Karasu pointed out, upon opening. "Wait... _Manda_ is more popular than nearly everyone? The _hell_? He has what, fifteen lines in the entire story! It's a freaking giant purple reptile!"

"I'm in the top three," Madara gloated. "Seems like I get the Draco in Leather Pants treatment. Not bad for an undead mass murderer and main villain..."

"I better get more screentime," Mei complained. "Perhaps I could reduce the competition... forcefully."

"... Wait." Kazama narrowed his eyes. "Upon rereading the story, I look like the freaking Antichrist to Mikaboshi's devil!"

"Maybe you're the story's Big Bad in disguise?" Izanami grinned. "Yes, readers, you've been following the real villain all along!"

"Nah," Naruko crossed her arms. "The genre is _adventure_, not _tragedy_! You're just messing with the audience!"

"It's my job," Izanami shrugged. "That, and to be _the_ second most popular character after the protagonist himself!"

"It's true, what they say," Madara noted. "TV Tropes will ruin your life. And your grammar."

"Oh no..." Chibaku snapped. "I realized an awful truth!" Everyone stared at him.

"I'm a homage to _Iron Man_!"

* * *

><p><strong>Character Stats:<strong>

**Kazama Arashi/Naruto Uzumaki:**

Ninjutsu: S-Rank

Taijutsu: B-Rank

Genjutsu: D-Rank

Armed Combat: B-Rank

Defensive Techniques: A-Rank

Battle Strategy: A-Rank

Special Skill: Space-Time Manipulation: S-Rank

Special Skill: Uzumaki Lore: A-Rank

* * *

><p><strong>Naruko Uzumaki:<strong>

Ninjutsu: S-Rank

Taijutsu: C-Rank

Genjutsu: C-Rank

Armed Combat: D-Rank

Defensive Techniques: C-Rank

Battle Strategy: B-Rank

Special Skill: Kyuubi: S-Rank

* * *

><p><strong>TsukiyomiMadara Uchiha:**

Ninjutsu: S-Rank

Taijutsu: A-Rank

Genjutsu: S-Rank

Armed Combat: A-Rank

Defensive Techniques: S-Rank

Battle Strategy: S-Rank

Special Skill: Space-Time Manipulation: S-Rank

Special Skill: Eternal Sharingan: S-Rank

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** special thanks to ABitterPill and Third Fang for their corrections.

The 'stats' are based on the level of techniques one can use in an area: A in Armed Combat you can use what would be considered A-Rank techniques with a weapon, or S-Rank in Ninjutsu means you can do at least one S-Rank technique there. Battle Strategy is how good you are at using your brain in a fight, while Defensive Techniques is how good you are at defense instead of offense. For example, Deidara would be D due to being all offense and no defense, while Gaara would S in this area.

Sasuke... I've yet to see a story where he comes full circle. Without Tobi 'I am going to turn you crazy' Uchiha to mess with his mind, I think he would have pondered what to do after killing Itachi, his goal in life, and probably think about what he lost on his way to the top. As for Pain... without Tobi to 'tame' him, I think he would have been much more active. In Kazama's world, he was.

If you have read the chapter and paid attention to details, you should have had a 'oh crap' moment in the Yugito scene. If you didn't, check it out again, and reread a character's line. They will sound a lot darker.

The lottery of death scene is a shout out to Bioshock Infinite (more or less the scene when you realize you're really screwed), a game you should try. I finished it three times and it's wonderful. Sure the ending is open for interpretations, but it should satisfy most people... and when you redo the game, many things make so much more sense. And you can fight robot Abraham Lincoln and George Washington! WITH A SHOTGUN!

Two more chapters in Ame and then we get to the second half of the arc, with Kazama returning home and the Teikoku finally being shown in action. And things get nasty. But first, gotta finish that damn 'What it takes to win' chapter!

Oh, and the poll is closed. Somehow, Kenta managed to get one vote (which _isn't_ my own, by the way). The seven most popular characters, in order, are Kazama (unsurprising), Izanami (seems like you readers are fond of a masked femme fatale), Tsukiyomi/Madara (not bad for the main antagonist), _MANDA_ (... I made a giant reptile a fan favorite, with twenty lines of dialogue), Naruko (Character development paid off), Good!Orochimaru (yes for ninja George Washington), and Kakashi (expected, considering his badass last stand). Thanks everyone for voting!

Would you kindly leave a review?


	44. Chapter 41: Falling Down

For the stats at the end: they do not represent the mastery of an individual, but level. S-rank in ninjutsu means the individual has at least one jutsu that is classified S, not that he's better than everyone else.

**Comment**: if you're reading this, you're awesome. Think positive.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 41: Falling Down<strong>_

Tsukiyomi sat calmly atop his former prison, considering his options. Fighting with his rotting arms was out of questions. Fleeing… seemed impossible. He doubted the Sage of the Sixth Paths did not have the means to nullify his teleportation.

Perhaps could he weasel his way out of this situation through diplomacy? Mercy was a privilege of the strong, after all…

"Your flesh itself is corrupted," the Sage sneered in disgust. "Was your soul not enough of a sacrifice?"

"My condition is perfectly viable, for I suffer neither pain nor weakness," Madara spoke politely, glancing at the Rinnegan. So much power in such foolish hands… he should have followed Susanoo's example and ripped Nagato's eyes for his own use when he had the chance. "What amazes me is that considering your distaste for my kind… why am I free?"

"I want answers," Kazama Arashi spoke. "I want explanations. For Amatsu-Mikaboshi, for everything. What is this voice in my head? What do you have to do with it?"

"That I can answer," the Sage spoke. "Do you know what a Kami is?"

"A god?" The blonde frowned.

"This is what humans call a power beyond their comprehension," Madara said scornfully. "Many humans were called gods for their extraordinary abilities. Kami are not extraordinary. They are nature itself."

"Nature is sentient," the Sage whispered, sitting in a lotus position. "The sun, the sea, the land, gravity itself… the Kami are the embodiment of these concepts. You can say they are… the avatars which forces of nature use to interact directly with each other. For any concept, there is a Kami… and one is born with each new concept. Amatsu-Mikaboshi is the Kami of the void, the embodiment of the nothingness that preceded creation… but like all lifeforms… it is able to evolve."

Kazama frowned and crossed his arms. "You mean gods aren't set in stone?"

"No. Just as mankind went from living in caves to build mountains, the Kami grow more complex as times go on and new concepts are created. Amaterasu the sun goddess became the deity of rulership and justice. Hachiman the god of war became the god of honor and respect when these emotions grew during wartime… and Amatsu-Mikaboshi became the deity of tyranny and domination when men started trying to enslave each others for profit. Each and every of these deities are able to cause untold devastation."

The Sage shrugged. "Once upon a time, the Kami fought for domination of the material world. The deity of the land attempted to expand its territory at the cost of drying the seas, the Shinigami wanted more death, and Amatsu-Mikaboshi desired absolute control over every soul. A war whose magnitude we humans cannot imagine raged between these forces as each attempted to shape the world in its image."

Madara snorted. "In the end, they reached an agreement, I guess."

"Izanagi the god of creation lamented on how chaotic and futile the conflict was, and proposed rules by which deities should abide to. Conflict was prohibited, each deity was assigned to a set dominion and role, and contact with humans was forbidden… with exceptions." The Sage glared at Madara. "A loophole it appears you abused."

"Gods, in order to protect their worshipers, were allowed to make deals with humans who contacted them," Tsukiyomi explained. "Power was exchanged for a set-price of course. The Shinigami can offer his help for your life, Izanagi for a pure dedication to a mission… and Amatsu-Mikaboshi's price is the cheapest of them all."

"Only a fool would bargain his humanity for power," the Sage scorned him. "What have you become, sinner, if not a rotting husk and a tool for the greater evil?"

"Nigh-indestructible." The Uchiha shrugged. "As if you had the right to criticize my choice. How did you obtain the Rinnegan, if not with divine help?"

Kazama raised his eyebrows and observed the Sage, who glanced sideways. "I, too, paid the price, but I did not do it for personal gain. I did it for the sake of mankind."

"When there are rules, there are loopholes," Madara told Kazama. "Amatsu-Mikaboshi ratified Izanagi's decree because it noticed them and, having decided direct conflict was pointless, _indirect _conflict could work better. In the time of the Sage, he exploited the deadly desires of man to attempt to cleanse the earth of unworthy life… and our Sage gained his legend not through his wisdom, but by bargaining with other gods for the power to stop the new threat."

"You have no idea how much I suffered for this choice," the god of Shinobi hissed. "I gained the Rinnegan and sealed the darkness within me. Then, to make the world a safer place, I spread my bloodline to all corners of the world. I hoped within a few generations, if Amatsu-Mikaboshi or another threat were to rise, a new Rinnegan would be born to counter it."

_And it was… _Madara chuckled. He had carefully bred Nagato over decades by having different lines merge, with the desired result in sight. "When I was faced with insurmountable odds, I contacted Amatsu-Mikaboshi for the power to control the Nine Tails… and later, to overcome death. At Wave… I gave you its blessing, and you welcomed it in your soul."

"You forced it upon me," Kazama snarled. "You warped my mind!"

"No." The Sage shook his head. "No deity can give anything against a human's will. If you have this power, it is because, deep down, you wanted it and did not mind the price it asked for."

Kazama clenched his fists, and Madara glanced at him in a paternal way. "Do not fear for your sanity… Amatsu-Mikaboshi is a pretty affable deity. This not a curse, but a blessing. It is not manipulation, but a mutually beneficial deal."

"Madman…" The creator of Ninjutsu glared venomously at the Uchiha. "If you think this, then you are truly lost and damned. Amatsu-Mikaboshi may allow you to realize your darkest desires, but at the cost of the pain of _everybody else_… and when it is done corrupting you, there is no turning back."

Kazama's eyes widened in surprise. "No turning back…" He whispered. "The worlds… if any choice makes another world…"

"Yes." The creator of ninjutsu nodded. "The creation of alternate universes was a loophole Izanagi used to deny any deity its victory in the long run… for even if Amatsu-Mikaboshi were to succeed in destroying one world, which he has no doubt already done countless times since the agreement's making, a thousand more would stand. In the end, after eons of conflict… creation is relatively safe."

This information, Madara classified it in his mind for a later use. How the Sage had learned it was a mystery, but the Uchiha guessed living with the Ten-Tails in his belly for decades must have been an enlightening experience in more ways than one. "Power is power, neither good nor evil," the undead told Kazama, "Your will can control it, as I managed to."

"No." The Sage shook his head, as Kazama seemed to ponder Madara's words. "Amatsu-Mikaboshi is the deity of corruption, and its price is damnation. Love turns to obsession. Ambition becomes greed. Justice turns into revenge, doubt into despair, hope into selfishness, wrath into madness, pleasure into excess, bravery into pride. Once you listen to Amatsu-Mikaboshi, it is only a matter of time until you give in to its promises and walk down the path of shadows. In the end, you forget why you went to the darkness in the first place. You come to sin for the sake of sinning, and you seek power not to use it, but to abuse it. Oppression, for the sake of oppressing. Domination, for the sake of domination. You become an agent of the darkness, nothing more."

"I am not corrupted," Kazama shot back. "I refused its offers once. I can do it again."

"No. You _are _corrupted, but in denial over it." The Sage rose up and glanced at the blonde. "Gather your chakra. Do not perform any technique, but release it. Let it go wild, and you shall see what the Rinnegan revealed me."

The Amekage frowned briefly, doubt in his eyes. He joined his palms and focused. Madara was impressed by the power he started releasing. The potency of his chakra had increased.

An aura started manifesting around the ninja, but instead of blue… it was a deep, dark purple.

The grass underneath the blonde's feet started darkening and withering, much to the blonde's astonishment. "What the…"

"Chakra is the fusion of spiritual and physical energy, and your soul has grown so polluted it is toxic to life as a whole." The god of Shinobi crossed his arms as the young man stopped focusing. "You think you are protected, that you are strong willed, but in truth it makes it easier for the seeds of evil to grow in your heart. Pride fuels the August Star, young man. Amatsu-Mikaboshi embodies the darkest emotions of man, and what is pride but the most complex and most dangerous of them? The desire to be above, to be better, to be more. The control is subtle, Arashi. The more you think you are in charge, the easier it is for you to be manipulated. After a time, Amatsu-Mikaboshi does not even need to influence its victims anymore: their mindset has been warped to such an extent they will serve its design out of their own free-will."

"Who cares, if your will is in accordance with it?" Madara asked Kazama. "Hasn't its power helped you save Ame? Amatsu-Mikaboshi desires order and a vision of the future, which is why it is sponsoring you." He briefly remembered his vision, but kept his mouth shut on the subject.

"Do not listen to him," the Sage replied, trying to bring Kazama around his point of view. Much to Tsukiyomi's amusement, both men were now surrounding the Amekage, each trying to convince him. "Mikaboshi was whispering to my soul for decades, young man, and each day, it grew stronger, its promises more tempting, its opinions more convincing. I knew, inevitably, I would fall. Perhaps with the best of intentions, perhaps convinced it was for the greater good… but those who tasted the light and turned away from it make foul monsters. And you have the potential to become the foulest of them all."

Kazama frowned, and the Sage explained himself. "I created the Bijuu, and I have spoken with them. I know what you did to Isobu. For which reasons, I have no knowledge of… but the point is, if you can tear reality apart at your age… what will you be able to do when you reach my age?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I did not separate the Ten-Tails because I was about to die. I did it because I was about to live, but not as myself anymore. I planted my seeds in all corners of the world hoping to sire new lineages of heroes, with ability to stop the darkness once it inevitably returned for another round. For Amatsu-Mikaboshi is unrelenting, and as long as mankind shall not achieve true enlightenment, it shall always be waiting in the night to corrupt our hearts."

"I am not corrupted!" Kazama snapped angrily. "My judgment is unclouded! The Sanbi… the Sanbi was going on to kill thousands of innocents! _Someone _had to do what was necessary!"

"You are not a hero, Kazama Arashi. In fact… I am convinced you are an anti-savior." The Sage shook his head. "While I was one chosen by the gods to save the world… you are Amatsu-Mikaboshi's champion. The key that will allow the darkness to win the great game it is playing. And for this… if you have any sanity, any selflessness, any reason left in your soul… you know what must be done."

Madara understood, and leapt before Kazama, reacting on impulse. "I will not let you touch him," he told the god of Shinobi, showing a genuine desire to protect his student, "Over my dead body."

"The power your contain… your very existence is a loophole in the gods' game, and Amatsu-Mikaboshi probably thinks it can turn you into a pawn," the Sage of the Six Paths whispered. "Your sacrifice will not be forgotten, and is cruel… but as long as you will live with the taint in your heart, you will be a threat to everyone, even your loved ones. Once you have welcomed it, it won't leave through any other way. If there is still clarity in your soul…"

"Madara," Kazama's voice reached the undead's ears. "Step aside."

"No," he refused stubbornly, unable to understand why he would let himself be sacrificed when he had to potential to try another path.

"You told me everyone must make his own fate."

"I will make an exception in this case," the Uchiha shot back. "I refuse to see you die for this fool."

Kazama stayed silent an instant, apparently genuinely surprised, before repeating his words more forcefully. "Step. Aside."

Madara prepared to deny him again… until he found the tone suspicious.

This time, he obeyed, and waited to see his student's plan. The Sage extended his hand to the teen, genuinely impressed… and fooled. "Let us go to your original body, and do what must be done."

"Sure…" the blonde raised his hand…

And jammed a talisman inside the Sage's own palm.

The surprised undead grabbed his sleeve, but it was too late. His body started crumbling, and he glanced, astonished, despaired, at his betrayer. "There is so much work to do," the blonde told him, "I cannot die yet, when my task is left uncompleted. I won't let you stand in my way… I won't let _anyone _stand in my way. Not Konoha, not my parents, not Mikaboshi, not Madara… and certainly not _you_. I shall not be a sacrifice, _ever again_."

"May the gods take pity on your soul…" the Sage whispered, as he peacefully fell to his knees, turning into dust. "For I am afraid… they won't…"

As the creator of Ninjutsu vanished from this world once more, Madara glanced at his apprentice, impressed by his quick thinking. "Son-"

The teen hugged him.

It was a surprising action, and for a brief instant Madara wondered if it wasn't an attempt at backstabbing him. As no dagger pierced his back, the Uchiha answered by putting his rotten arms around his student. "Thank you," he heard him whisper.

"You're welcome." Kazama hastily broke off the embrace, obviously inwardly conflicted about his feelings. Madara's Sharingan observed the emotions racing over his face, and asked the fateful question. "What do you plan to do next?"

The blonde regained a stoic demeanor. "The Leaf must burn," he simply told him, before dispelling the Kage Bunshin. "You better find a way to get your arms back, to be up for the task."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kazama<strong>_

While putting her kimono back on, Izanami stopped moving for a few seconds. She then turned her head to watch her lover, who was putting his armor back on as well, except the helm. She sat on the bed and sighed. "You used the talisman on the Sage."

"Yes," he confirmed, as the memories of the Shadow Clone rushed through his brain. "It had to be done." Madara was seriously a bad influence on him…

"What exactly were you doing with him?" The woman frowned, before gently helping him in his task. Her fingers felt warm, as she helped him put back his gauntlets. Of course, he had felt the same sensation in other areas in the past minutes… "You can tell me, you know. After sleeping together, I don't think you have much to hide from me," Izanami grinned slyly.

"I will tell you later," he told her softly, just as she would tell him her secrets when she wished. "It's… complicated."

"Mmm… just remember I created these tags and did not use them on the rest of our undead friends for a reason. They are complicated to make, precious, and limited in number." She put her arms around his neck. "I hope you did not waste this one for nothing."

"Not at all," he replied gently. "Thanks for lending it to me."

"You're welcome." She kissed his cheek. "I however expect… compensation… for this loss."

He narrowed his eyes. "As much as it was useful in bringing down Madara… Edo Tensei is a monstrosity. Better see these undead all gone… and never see you use them again."

"Sigh… alright, alright…" Izanami rolled his eyes. "But I will _double _the compensation. And next time, _I'm _going to be on top."

He chuckled, seized her hand and caressed it. "Anything you want. I'm helpless against you."

"Mm… you got to take me on a vacation," the Uchiha chuckled. "Why not in your homeworld? Certainly there must be beautiful places where we could spend time…_alone_…"

"I believe I should be the one to point that out," Kazama spoke. "What _exactly _did you tell Mei? And… were you truly serious?"

"Jealous?"

"Of course." Unlike his lover, Kazama found this kind of behavior… well, it wasn't his taste. "You're the only one I want."

The woman seemed to tense a little, before regaining her usual unserious demeanor. "What do you want? I'm looking forward to new experiences and pleasures. When you have my… condition… you have to find ways to entertain yourself." She put her arms around his own. "If you don't like it, I will stop bothering others with it… but honestly, Mei seems okay with it, and Konan probably wouldn't mind-"

"_Konan_?"

"We're pretty much her only friends now, I'm sure she wouldn't say no." Izanami's eyes widened. "Wait… I understand now. It's a _guy _you want."

Kazama groaned and began chanting over and over. "I'm not listening, I'm not listening, I'm not-."

"I'm not going to share the bed with this Sasuke," the Uchiha glared at him with faked shock. "That would be so wrong! And if you're suggesting _Jiraiya_, I break up-"

He kissed her on the lips, silencing her antics. "The two of us will be fine," the Kage replied upon breaking the contact, moving on to put his helmet over his face. "I have been thinking a lot over… over us. I think we can _build _something. There is so much we can do… everywhere we wish."

Izanami frowned briefly at the helmet, before putting her own mask on. "Sometimes I wonder why we keep masks on… is it to hide something? Or because it is our real face, and what is underneath a mere mask of flesh?"

**A smart question indeed.**

Kazama tensed, upon hearing the sinister voice. **I am pleased, with your choice. There is hope for you.**

_I will not let you control me, _he replied coolly.

**Control? I do not control. I open the mind, I unleash the desires most do not have the strength to follow on. This so-called Sage did not understand what he was talking about. **The dark deity went silent for an instant. **I believe it is time we meet in person. To speak of the truth, and ****of**** our future. To show you the light.**

Kazama blinked. _When and where?_

**Very soon. I shall come for you, not the other way around. I owe ****you this for the troubles I caused you.**

"Well?" Izanami's voice snapped him from his spiritual conversation.

"I guess everyone loves his secrecy," he replied, offering his arm in a gentlemanly way. After the Uchiha interlaced her arm with his, the couple went on to walk through the tower, approaching the main hall. "My men are supposed to do their daily report. Hopefully, it will be quick."

He had no idea how wrong he was.

"Lady angel," a captain spoke, wearing the black cloak and red clouds, "I assure you, we thought this matter was not important enough-"

"Not important enough?" Konan scowled wrathfully, an expression Kazama was unfamiliar with. "You let the population prepare an unauthorized stoning, and you call this _unimportant_?"

"Since they are confirmed to be traitors-"

"You attempted to kill a _kid_!" Naruko growled, which astonished the Amekage. He noticed Namikaze, Itachi, Orochimaru and the Shodai were present as well. "He wasn't even eight years old!"

"He's a spy in training," the captain shot back calmly. "It's like a weed: if you let it grow, in a few years you're faced with an invasion. The god tasked us to destroy the enemy, and the citizens wanted to prove their loyalty. I don't see what my service did wrong-"

"Whether you did right or wrong will be mine to decide," Kazama coughed, drawing everyone's attention. The captain bowed respectfully, while the rest either glanced at him in confusion, or in Naruko and Konan's cases, seriousness. As Izanami released his arm, the Kage stepped forward. "What is the matter?"

"The police handed a suspect and her son to the population without our authorization," Konan explained while sending a potent glare to the captain. "They decided to execute her and made an attraction out of it. Naruko, Itachi and Minato ran into it and dispersed the mob."

"Konan noticed the racket with her tags and brought Hashirama-san and myself just in case," Orochimaru spoke. It was disturbing for the Amekage to speak with someone with the face one who had once been his greatest foe.

"What excuse do you have?" Kazama asked the captain, who cowed before the threatening tone. "I will give you the chance to defend yourself."

"I… my service identified the suspect as a spy…" the policeman explained. "Nono Yakushi is also known as Nanigashi, according to our sources in Iwa. As per standard procedures, we captured her, undertook a close examination of her home, and extracted a confession from her. As for the boy, he was being trained as a spy. We thought letting him go was out of question, and since citizens had already asked to show the proof of their loyalty to you… well…"

Kazama inhaled sharply. "Captain, you misunderstand. I did not go through the trouble of creating tribunals to let the mob do its own justice. You give them liberties and then they go overboard and start picking on innocents." He should know. He had been a victim of this himself. "And while child soldiers are dangerous, having an eight-year old boy killed is out of question. Next time, send them to the reeducation centers."

Orochimaru briefly raised his head at the latest words, but Konan was faster. "Kazama, we can't let this woman be executed. Whatever her goal was, her son was almost killed because of Ame. We have to lessen her punishment."

"I never said she would die." He glanced at the captain. "I will overlook this error in judgment this once, since you wanted to carry out my will… however, this is the last time. If I hear the mob was allowed to run rampant once more and you did nothing to calm it, I shall be forced to cleanse your service with fire. Nanigashi and her son will be sent back to the border safely. If she ever returns to Ame, she is to be killed on sight."

"T-thanks, merciful lord," the policeman said, before quickly exiting the room, hurriedly executing his master's will.

Sighing, Kazama glanced at the rest of the people present. "I apologize for this behavior," he spoke, "But ever since I took over, Iwa has been looking forward to annexing Ame. They have already run multiple operations against us in the past weeks, and I simply aimed to be careful. I am afraid some people went too far with the orders they were given."

"Perhaps your personality cult has something to do with it," Minato Namikaze noted dryly.

"I do not see what you are talking about," Kazama shrugged, hopping the man would be wise enough not to seek anymore conflict… which was proved to be false very quickly.

"Oh no you see," the Yondaime whispered. "Your people are turning vicious because you filled their head with this whole _'A god I am'_ crap and now they commit atrocities in order to please you. This kind of behavior couldn't have happened without propaganda."

Kazama glared silently at the Hokage, father and son locking eyes. They stayed that way for several seconds, until Itachi put a hand on Izanami's shoulder. "We should let them alone." Both the masked woman and Konan nodded, and the Uchiha glanced the rest.

"We will stay," Orochimaru spoke, the Shodai backing him up. "There are things we need to discuss as well."

"I will stay too," Naruko whispered.

"No, you won't." Kazama glanced at her. "Please, Naruko, just this time… leave us alone."

"You will not like what shall be said," Izanami added.

The little girl refused adamantly. "I shall stay here. I won't say a thing… but I will listen."

Kazama clenched his jaw, but did not insist. The determination in her eyes would not be denied. In the end, only the Amekage, his adoptive sister, Minato, Orochimaru and the Shodai remained. "I only have second-hand guesses of what happened in your universe, Namikaze," the world wanderer hissed, "And none of what I've heard gives you the right to criticize what I'm doing here. You know _nothing_."

"I know enough to see into what you're warping this nation into," Minato replied. "It took me time to realize the full extent of your crimes. You're a tyrant, Kazama Arashi. That is obvious. You brainwash the citizens of this land-"

"I brought them security, justice, and civil rights. I forged order and equality out of anarchy and they _worship me _for it. You can't put _one _bad event I did not authorize on my shoulders. The policies I put in place, all of them, serve a goal: to ensure lasting peace and a haven of stability. Unlike you, I face _real_, constant threats everyday. There is a _Shinobi world war _outside, and Ame needs an iron fist to survive. I asked only for obedience, nothing more. It is a shame a few act as zealots, but I prefer zealotry over open rebellion."

"You stage public executions to instill fear in the heart of the people-"

"The people? Since when do the _people _know what _good for them_? Look around you! Ame was a hellhole _long _before I arrived! And why? Because _people _from Iwa, Konoha, Suna, weren't satisfied with what they already had! Because _people _fight for things as meaningless as borders, flags, and money! For the 'honor' of calling themselves the greatest nation in the world! _Your _people wreaked this country_, _Namikaze_, _and because rulers like _you _gave in to their whims!

"And then, few individuals like Konan and I are left to fix the mess you guys leave in their wake, and we are forced to do it _on our own_!" He paused briefly. "Where do you think the people were, when Zabuza confronted Yagura to save Kiri? Rebelling in mass? No, they were hiding in a hole, waiting for the storm to pass! They wait for others to solve their problems and then blames everyone _but _themselves when bad things happen and oppose their helpers! Everywhere I went in this country, I faced opposition from nobles, clans, and for what? So they could keep their privileged status! Yugito can't return to her country because she did the _right choice_, damn it! Haku became an exiled because she wanted to make a better future! Because heroes are so few, and their efforts go unrewarded!"

"And what are you going to do?" Minato replied. "Tell them to die in your name?"

"In the Amegakure I'm creating, there shall be no shortage of heroes, for I will have removed their ability to _think _otherwise. I will destroy inequalities. I will destroy racism. I will wipe out the names of clans until they are identical to any other citizens. No one is going to get special treatment because his distant ancestor happened to be a great man or whatever. I will build a community where bloodline wielders won't have to hide, where individuals will be treated fairly regardless of their status and be judged on merit alone. Soon, no child in Ame will have to fear being ostracized, no one will be rejected for no good reason. I will create a place where there is no crime, no strife, no sin… and for this I have to pull out _weeds_. For while will without order is destructive, order without will is powerless. To achieve true order, to create a better world… one has to dirty his hands."

"That's what these reeducation camps are for, isn't it?" Minato frowned. "You're brainwashing political opponents? Destroying their will to fight back? This is not heroism, but manipulation."

"Don't be ridiculous," Kazama replied angrily. "I'm curing the children your kind sends on the frontline! I'm getting rid of _your _indoctrination-"

"Children?" The Shodai's expression worsened. "What do you mean? I abolished child conscription!"

"The Hidden Villages didn't get the memo then." Kazama crossed his arms. "Genin are sent on the frontlines as soon as they can carry a kunai, which is to say, really young. My troops happen to capture many of them, and the reeducation centers are simply a place where they can be taught dying for the mission and the ninja code is _not _a nice idea. I am simply trying to save lives and avoid seeing people turning out like Kakashi…" he glared at Minato. "Or dying on the frontline like another student of yours."

The point came across, for Minato blanched, and glanced away. The Shodai, however, did not understand. Not that Kazama blamed him. After all, he died years before he could see the Will of Fire's results. "When I was young… children younger than eight were conscripted and sent on difficult missions which often ended in slaughter. It had gotten so bad that after a certain point, many warring clans would frequently aim for them in battle for a multitude of progressively sicker reasons." The Senju admitted, "I… I created Konoha to better protect them, to give them missions they could undertake. To create a better world for the new generation."

For an instant, the Amekage felt truly sorry for the man. He hadn't considered all the reasons that pushed him to build Konoha. As much as it hurt him to do so, Kazama told the old warrior the blunt truth.

"This era is not that different from the previous. Now when genin of ten die on the battlefield, it's for the Village instead of the clan. You made the wars bigger and more organized, Shodai, nothing more. Your dream of peace is as dead as _you_. In the dark future you created… there can only be war. And I intend to correct that. If the world won't change, then I will _make _it change. So the public executions? They will go on. The cult of personality? Since it makes people behave when I tell them to help each other, so be it. Do not judge me on my methods, but what I seek to bring about."

"You have results, fine," Minato spat. "But at what cost? You're taking away freedom, and your actions show you shall suffer no compromise. How much blood will you have to spill to be satisfied? Will you break everyone that tries speaking against you, or ask for greater rights? What makes you different from Hanzo?"

"I removed the chance of compromise, because there is no compromise when you have to do what's right. I am _nothing _like Hanzo, Namikaze. Hanzo was a fool who deluded himself, perhaps even _believed_, he was protecting his country, but it was all a lie he fed himself to justify the perpetuation of his power. All he wanted was to maintain an unjust system built on inequalities and corruption."

Kazama snorted. "You give people a finger, they take the whole arm. First they ask for money, they will ask for privileges. I can give special rewards for individual efforts, but I refuse to recognize any group. For the state exists to bring the worthy, the determined and the good in greater positions than those who do not deserve it, and to ensure stability. I am trying to create a society based on _merit_, and if retribution is needed to maintain the social order, so be it."

"Kazama…" Orochimaru politely coughed. "May I be blunt with you?" As the Kage nodded, the man inhaled sharply. "I will not criticize the need of using force when needed. I brought peace to my world by leading a violent revolution. But… you are doing it all wrong."

The Sannin began to elaborate. "People are not by nature, with a few exceptions, evil. They tend to become so when pushed by personal experiences or suffering that ultimately warp them. Or they follow their leaders, abandoning their conscience to find a meaning for their life by wholly devoting themselves to a purpose, no matter how warped and wrong. This was Alpha's world. Her soldiers committed atrocities because they thought following her ideals gave them some worth in their cold, empty life. I punished the worst of them, but… many are truly regretful about they did-"

"It does not bring back the innocents they killed."

"No… no it does not." Orochimaru sighed sadly. "But I do believe in second chances for those who truly wish to help others. The zealots you created are drawn to you because you have a vision and charisma that make them think you can truly back it up. These zealots truly believe you shall make a better world. Alpha created many of them herself. But this does not solve every problem. These people rely on you to guide them, to solve their problems, instead of trying to solve it themselves. And then, when their rulers become corrupt, they suffer, and the circle of hate continues when a new savior comes. This is why I created democracy. It is the only system where people will grow to reach enlightenment and learn to try solving their problems, by making their own laws, instead of relying on higher authorities."

"People are fundamentally unjust," Kazama shot back. "You think the bloodline purges in Kiri were Yagura's invention? No, they were supported by the people themselves. It wasn't Yagura's men who killed Haku's mother and destroyed her childhood. It was her own father, a mob, and racism. When people take matters in their own hand, innocent blood is always shed. Whereas by suppressing them, you can direct their impulses to useful purposes. All wrongs have to be avenged, and this cannot be done in a democracy."

"Kazama, I…" Namikaze shook his head. "You may not believe me, but… I thought the same as you once upon a time."

The Amekage raised an eyebrow, and the Yondaime continued. "I… was betrayed. By people I thought were my friends. I lost my wife, the man who was about to become my step-son, and companions. Madara told me I would one day understand what drove him to greater heights of monstrosity… and I did. It's pain. Pain fuels revenge, and then warps the individual. It destroys us, make us blame the world for our own suffering, and lash out. I blamed the world too, wondered what was needed, and what I should do to fix it… and then I saw my own son about to engage on Madara's path. That path I had started to undertake without being aware of it. Revenge is not justice, Kazama. It is a perversion of it. It is not worth the sacrifices it needs. It does not bring any satisfaction."

"Revenge _is _justice, if merciless," Kazama shot back. "Don't you see I want to fix the world? I just want to create a place where nobody will suffer as I, and so many of my loved ones, did. And it cannot be achieved without avenging the wrongs that were done to you. It is not achieved by letting people do what they want, but what they _must_."

"For this, you will need to destroy free-will. I saw what the last attempt resulted in," Orochimaru said. "As long as free-will is, your struggle against evil shall never end, for people will always have the choice to do what is right or wrong. You… your problem is that you have too much empathy for others. You blame yourself for every victim, you think you can solve _all _problems. You want to believe you can. But the lines you will have to cross to build a world without problems and sins… you will turn into another Alpha. You shall become the exact kind of person you struggled all your life against, and the circle of hate shall be ignited one more time. And if you happen to succeed… you shall rule a world of silence and stillness."

"I am not Alpha, I am not Madara, I am not any of them!" Kazama snarled. "Suppose I go with your solution, and that in one thousand, two thousand years, people become enlightened… how many innocents will suffer in the meantime, when a powerful authority can prevent them? Don't you get someone, _anyone_, has to step in and-"

"Guys."

The different individuals glanced at the newcomer. Jiraiya had adopted a serious, uncharacteristic face. "You better come. All of you. It's… really, really, _really _serious."

Kazama prepared to blurt the discussion was important, but the glint in the man's eyes calmed him. With a nod and in silence, he made a sign to the very much confused Naruko, who nodded back. The two left the room, followed by the rest.

The group was guided by the toad sage in the main hall of the palace where Kuebiko's armor was projecting a light against a wall. Everyone else was gathered there, some with confused expressions… and others with grim ones.

"What's the matter, brother?" Hashirama asked.

"Karasu Uchiha," he pointed a finger at the teen, "Brought me a series of number. As it turned out, it was a code for a holographic message sent by a friend, Vajra. And… and you better all see it."

The light switched, and the picture on the wall became red. An old, tired voice resonated in the court. It was oddly familiar to Kazama, but he couldn't put a name on it, as distorted as it was by the projector.

"Kuebiko, if you're hearing this message, then my desperate plan worked. If it is someone else… please listen to my warning."

Images followed, each portraying disturbing scenes. The white, inhuman creatures Kitsune had fought some days ago were pictured attacking and _eating _civilians en mass; armored warriors with gas masks were shown forcing slaves to work to build towers with whips and kicks; villages were revealed incinerated by ninja wearing Oto's headband.

"They call themselves the Teikoku."

The picture of a flag composed of a red background and ten crowns of different colors followed the declaration.

"I don't know who they are, or where they come from but… they are here. They appear to be a confederation of universes who banded together to expand across the infinity, using the breaches as gateways to attack unsuspecting planets. Their armies probably number in the millions of soldiers, divided in many smaller forces. Dozens of Earths have already fallen, and others continue as I speak."

The image switched to a desolate, barren field, which had been obviously burned to the ground. "You must be asking… how can they assimilate entire planets, pacify them, and the create colonies out of them in such a short time?" The voice chuckled sadly. "They don't."

The picture of a rift in space appeared. "Their modus operanti is simple: they notice a breach, study the world beyond it, recruit the locals willing to help… then they invade the planet by surprise, raiding its main settlements for resources, be they minerals, knowledge, equipments… and more than anything else, for a reason I have yet to grasp, they are fond of abducting humans. By exploiting the breaches to launch lighting-fast attacks in the center of nations, the local armed forces are taken completely by surprise and annihilated, leaving only chaos and death in their wake. They are not conquerors. They are looters."

The voice coughed. "After they take everything they can get away with, they either turn back to one of their main worlds, conquer the planet completely if it catches their fancy… or they destroy it completely. What their grand goal is, if they have any, is a mystery."

The picture of an armored man, laying to the ground in a pool of blood, an iron boot stomping his mask, replaced the previous one. "They captured me while I was in the middle of an exploration mission, and attempted to open my mind and steal my secrets… which they failed at, and hopefully, it will stay that way. I managed to hack into their computers and exploit them to free one of their captives, with this message and another information stolen from their database."

Image of Konoha-nins facing diverse soldiers wearing red clothing and strange weapons repeated themselves, over and over, before a series of crimson numbers replaced them. "On these coordinates, you will find the location of a world they are in the middle of invading. Here they intend to build the Relay, whose plans the Uchiha should have memorized. If you do not have the time to examine it, then let me explain you what it does: it's a breach opener. Once it is activated, it will drain the planet's natural energy, slowly turning it into a sterile, desolate husk of its former self… and then use the energy to forcefully open and close breaches in a hundred of nearby universes at anytime the Teikoku wishes it. Billions of lives will be threatened if this super-weapon is completed."

A face Kazama deeply despised was projected on the wall, except instead of a mad grin, this man was harboring a friendly grin, while smelling a blue rose. Sasuke, especially, tensed.

"One of the main leaders of the Teikoku, a potential version of Deidara, is in charge of the Relay… and I am to be transferred to his custody when it is completed. Perhaps they hope to blackmail me by threatening other worlds if I do not accept to work with them. The coordinates I gave indicate the facility where I should be detained next. If you manage to free me, we could sabotage the Relay and prevent it from activating."

The picture turned blank.

"You must inform as many planets as you can, Kuebiko. If they keep spreading, the entire Infinity might be set ablaze… well, the remains the collapse spares. They have to be stopped at all costs. I would give you more info, but I'm running out of time. You're my last hope. Do what you can. Do what you must."

The voice was silenced, and Kazama glanced at the gathered crowd. Worried discussions started, and the Amekage locked eyes with Namikaze. "I believe a united front is in order."

Much to his surprise, the Yondaime nodded and asked a question. "Do you happen to have a war room?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Naruko<strong>_

"I say we should gather strength and strike them first," Jiraiya suggested. "Why waiting for them to come?"

"That would leave our worlds unprotected," Sarutobi replied. "Beside the fact we know this 'Teikoku' exists, we have no idea where they are, when they will attack, how their chain of command operates… their name and MO. That is everything we have."

"We need to send scouting parties," Naruto Senju suggested.

"How? I am the only one with the ability to transport multiple individuals, and my control over this ability is limited." Kazama crossed his arms. "Besides, the Sandaime is right. Right now, perhaps every single one of your homes are threatened."

"We need to get back," Itachi cut in. "Nearly all of us have political authority our respective their home, and our inner circle is aware of the existence of parallel worlds. We can mobilize armies and prepare for a potential assault."

"I doubt many will listen to a school teacher," Iruka pointed out.

"I am afraid not many will believe such story here," Kushina pointed out. "My husband _will _trust me, but… there is a war outside, and not many resources will be wasted on a threat the rest of the high command will obviously underestimate."

"Then we will end the war." Everyone glanced at the Third Kazekage. "From what I understood, the current conflict was started by my… disappearance. If I return to Suna, and the other Kage to their home Villages, then we can talk our ninjas into stopping the fight. We have the legitimacy needed. Some will have doubts, but it should be easy to prove we are the real ones. With luck, we might even constitute an international force to face the new threat."

"A ninja alliance?" Mu mused. "My… I never thought I would agree on something like that, but the idea has merits."

Naruko barely listened, lost in her thoughts.

She wanted to convince herself Orochimaru and Minato were mistaken. That they were wrong. That her mentor was right. That everything Kazama had done was for the greater good, that it was necessary, that these were extraordinary measures, that it would be worth it in the end.

So far, it hadn't worked.

_Kazama is the first person who ever treated me as a human being, _Naruko told herself. _He acknowledged me, trained me, took me under his roof, treated me as a member of his own family. I have no right to judge him, I have no right, I have no right…_

And yet, the memory of Kabuto's bruised face was vivid in her mind. _It's not his fault, _she told herself. It was the work of bad people. The same people who rejected her back in Konoha. It was _their _fault, not her mentor's.

_If the world won't change, then I will make it change. So, the public executions? They will go on._

The sentence chilled her to the bone… and a hand warmed her shoulder. "Izanami said you would not like what was going to be said," the blue-haired woman, Konan, whispered softly.

"Is…" Naruko bit her lip. "Is Amegakure truly safer?"

Konan narrowed her eyes. "It is… for a price," she admitted. "We… my friends and I tried to change it another way, and we failed. I don't like what I'm doing… but there is no other option left. In the future… in the future, Amegakure will become a nicer place to live in. I will make sure of it."

She locked eyes with the little girl. "Do not blame Kazama too harshly," she said softly. "He's a good man at heart. He helped me and my friends when he had nothing to gain and everything to lose. He risked his life fighting a Tailed Beast for the sake of people he never liked in the first place. Whatever he did, he did it for others. But… he is human. And human are inherently flawed, I am afraid. It's through our friendship we can overcome these flaws. And right now… I think he needs us all."

Before Naruko could reply anything, a familiar voice snapped her out of her trance.

"Then this is decided," Kazama cut in. "I will send you back in a few hours. Prepare your belongings… and prepare your countrymen. I will contact you once more in a week at most to prepare a global strategy." He glanced at the gathered individual. "Now, please, leave me. I have to discuss my own strategy with my inner circle. Sasuke, you can stay as well."

A few minutes later, only the member of the ragtag party of world travelers, Konan, Sasuke, and Izanami remained. The Amekage crossed his arms. "Konan, you stay there and prepare Amegakure for war. The armor I commissioned was finished before our latest battle. No one will see through it."

"But what will _you _be doing?" the paper woman asked with a frown.

"The collapse and the Relay have to be dealt with," Kuebiko guessed. "Unfortunately for the former…"

"Without Vajra and Omoikane, we will never finish a device that could harness your power to solve the problem in time, Kazama-san," Kabuto explained.

"There is another possibility." Yugito coughed. "Kumo… there is a special place where one can learn to harness the power slumbering within oneself. The Tailed Beast Temple."

"You think I could master the essence there?" Kazama raised an eyebrow, doubtful.

"Perhaps. It's the only option we have, as far as I know." Yugito glanced at Naruko. "It might also be the occasion for you to master the Kyuubi's chakra."

Naruko's eyes widened. Perhaps… perhaps could it allow her to meet Kurama again?

"I already have a good relationship with my Kyuubi, I will pass." Karasu scratched the back of his head. "Took me enough time already."

"My body is not advanced enough to support more firepower," Chibaku pointed out. "Kabuto and Kuebiko already had enough trouble repairing the damage I received against the Kazekage. I would be better suited demolishing the Relay."

"I'm using a different way of getting control of Kurama's powers, but I've still visited the place before and know how the training there works." Inari shrugged. "I won't be able to get anything significant done there, but I can give out a few pointers for anyone that needs help if they need it."

"Nar-Kazama," Sasuke coughed. "What about Pain? As long as he's rampaging, our world will never be unified."

Izanami raised an eyebrow. "Pain?"

"A warlord currently occupied trying to take over my world." Kazama crossed his arms. "Perhaps… perhaps he might be in league with the Teikoku, and if he isn't, he might work with them if given the chance. He has to be removed… but he is an SS-Rank ninja. There are so many fronts, and so little manpower…"

Mei coughed. "May I suggest a strategy?" She began her explanations. "We split up. You, Kazama-san, go to your world to solve this collapse problem and take most of our heavy hitters to deal with Pain. While a smaller force is sent to infiltrate the planet where Vajra is imprisoned, free him, and destroy the Relay if possible. We have no idea how many soldiers they have stationed there, so a little, discreet, efficient squad would better than flashy ninjas."

"She's right," Kuebiko nodded. "Kazama-san, if you send Kabuto back to the End, we will be able to use Eon to attack the Relay, and at worst you can serve as our back-up transportation. I am obviously the best fit to lead it. Haku, Karasu, and Chibaku should be enough for a rescue mission."

"Well, it's not as if my home wasn't probably a ruin already," Karasu shrugged. "I'm in."

"The two of us as well," Haku hastily added, Chibaku confirming with a nod.

"Meanwhile the rest of us will confront Pain," Kazama noted. "This should be-"

"I…" Kitsune narrowed his head. "I am not going with you."

The Amekage glanced at him. "What? Where will you go?"

"I spoke with Sarutobi… and…" the boy raised his head, trying to look confident. "I believe it is time I face justice. For my crimes."

"No!" Naruko shouted in horror. "You're going to get killed!"

"If this old eyesore convinced you…" Kazama hissed.

"No. I demanded him if a trial was possible, and he accepted. I do this of my own free will." Kitsune glanced at his brother-like mentor. "There… there are parents whose children lay dead, their killer unpunished."

"You owe them nothing." Kazama narrowed his eyes. "_Nothing_, you hear me? It was the Kyuubi who killed their children, not you, and they forced you to rely on it in the first place!"

"The Kyuubi may have ordered the deaths, but it was my hand that did the deed, and in my weakness, I did not resist." The monk shook his head. "I… am responsible for what happened. My guilt consumed me, and now, I want to let it go. Either I will die or be absolved."

Kazama glanced at the gathered people. "Naruko, Chibaku, you can stay. The rest of you… leave the four of us alone."

A few looked as if they were ready to disagree, but the teen's firm gaze convinced them to hurry. Once the four Uzumaki were alone, Kazama intertwined his fingers. "How long?"

Kitsune raised an eyebrow. "How long what?"

"How long since we started traveling together?" The Amekage replied. "Weeks? Months? To me, it feels like years we've been struggling together… and losing our loved ones together." Chibaku lowered his head. "I don't know if the feeling is mutual but…"

Kazama glanced at each and every one of the trio. "You three are the closest thing I ever had to a family, alongside Sasori and Kakashi… Zabuza, Haku, and the others are friends, but the four of us… it's beyond friendship. And… I wondered if we could be a clan in right and fact."

Naruko's jaw dropped. "You mean-"

"I have been thinking about adopting you as brothers and sisters," he said. "Our group… is more than a party. It's a family, and I thought we could become one for real. Perhaps even extend the offer of membership to others. But you're the ones I want to become the core of the new Arashi clan." He glanced at Chibaku. "Sasori is gone now… I feel indebted to him. I want to take care of you… I will never be the father he was to you… but perhaps can I be your big brother."

"Boss, I…" Chibaku trailed off, sounding confused. "I… don't know what to say."

"Senpai, I…" Naruko had tears in her eyes. "I…"

"I know I have done some bad things, Naruko," her mentor put his hand over her shoulder, "but I think I can do _this _one right. I _want _to make it right."

He glanced at Kitsune next. "This… I ask not as a friend, but as a relative. Please, do _not _go to Konoha. There is a better option waiting for you. You _deserve _this better option."

"Kazama… I…" Kitsune stopped himself from crying, and hugged his brother. "Whatever happens to me… whatever the judgment shall be… I promise you I will come back for you all. I will find how, no matter the obstacles… I will come back."

Naruko joined the group hug, followed by Chibaku. The four were tightening against each other. "So…" the robot trailed off. "Does it mean Izanami is my sister-in-law now? When will I get a nephew or niece?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Somewhere,<strong>_

_**In a universe not that far away**_

A guitar was, in Deidara's humble opinion, the instrument that rocked the most.

Versatile and yet powerful, it could create melodies of rare intensity. His brother-in-arms and adopted son seemed to approve, grinning wickedly behind his make-up. "What are you going to call it senpai?" He asked, amazed by the music.

"_Burn Iwa burn_," the bomber replied softly, glancing through the windows. The smoke was high in the sky, and the fire from the city below inspired him to write and play new symphonies. "Fitting, I guess. At this rate, we won't even need the Relay to demolish this xenophobic fucker's empire and wipe it from the face of the universe. I wonder if Danzo is going to like my art… probably not."

"Hard to like it when you're being _bombed _by it." While he was a Naruto Uzumaki himself, the Sound-nin was as different from Deidara's student as one could possibly be. While Sir Naruto was always grinning and behaved like a goofball, the Sound-nin was as rigid as a post and reacted to anything with either cool indifference or murderous rage. While Sir Naruto liked flashy colors and extravagant outfits, the Sound-nin preferred conservative, practical grey uniforms. While Sir Naruto was friendly with his crew, the Sound-nin was a walking henchman killing machine.

Although they both shared a trait: being turned on by violence. Probably why Orochimaru insisted these two would form a wonderful killing squad if put together. So far, the results had been quite… bloody.

_"Danzo, obviously not. I, however, am most fascinated by your flashy way of saying 'hello'."_

The hologram and the cool, falsely friendly voice immediately ruined Deidara's mood. "What do you want Warlord? Don't you see I'm practicing for tomorrow's show?"

_"The matter at hand is more important, old chump. A team will be sent to rescue the prisoner soon. Keep him on a short leash."_

Deidara didn't need a memo to understand who he was talking about. "I thought you were supposed to take the Uchiha back to your lair when you were finished with your current operations?"

_"He won't talk. His body is not the only part of him made of steel." _The Warlord chuckled. _"_I've found better fuel for the inferno_, if Water is right. Better use the prisoner as a trap to catch the rest of the rats."_

"I can just stuff him, you know," Sir Naruto suggested, "Like the two blondies. Quick, efficient, _bloodless_… no bad pun intended."

Deidara was more worried about the _'better fuel' _part. Had their mole found something worthwhile? Whatever attracted the Warlord was bad news for everything that breathed.

_"The rats won't come if you kill him… and a threat on the life of his friends might be the key to unlock his secrets." _The psychopath shrugged. _"Let him live, and let them come for him. Capture them next."_

"You don't mind if one or two die on their way, right?" Deidara asked politely, both the Naruto present grinning sadistically. "The boys can be rough at times."

The man's eyes shined, turning briefly blue. _"This is a trait we all share."_

* * *

><p><strong>Kitsune ArashiNaruto the Werefox:**

Ninjutsu: A-Rank

Taijutsu: A-Rank

Genjutsu: D-Rank

Armed Combat: A-Rank

Defensive Techniques: C-Rank

Battle Strategy: B-Rank

Special Skill: Shapeshifting: A-Rank

* * *

><p><strong>Chibaku ArashiNaruto the Puppeteer:**

Ninjutsu: A-Rank

Taijutsu: B-Rank

Genjutsu: D-Rank

Armed Combat: S-Rank

Defensive Techniques: B-Rank

Battle Strategy: A-Rank

Special Skill: Human Puppet: S-Rank

Special Skill: Nine Tails' chakra: S-Rank

* * *

><p><strong>IzanamiMikoto Uchiha:**

Ninjutsu: S-Rank

Taijutsu: C-Rank

Genjutsu: S-Rank

Armed Combat: A-Rank

Defensive Techniques: A-Rank

Battle Strategy: S-Rank

Special Skill: Space-Time Manipulation: A-Rank

Special Skill: Sharingan: A-Rank

* * *

><p><strong>Yugito Nii:<strong>

Ninjutsu: S-Rank

Taijutsu: A-Rank

Genjutsu: D-Rank

Armed Combat: B-Rank

Defensive Techniques: C-Rank

Battle Strategy: A-Rank

Special Skill: Two Tails' chakra: S-Rank

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **thanks ABitterPill and Third Fang for betaing.

Another chapter, another step toward a big, BIG crisis crossover a la DC. The final arc will be one hell of a firework.

For the Sage, remember his fatal flaw has always been, and will always be, putting too much faith in people.

I also want to remind readers none of the characters portrayed in the fic are meant to embody my political views. The political debate between the Kage simply illustrates the visions of different characters. Remember notions like 'modern democracy' or even 'totalitarian state' are new to the Shinobi World and its feudal organization, and as such, many people are unaware of how these systems work in real life.

Next chapter will end the first part of the arc and open the second one. There will be blood.

Would you kindly leave a review?


	45. Chapter 42: Rising Up

For the reviewers who were worried about the number of character that appeared in the last chapter, to the point of being confused, don't worry, it ends now. However, here is a reminder of the main cast, if you're lost:

**'Good' guys:** Kazama (main/anti-hero Naruto), Naruko (female!Naruto), Kitsune (werefox!Naruto), Chibaku (puppeteer!Naruto), Dark Wolf (Samurai!Naruko), Kuebiko (scientist!Tobirama Senju), Female!Haku, Karasu (Uchiha!Naruto), Izanami (Tobi!Mikoto), Good!Sasuke, Rinnegan!Konan, Mei Terumi, Yugito Nii, Fukuro (Good!Kabuto).

**Villains:** Tsukiyomi (Madara Uchiha), Teikoku (interworld Akatsuki).

**Disclaimer: **if you're reading this, you're awesome.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 42:<strong>_

_**Rising Up**_

"Good luck," Kushina whispered, as she prepared to step into the portal of light and return back to Konoha. The Shodai Hokage was standing beside her, his arms crossed and face trapped in a stoic frown. "I wish I could help more, but…"

"You already helped us a great deal. I cannot ask for more." Kazama nodded respectfully. "It would be better to think of your child, your family, and the people that you will save by spreading the word."

"We will," she said. "Kazama… I have been talking with Mikoto about… well… treat her well. She has had a difficult life, and I only hope she finds happiness with you."

"I… I will try to be a good partner." His eyes drifted away in embarrassment.

The redhead smiled in compassion. "If you ever wish to speak with another Uzumaki… or simply speak… my door will always be open." She embraced him in a motherly manner, causing him to briefly gasp in surprise. "Take care of yourself."

"You too," he replied, returning the hug. "You know… my mother and I… I doubt we would have ever got along. But if she had been you… I would have been happy with a mom like you." He broke the embrace. "Now go. We have duties to attend to."

She smiled one last time, and crossed the portal. The Shodai stayed a little longer. "Kazama-san… while our opinions clash on many subjects, I would like to give a few pieces of advice and wisdom I gained during my life."

Kazama raised his eyebrows, and invited him to carry on. "People sometimes do the wrong thing for the right reasons," the old leader told him. "This is the dark side of authority. Those who have it are always, at one point or another, forced to do what they _must_, instead of what they _like_. Mito, my brother and I… were forced into difficult choices to safeguard the peace we tirelessly worked to establish."

The Amekage briefly wondered if he was aware of his wife's actions behind his back, but kept his mouth shut. Better not interrupt the tale. "What I did, I did it to create a better world where my children, all children, could live a long, happy life… but I wasn't foolish enough to believe I could solve every problem alone. That's the true meaning of the Will of Fire. Having faith in the new generation, as the problems we failed to solve, only our successors could solve them. The current ninja world is the proof we old men failed… yet as long as there is life, there is hope."

The Shodai shrugged his shoulders. "Do not carry the burden of the world alone," he advised. "This is what caused Madara to snap. You are not perfect. No one is. You will face failures, sometimes of your own making. Do not let them consume you. Do not obsess over them to the point of ignoring the good around you. One is never alone, Kazama-san. You have friends and a family that loves you for who you are. It is _with_ them you shall be able to do great things, not _in spite_ of them. When I look at you, I see Madara reborn… but history does not have to repeat itself. You can choose your own path… and I hope you shall."

"It has always been my intention." Kazama shook hands with the Senju. "The world's state… it is not you who failed. It was your successors who failed you. One day… I hope to see a world where your ideas made the world a brighter place where to live in."

"When the day comes, I hope you shall bring me there, to see for myself," the undead chuckled, stepping into the portal next. "Farewell, Amekage. Oh, and could you tell Tobirama to stop wearing his scary helmet? It must frighten kids when he walks down the street. This applies to you too."

"I will," Kazama grinned. Out of all people, he had never expected the legendary Shodai to have a sense of humor.

As the portal closed at his mental command, the blonde took a breath, deciding to fulfill his daily agenda in spite of the trouble. Each breach carved in the fabric of space and repaired next made him feel sick.

… considering what the Sage had revealed…

_**The essence leaking from the seal is taking an effect on your health, but beside temporary weakness, it shall not threaten your life expectancy, as long as I keep it under control.**_

_You told me it was safer to wait._

_**It is. What would happen if you were to be attacked when bed-ridden due to overuse of your power?**_

_And the spatial instability?_

_**As asked I made it as insignificant as I could. Not important enough to permanently cause damage, but enough to open gates. **_The voice stayed silent an instant. _**You should put more trust in me. All I desire is to help you. To perfect you.**_

__I doubt our definition of "perfect" is the same_._

Flying tags put themselves in his way, snapping the blonde out of his thoughts and forcing him to stop moving. "Kazama," Konan's voice reached his ears. "Why don't you want me to come? The _real _reason."

Kazama tensed slightly. He had underestimated her perceptiveness. "I do not understand." The words themselves sounded hollow, and as expected, they weren't believed in the slightest.

"You should learn to lie better," the paper woman replied coolly, "We both know I can easily let Ame run itself for a short time, especially with the Rinnegan's summons keeping the borders and my paper clones managing things in our absence. I can help you defeat Pain, Kazama, and you need back-up… but you do not want me to meet him. Why?" She grabbed his shoulder and forced him to lock eyes with her. "Tell me, _please_."

The blonde hesitated briefly, before realizing she wouldn't let him go without an answer. "Pain… is Nagato. Or rather, the individual he could have turned into, had I not intervened."

Konan's stoic expression crumbled into sheer astonishment. She was at loss of words for an instant, then adopted a determined look. "I'm coming with you."

"No." Kazama frowned. "We both know what will happen. He crossed the line already… and he isn't going to stop."

"Give me a chance to speak with him! I… perhaps I can convince him to turn back. Perhaps he turned into Pain because… because Yahiko wasn't the only one to die. Maybe I can bring an end to his rampage. If… if it doesn't work… then we will do what is necessary. But _please_, let me try to reason him… just _once_."

Kazama was aware it was a lost cause. According to Madara's information, Nagato was insane at this point, and his pointless destruction of Suna reinforced his thesis. Konan would be wasting her time… and yet… the Amekage himself had managed to save Gaara from his own darkness, to drag Kitsune out of his self-destructiveness. Konan could do the same with Pain…

He desperately _wanted to believe _she could. "Alright," he accepted. "But if he refuses-"

"I shall kill my heart and stop him," she finished, before turning away. "I will finish sending the orders for the week to my clones. I should be ready to go in a few hours."

Kazama watched her go silently, before walking toward the person the world wanderer wanted to talk with the most. "Yugito," he said. "We need to talk."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yugito Nii<strong>_

The Nibi's container glanced at the Amekage, and exchanged a nod with him. "Are we ready to go?"

"Not immediately," he replied calmly. "We have a few hours left. You still have to time to finish your training with the Raikage."

"He already explained me the secrets of his techniques," she shrugged, "It shouldn't be difficult to reproduce them with a little sweat and effort. I could teach you one or two, when we get the time."

"Thanks," her friend replied.

"However, training isn't the only reason you wanted to speak with me, am I right?"

"No," the young man confirmed. "First, I would like to… apologize for Izanami's behavior. She's… often strange... Sometimes... Most of the time. She will not bother you again."

"I will survive."

_**"What happened?" **_the Nibi slurred, upon waking up from its regenerative slumber. _**"**__**What'd **__**I miss?"**_

_Nothing. Nothing at all._

_**"Liar. What happened? Come on, I want to know! It's shameful, isn't it Kitten? Is it?"**_

_I would rather die than tell you. _"It's unimportant," the former Kumo-nin shrugged, trying to banish the horrible memory of the event from her mind. "What else?"

Kazama joined his fingers and performed a jutsu. A sword materialized in a puff of smoke, and he handed it over to Yugito. "This is yours I guess," he announced. "I thought that Kakashi would have wanted you to keep it."

"His father's blade…" She seized the pommel. "You had it reforged? This… I'm touched."

"This… will be a memorial for us, to remember his sacrifice." Kazama shrugged. "You might need it soon." As she sent him a confused gaze, he enlightened her.

"Amatsu-Mikaboshi is trying to corrupt me," he said. "It is whispering to my thoughts, and I believe I can keep its influence under control. My mind is pure steel… and I endured much worse than its words. However should I fall under its control and be warped into a threat to my loved ones… I want you to do what is necessary. _Permanently_."

He couldn't possibly mean- "No. No way in hell."

"You are the only one on this team I can trust with that duty." His eyes shined with sadness. "Our friends… their hearts will stop them. They will think I can be brought back… even if it is obvious I am lost forever. As such… as the most powerful, righteous member of this clan, and the one whose vision can see the truth about one's soul… please do what they won't have the strength to."

Yugito bit her lips. "Kazama, I… you can't ask me…"

"I do." He briefly looked away. "Hopefully, this shall never happen, and I shall master Mikaboshi, not the other way around… but I would rather die than kill any of those I have taken under my wings. I understand it might hang heavily on your conscience… but you _will _do it."

The warrior turned his back on her. "I apologize for forcing you to carry this burden… but do not let it destroy your spirit. You still have hours to enjoy in peace…"

He vanished with a shunshin, leaving Yugito alone with her doubts. "_**Pretty crazy," **_the Nibi whispered, _**"And I can't feel dad. Strange."**_

_You think he was released? Or that he departed of his own free will?_

_**"I cannot say, Kitten." **_The creature fell silent. _**"What are you going to do?"**_

_I have no idea._

"You are troubled," Mei noted, making Yugito gasp. She hadn't noticed her sneaking up in the room. "What is the matter with your boss? Have you accepted Izanami's proposal, perhaps?"

_**"Proposal? Oh, it sounds dirty!"**_

"Never," Yugito snorted, narrowed her eyes. "Tell me, Mei… have you ever done an act you deeply, truly regret?"

"Who _hasn't_?" The kunoichi put her finger on her lips. "Why such question?"

"I… I accomplished missions I'm not proud of when I was working for Kumo," she admitted. "That's why I always try to do the right thing. I try to… make up for what I did during that part of my life. And now… I was asked to do something I won't enjoy once again. I wanted someone's advice in the matter."

"Right and wrong are a matter of point of view," Terumi replied. "They differ from each person. From his point of view, whatever he demanded you to do is 'right', while to you it is 'wrong'. These notions are illusory. I would be better to think in what is 'necessary' and 'futile' instead. Keep in mind some choices may cause you pain, but they are needed for the bigger picture."

There was chilling implications in the statement, causing Yugito to snort. "Anyway," she switched subject, "I've got to say goodbye to Killer Bee and Mabui. Want to join? They are of good company."

"Why not?" The woman smiled politely. "I'm curious about the world they come from."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tailed Beast<strong>_

"So?"

"So this sucks," the Nibi shrugged, observing its new body. "I look like a kitten!"

"Gee, you think I feel better?" a fox kit with nine tails deadpanned. "Why the hell have we all turned into baby versions of ourselves?"

"Maybe this is how we feel about ourselves subconsciously?" a feminine copy of the fox kit suggested. "It did not happen in our first meeting… but we didn't hold it in the deepest level of our shared mindscape either."

"We were all Kyuubi at this time, that wasn't necessary."

"Would someone explain me why we have been summoned here?" Another Kyuubi, whose fur was crimson red, scratched the back of its head. The mindscape was an endless desert, and the sand was bothering it.

"We used to hold Bijuu meetings," the feminine Kyuubi explained, "To discuss new developments and prepare strategies in case of threats."

"Let's do the introductions… I'm the robot's Kurama," one fox kit stated. "And don't give me a nickname!"

"We didn't," Matatabi replied to the outburst. "Let me guess, you received a humiliating one? What was it?"

"Anyone who says it is dead," Chibaku's Kyuubi threatened. "The girly one here is Naruko's Kurama. The flat-chested human girl my container loves to argue with, you see? Here is Matatabi, the cat kept in Yugito, the woman the puppeteer keeps using his X-ray on."

"Really?" Matatabi chuckled. "If yes, I'm going to tease Yugito to hell and back."

"Much to my horror… yes. I have seen his fantasies in his mind… I swear this is the one concept humans always obsess over." Naruko's Kyuubi coughed, forcing her counterpart to focus once more. "The last Nine Tails is the Uchiha's Bijuu-"

"My container has a name," it cut in.

"Yeah, yeah, sure…" the creature dismissed the words and pointed a finger at the last fox kit, resting a bit far away from the rest of the group. At a second glance, they all noted that he was a bit larger than the other counterparts. "That's the Feral Gale's Bijuu."

"Euh… don't you want to participate in the meeting?" the Nibi asked.

"There is one thing I learned after sharing a mindscape with a couple of humans reproducing in front of me and literally inside their own unstable spawn," the creature yawned, "It is that there are indeed worse things than being locked up alone for nearly a century. Just let me enjoy their absence for a little while longer…"

"Hey, why are you bigger than the rest of us?" Karasu's Kyubi asked curiously.

"We were sealed with only half our chakra in our containers, remember?" The larger biju lazily replied. "My container has been willingly feeding me his Yang chakra for several years now, so when he supposedly does gain control over my power, it is indeed over all of it." A small wry smirk momentarily appeared on its face. "That is if he can."

"I see…" Naruko's Kyuubi shrugged. "There was one last Bijuu I tried to invite, but its seal is so tight and strong communication is impossible."

"Anyway," Chibaku's Kyuubi snorted. "We've been gathered here due to one, small problem… the Sage of the Six Paths vanished. After asking questions about Arashi."

Matatabi groaned. "Why the hell didn't you inform me about Amatsu-Mikaboshi sooner? You couldn't have not noticed it after staying near the teen for so long!"

"Wait," Karasu's Kyuubi cut in. "I'm lost… could you explain?"

"Kazama Arashi, as Madara Uchiha before him, has been corrupted by Amatsu-Mikaboshi… which is possibly the origin of his special powers." The Two-Tails groaned. "Now he asked Yugito to kill him should he lose control… but why the hell did not you inform anyone?"

Naruko's Kyuubi sulked. "We wanted to study the darkness and learn if we could devise counters against its influence."

"We have made progress, however slow," Chibaku's Kyuubi noted. "Amatsu-Mikaboshi uses the Sharingan as a vector to gain direct access to our minds, forming a link between the Uchiha responsible and the Bijuu affected. The Uchiha's willpower override ours, twisting our perception of reality until we are no more than an extension of his personality… which means as long as we avoid direct eye contact with a Sharingan, we are safe."

"Relying on our empathic powers might be the key to defeat someone like Madara," Naruko's Nine Tails added. "By using the link to overwhelm our attacker, we might be able to resist a direct takeover."

"And you risked the life of your containers and billions to learn this?" Matatabi sneered. "Are you insane? You don't toy with gods!"

"I agree. It is insanely foolish," Inari's Kyuubi pointed out from the back with a half opened eye. "Regardless of which multiverse, Gods are notoriously irrational and whimsical if they get the faintest notion of being slighted by those they deem lesser beings, in other words all who reside on the mortal planes. More so if someone gets away with it. Is there any way to free the boy?"

"No. Once Mikaboshi is somewhere, it never goes away." Karasu's Kyuubi massaged its temples delicately with its claws. "I'm going to kill him as soon as I get the opportunity."

"Hell, no!" The Nibi jumped on its paws. "Look, we mustn't be hasty. If you attack, the deity's retaliation might be worse, especially if the teen has to tap in its power to survive. There is another possibility… the falls of truth."

The Bijuu exchanged gazes. "It would lessen the problem, but the corruption shall remain strong…" Chibaku's Kyuubi sneered. "If Kazama succumbs to the darkness…" It mimicked a gutting motion.

"We will do what it necessary," Naruko's Kyuubi agreed.

"Yeah…" Matatabi's tails wavered. "So what do we do now?"

After a short silence, Inari's Kyuubi opened its maw. "Poker anyone?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chibaku<strong>_

"I look forward to kicking your amphibian ass again," Manda taunted Gamabunta. "It has been an honor for you to be defeated by my reptilian majesty!"

"I will get my rematch, you atrophied worm," Gamabunta replied, as he vanished into the light.

"Hey! Which one of us is_ a fucking legless Tyrannosaurus Rex, frog-bitch_?" Manda shot back upon leaving the planet. "Orochimaru, faster! I've got a baseball match with my subjects and you're the only one with arms!"

"Take care of yourself, guys," the puppeteer told the clones, as they crossed the portal one by one. "And don't forget to change your uniforms! Orange is the best color!"

"Thanks for having improved my Crow Summoning Scroll, Orochimaru-san," Karasu Uchiha bowed deeply before the Sannin. "That was most wonderful."

"And now you modified my and Tsunade's contracts, the Sannin could be reunited anytime, no matter the distance," Jiraiya chuckled happily. "Seriously, you're the best summoner I've ever come across."

"Thanks…" Orochimaru blushed lightly. "I guess everyone has his field of expertise. I could never equal Tsunade's medical expertise, nor your knowledge of ninjutsu."

"The three of us together could accomplish great things indeed," Tsunade added, before giving one last glance at Jiraiya. "I look forward to seeing you again," she announced, before stepping into her own world, Shizune and Katsuyu in tow.

The pervert Naruto's jaw dropped, as his mentor reddened and grinned mischievously. "Did I imagine it," the boy whispered to the Senju Naruto, "Or your mom said she would like to meet Ero-Sennin again?"

"The moment he admitted he got his scars trying to protect you from Madara Uchiha, mom's opinion of him drastically improved," the Senju replied, before adopting a foxy grin and following his mother. "Tell Jiraiya not to act perverted around her and he might get a chance to score… with a lot of luck."

"No… you really think these two can work?" Inari asked before his face turned to one of pure horror. "This… the images! I can picture the dirty details and they won't stop! You fools! What have you done?!"

"It can't outdo the Kazama-Izanami performance I recorded," Chibaku noted. "I'll pass you the video one day… if Kazama doesn't kill me first. I pray heavens he never learns of my shameful, dirty sin."

"Really?" Jiraiya and his student were instantly surrounding him. "How does the girl look under the mask?"

"Em… see you around…" Orochimaru whispered before escaping back to his world as fast as he could. Obviously, he wanted nothing to do with the dirty details.

"She's… hot. Less hot than Mei and Konan without her cape, but hot anyway." Chibaku glanced around himself. "Please, don't tell Kazama I recorded their first time! He already tried to kill me when I… admitted under the threat of a Rasengan I saw him getting doggy-doggy with his girlfriend in front of Naruko and Kitsune."

"Give us the video and nobody will get hurt," Inari grinned, not in a perverted fashion, but in an evil planning variant. "Maybe I can use it to get something from Ghost… or Onoki and Roshi… or from my version of the old perv. Decisions decisions…"

"Oh, Onoki and Roshi are perverts in your universe too?" Karasu rolled his eyes. "What a coincidence… I wonder if it can match _that _level of perversion."

Everyone glanced at him, and after checking that there wasn't kunoichi around, he explained. "They keep a secret porn stash containing dirty photos of all the hot women in Iwa, in the most embarrassing situations you can dream off… and I happened to record them with the Sharingan. I can draw them for you if you like."

"Ah, the Sharingan…" Jiraiya grinned. "My life would suddenly turn _much _brighter with it!"

"The Byakugan's better," Inari argued. "Trust me on this. I _know_ it's better."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Naruko<strong>_

As Kitsune vanished into the light, after giving his farewells, Naruko prayed for his safety. "Please… return…" she whispered.

"He will not be executed… I will see to it," Sarutobi promised. "According to Kazama-san, the portal will stay open, so he will return to you… perhaps not as you knew him, but he will come back. For now… he needs to face his past, and the fate he chose."

As the Sandaime vanished, it was Itachi's turn to leave. "Once more, take care of yourself, Naruko," he advised her. "And… do not let your mentor's actions weight on your conscience. He made his choices, as you have made your own."

"I will remember," she said, before wishing him a good day. Finding no gate left for Iruka to cross, the blonde frowned in confusion. "Where is your portal, Iruka-sensei?"

"I'm not coming home," he explained, surprising her. "I don't have anyone waiting me on the other side, and… let's be honest. Nobody would believe me. I will just get committed to an asylum if I speak the truth, and unlike the rest of the people present, a teacher does not have the political influence to prepare his world. I have found another way to protect it."

"Due to my fellow scientists' disappearance, I need an assistant," Fukuro, also known as Kabuto Yakushi, put his hand on the teacher's shoulder. "Iruka-san will do fine. He will be more useful to billions with me than in Konoha."

"I see…" Naruko intertwined her fingers, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Er… may I ask you a question, Iruka-sensei?"

"Yes, of course."

"What does 'getting doggy-doggy' mean?"

As expected, the man blanched… while Kabuto repressed a laugh, which confused Naruko. "It's perverted, isn't it?"

"Where did you hear that?" The teacher asked with a blush.

"Chibaku said he had seen Kazama-sensei and Izanami-san getting doggy-doggy," she said. "I've no idea what it means, but Kazama-sensei tried to kill Chibaku with a Rasengan the second he uttered these words. I thought you could explain."

At this point, Kabuto couldn't repress an uproarious laugh, while his college cringed. "Naruko…" Iruko intertwined his fingers. "Sometimes, a girl and boy can fall in love and get close… in more ways than one…"

"Yeah, and they date and sometimes they make babies." Naruko scratched the back of her head. "Does it mean Kazama and Izanami are dating? What does it have to do with dogs?"

"They are beyond that part… you know how babies are born, right?"

"The girl is pregnant for a time and then give birth," she said. "Everyone knows that!"

"And _how _does the woman gets pregnant?"

"Euh…" Naruko had an eureka moment. "She needs dogs?"

"Well… oh my, how am I supposed to explain that without destroying your innocence…"

"Drop it, Iruka-san," Kabuto replied, handing Naruko a book. "This will be faster."

Naruko glanced at the cover. "Ninja Kama Sutra Collector Edition, by the professor Yakushi? What does it mean?"

"It's an illustration book," the scientist whispered mirthfully, while Iruka massaged his temples in dread.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kazama<strong>_

"Kazama-san…" The Yondaime began. "As much as we clash ideologically… I hope we can put our differences aside. The threat presented is too great for us to ignore."

"Again, I shall teleport to your world soon so we can prepare an organized alliance," Kazama dismissed his worries with Sasuke and the Dark Wolf backing him up. "You should go. Maintaining a portal is harder than it looks, and it would be a shame to see you stranded here any longer."

The invitation to leave wasn't lost on the Hokage, who appeared ready to retort, but Mikoto Uchiha touched his sleeve, silently telling him it was pointless to start an argument. The couple left through the gate without a word, while the ANBU Kakashi and his wife stayed a little longer. "Would it be possible to visit my counterpart's grave again?" the black ops asked. "I… have an _immense _debt I will never be able to repay."

"You will come as many times as you want, once the Teikoku dealt with." Kazama politely bowed at them. "I… am happy to see in at least one universe Kakashi Hatake managed to find peace. I wish you as much happiness as this world can offer."

"Thank you, Kazama-san," Rin said serenely. "Kakashi's good acts… shall never be forgotten. We shall never forget him."

As they vanished as well, Kazama glanced at Sasuke, who was lost in his thoughts. "Is something the matter?"

"You haven't undergone training in sensor techniques, so your ability to identify chakra cannot compare to mine," the Uchiha explained. "My mother… I noticed two chakra signatures coming from her. One was slightly similar to Namikaze's."

The implications caused Kazama to pause. "So the Yondaime will be a father once more…" He snorted. _Hopefully, he will do a better job at it this time._

"Kazama-sama," the Dark Wolf whispered coolly. "Since our allies are now all gone, with the exception of Tobirama Senju's squad… shall we depart soon?"

"Yes." The Amaekage crossed his arms. "Then we shall separate. A small group shall go to the Tailed Beast Temple, the rest will try to gather info on Pain's actions and whereabouts."

"Nami can help at that," the masked woman said, as she materialized in front of the group. "I am goooood at information gathering. This should be-"

"KAZAMA-SENSEI!" Naruko's scream cut the conversation, and Kazama put himself on guard. Was she attacked? If Madara had violated their truce, the world wanderer was going to kill him with his bare hands.

The girl materialized with a shunshin right in front of the group, sickly pale. She glanced at Kazama, then at Izanami, and finally, at her mentor again. Her horrified expression made the Amekage ponder if something _very _wrong had happened.

"Don't tell me… it can't be true…" She cringed. "You didn't… you didn't do _that _doggy-doggy! Please tell me you two didn't do that… that dirty thing!"

… Yeah, something wrong _had _happened. _I should have killed Chibaku, _Kazama thought grimly, as Sasuke's jaw dropped. Obviously, he hadn't expected his rival to… be busy… "It's… how to tell you that…"

"I had sex with your sensei, yes. He was pretty good too for a noobie."

… _Why am I dating her again?_

_**Because you crave unconditional attention.**_

"But… but that's _disgusting_!" Naruko's expression worsened. "You… you…"

"Naruko… it's… it's my fault," Kazama whispered, trying to console her. "As your elder brother, I should have taught you on these subjects…"

"Wait, I recognize this chakra… it's…" Sasuke glared at Kazama and gritted his teeth, his traits warped into a furious, and extremely funny, expression. "You slept with my _mother_!"

"To be honest… she came to me first…" Kazama genuinely chuckled, finding his rival's face priceless. "If you want to call me _daddy_, you're welcome."

"This brings the question," Izanami embraced her lover seductively, adding salt on the wounds, "Sasuke… would prefer a little brother, or a little sister?"

The fratricidal ninja did not find the strength to answer for several minutes. Kazama began to wonder if he hadn't suffered a heart attack.

Then he formed a Chidori.

"NARUTO!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Haku<strong>_

The departing had been a painless affair, the arrival a nightmare.

After Kazama sent Iruka and Fukuro back to the End, Haku, Chibaku, Karasu and Kuebiko said goodbye to their friends. Chibaku had seemed slightly tense around the Amekage, but ended up hugging him and Naruko. "Haku, take good care of yourself," the blonde girl had told her. "And promise me you'll come back okay!"

"I promise nothing bad will happen," the snow woman replied with a smile. "We'll succeed, don't worry. I wish you good luck in your training." She grinned. "I hope to see you mastering the Nine Tails' power."

"Then you gotta hurry," her friend grinned. "'Cause I'm going to surpass you in no time flat!"

The snow woman chuckled lightly, and hugged the girl. "Goodbye, Naruko."

"You too, Haku."

After a final farewell, the squad left Amegakure, traveling to the area where they landed with Eon, hiding the device nearby. "So…" Chibaku began, giving a light tap to both Haku and Karasu, "What did the zombie heroes teach you? Something awesome? Something shiny?"

"Mu-sama taught me the basics of his invisibility and flight technique, but so far my progress has been… slow." Karasu chuckled meekly. "I don't have the chakra control needed yet."

"I thought Genjutsu took perfect chakra control to pull off?" The puppeteer sounded somewhat surprised. "You managed to trap a Kage, however briefly."

"The Sharingan is a _phenomenal _focus for illusions, and I always had a great talent for them. I pale before Shisui and Itachi, but I _am _a Genjutsu master. Mu's camouflage is a Ninjutsu affecting the skin, not an illusion… and I'm nowhere near proficient in this area." He shrugged. "I can learn his jutsu in time."

The cyborg nodded. "I'm going to help out if I can." He glanced at the snow lady. "And you?"

Haku raised her arm, and turned it into water… then ice. The boys whistled in unison, and Kuebiko himself briefly stopped to congratulate her. "Impressive," he told her with genuine praise. "It took you mere hours to learn the Hozuki's Hidden Jutsu."

"Thanks to your tutoring and the development of my Water affinity… it comes naturally to me," she said. "Combining it with my Hyoton is easier. However, I have made little progress in assimilating bigger bodies of water to increase my size, and neither did I manage to use the Water Bullet technique."

"Still _extremely _impressive," Karasu pointed out. "The _shitload _of chakra control it must need is nothing short of prodigious. Tsunade-level prodigious."

_Zabuza-sama told me repeatedly I had a bigger potential than his own… that I would surpass him. _Haku found herself thinking about her dead master, which renewed her confidence and resolve. _I will make you proud, I promise._

Arriving at the device and sitting down, the group received a briefing from Kuebiko. "I already visited the world Deidara is supposed to be invading," he explained. "It's.. a place you wouldn't want to live in."

"What happened there?" Chibaku asked.

"It's a bit complicated… let's begin with the Kyuubi attack, which you're all familiar with. After the Yondaime sacrificed himself to seal the beast in Naruto Uzumaki, the former Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, retook his former post, at least until a successor could be found. Twelve years later, no replacement was in sight, and Konoha faced an invasion by a malevolent version of Orochimaru with the help of Sunagakure. It failed spectacularly and the Sannin was forced to flee the tails between his legs… but Sarutobi had to sacrifice himself. After Jiraiya refused the post, and Tsunade Senju having defected years ago, the Daimyo declared the last living apprentice of mine as Godaime Hokage… a man called Danzo Shimura."

"No need to say more," Karasu said grimly. "I get the picture."

Haku was forced to agree. Danzo's ruthlessness was legendary, and the tales of his brutality during the Second and Third Shinobi Wars had reached Kiri and the ears of experienced missing nin all over. "Did it end up like Alpha's world?"

"Fortunately no. I don't think we'll ever see worse than her… utopia." The Nidaime Hokage shuddered briefly, as Eon activated. "Konoha took over the elemental nations by force, yes, but as far as I saw, while it had become an empire, the Leaf is nowhere as oppressive as Alpha's Konoha… if you avoided messing with the government, everything was fine."

They spent the rest of the short travel in silence, and in Haku's case, trying to imagine how life was in a world dominated by Konoha.

When Eon finally arrived, it was shaking uncontrollably.

"Everyone, out!" Kuebiko shouted, shattering the door with a chakra-enhanced kick. "Hurry!"

The three teens obeyed instantly, their instincts reacting for them. A few seconds after they exited the machine, a projectile hit it from above, exploding loudly upon contact. The machine shattered into scraps and smoke, the remains releasing electric arcs. "Well, we won't leave the same way we arrived," Chibaku deadpanned.

"What's happening?" Haku wondered out loud, as deafening explosions resonated in the background. Smoke prevented her from seeing anything, and she had to cough to avoid having her lungs overwhelmed by it.

"Let's get to higher ground," the human puppet snorted, putting his arms around her and lifting her, as he started flying. Haku gasped briefly at the contact, especially since the robot happily touched… certain parts. However, she was too confused to slap him.

Beside her, Karasu Uchiha had adopted his Crow form, seized the Nidaime, and reached the other duo. "I can see the skies," the hybrid said. "Higher."

When they finally exited the cloud of smoke, it was to get a vision from hell itself.

They were above a town… more precisely, its remains. The ruins were burning, and strange birds of clay continuously dive-bombed the fleeing ninjas on the ground, exploding upon contact. Haku recognized the shape of the place, and blanched in horror. "Kumogakure…"

"The hell?" Karasu groaned, as he noticed gigantic dragons of clay floating above them. People with slashed forehead protectors were riding the creatures, throwing jutsu and bombs to the ground underneath. "That's… Deidara's C2."

"And what's _that_?" Chibaku pointed at an ominous shadow, as it passed over the group.

Haku had never seen something like that. It was a gigantic balloon, easily the size of a small village. It was colored red, flying near the clouds, and equipped with loudspeakers underneath it.

"A Zeppelin," Kuebiko told them, sounding astonished. "It's a flying transport carrier. I've seen one or two during my travels, but how the hell did it pass through a breach-"

_"Iwagakure called me Akai Kazan, the Red Volcano," _a powerful noise resonated through the airs, _"You sheep call me a terrorist, an anarchist… I prefer to call myself… a visionary."_

The song came from the zeppelin above, and the voice was quite masculine. "Deidara…" Karasu hissed.

_"First lesson: order is slavery. Your land, is the land of the _'don't'_, of the_ 'you can't', _of the_ 'it's forbidden'_! For your government, you're just names on papers, shackled with chains as meaningless as tradition, ethics, and laws! Second lesson: chaos is freedom! It is the land of the _'you can', _and the_ 'do as you please'_! Without order, you can be individuals! You are freed from society's limitations! And you kneel before no one but yourself!" _A cheerful laugh resonated through the airs. _"Congratulations for today's show, boys and girls! We're truly the eruption that shall burn the old world, so a new one can be reborn! We are a modern day Ragnarok!"_

Much to Haku's horror, the madman proceeded to announce further violence.

_"Who burned down Iwa? That was us! Who incinerated Suna? That was us! We're the children of chaos, and it is craving for blood! Next step, the lair of the tyrant, Konoha! Let's go kill Danzo! The tree will see us coming, but we're gonna burn it to its deepest roots! Our art will prevail! Chaos will prevail! TO THE LEAF!"_

"Is it me, or do we run into psychos all the freaking time?" Chibaku deadpanned. "Is it my godlike charisma that attracts them or something?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Naruko<strong>_

She was the first to cross the portal.

How couldn't she? It was Kazama's homeworld. The place he abandoned behind him, preferring to travel to save people like her and Kitsune instead. The girl wanted to see for herself what kind of planet had made him sick enough to deem it beyond his attention… and focus on others.

Naruko briefly shuddered, upon remembering Kabuto's dirty book… and imagining Kazama and Izanami- no, _Mikoto_, doing these terrible things.

After Sasuke revealed her identity, the woman had decided denying it was a waste of time. Naruko had been astonished to learn the gentle, motherly Uchiha woman who had so kindly taken the blonde under her roof for a time could be the same person as this… embarrassing… woman, before realizing anything in the multiverse was possible. Yugito had had a similar reaction, but decided the woman's identity was unimportant.

She kept the mask on, however.

The first thing Naruko saw was the remains of a bridge. A ravaged forest was surrounding her, full of craters. "Is it…" she heard Sasuke whisper, as he stepped next to her. "Where it all began."

"Where it all began," Kazama confirmed, the last one to cross the border between worlds. "It brings back memories… it feels like my showdown with Orochimaru happened years ago."

Inari whistled as he looked around impressed and not at all disturbed by the sight. "I remember this fight. You definitely topped me in damage here, and I made a double crater and a bijudama in it. Well done. Well done indeed."

Konan looked at the speaker curiously. "You… _remember_ this fight?"

The addressed continued to look around curiously. "Yeah. Up until this event Kazama's and my histories were pretty similar. Nearly identical really. _I_ was still an obnoxious idiot at the time and went on in the timeline as expected. Well that is until a little after I fought Pain which is when I lost of course. As for Kazama… well you know the story by now."

The paper woman's eyes widened momentarily. "You fought Pain?"

"Don't remind me. He's still one of the hardest guys I've ever faced one on one… or six on one… or whatever." Inari shamelessly admitted, still looking around at the damage. "A word of advice? If you want a better chance of getting him to realize how messed up he is, remind him of Ero-senin's first book and what he and Yahiko used to believe in. Of what they originally used to hope for. It might not work now considering what we've heard, but it's worth a shot and I don't think Kazama is good at those kinds of speeches."

"Jiraiya-sensei's first book and what he used to believe in…" The blue haired woman's rippled eyes softened as she momentarily lost herself in her memories.

"You left quite the mark on the scenery," Yugito pointed out to Kazama, glancing at the craters and damage done to the bridge.

"I had the Kyuubi back then, and Orochimaru is no pushover. As non-existent as his morality was, I have to admit that he was one of the strongest ninja I've ever fought." The blonde groaned. "No matter."

He observed the gathered individuals, and Naruko imitated him.

"Naruko and I will lead the party going to the Tailed Beast Temple, while Sasuke, having the most contacts here, is the best fit to lead the investigation on Akatsuki." The Amekage crossed his arms. "Yugito, you're coming with me, as you're the only one with the knowledge of the temple's location and how to access it. Inari, due to your knowledge of the procedure, you come as well. Mei, you come with us too. Sasuke told me you were the Mizukage here, and being seen in public might cause trouble."

He glanced at the second half of the team. "Izanami, you're going with us first, to learn the location of the Temple, then you shall go with Sasuke. Due to your traveling abilities, this would allow us to relay information efficiently between the two groups." The woman did not seem happy with the arrangement, yet kept her cool and briefly nodded. "Konan, due to your abilities, you are exceptional at information gathering, so you will join Sasuke. However-"

"I will neither talk to Pain nor engage him without the entire team's back-up and a coordinate strategy," she cut in. "I can keep my cool, thanks."

"Just checking. Dark Wolf, since you... stand out so much… you will come with me as well." In Naruko's opinion, it was less due to her aspect and more for the desire to separate the swordswoman from Sasuke.

The second he had formed a chidori, she had tackled the Uchiha to the ground, and unsheathed her blade to behead him. The teen only had his life saved by Kazama's timely interposition. If the Uchiha's expression was to be believed, he was thankful for the separation as well.

"Now, Yugito, I need you to picture yourself at the temple," Kazama told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Picture it in your mind as precisely as you can."

The woman closed her eyes, and soon, a breach in space materialized, Naruko's group stepping through it, while Konan and Sasuke stayed behind. To the blonde girl's eyes, the scenery suddenly changed, being replaced by a green groove and large, crystalline falls. "So beautiful…" she noted.

"I see no temple," the Dark Wolf pointed out with a stoic tone.

"It is past the falls," Inari replied. "However, the first part of the training involves meditating before the waterfall on that tiny island there."

"You underwent it too?" Yugito frowned.

"Yeah, but I use a different method to work with the Kyuubi now so I don't have full control yet." Inari shrugged. "But it takes more time and we're in a hurry."

"Strange." Mei whispered. "For a world about to collapse… I do not see any outstanding phenomena."

Kazama pointed a finger toward the sky, and Naruko followed it. At first, she noticed nothing disturbing… until she saw it.

High above, the clouds seemed distorted, circling around a precise area. After channeling chakra through her eyes, Naruko noticed a long, thin black line in their middle. "What is it?"

"A breach the size of Konoha," her mentor explained, making her shudder. "It's growing… after a few days, it will be large enough to allow a moon or worse, a _planet_, to go through."

"And then we will have a big rock falling on us," the Feral Gale deadpanned. "Then a big boom. Personally I hope it's a planet. The moon's been done too many times already."

"How can I master the essence quickly?" Kazama asked Yugito.

"You have to sit before the waterfall," she explained, "After a short of period of meditation, you shall enter a trance and reach the deepest level of your subconscious… the place where the truths one hides from the world slumber. You will face your darkness here, and if you triumph, you should gain a greater level of control over your abilities."

"I live with my darkness everyday… it shouldn't be hard to confront it." The teen sat before the waterfall, closed his eyes, and fell silent.

"It might take some time," Yugito noted. "I suggest we build camp in the meantime." She glanced at Izanami. "Will you lend us a hand?"

"Sure. I'll stay a bit before leaving," the masked woman shrugged.

Naruko briefly sensed she was being watched and turned around. The Dark Wolf was observing her silently, with her shining, icy blue eyes. It was slightly creepy. "Do I have something on my face, Wolf-san?"

"No." The samurai fell silent for an instant. "It is strange to see oneself. What I used to be."

"You had my personality once?" Naruko raised an eyebrow. "You're… em…"

"Different, yes. I guess you did not stay in your homeworld long enough to see the man who changed my life." The elder woman frowned slightly. "I heard you had become a fine ninja."

"I can't compare to you, Mei-san, Izanami-san or Yugito," she said, the different women perking up upon hearing their names dropped. "You're all so much better kunoichi than I am… I admire your strength. I look up to you as role models."

"I am not a kunoichi. I never had any talent in any Shinobi skill… so when my first master came, the path of the sword was a revelation to me." She crossed her arms. "You should try it. Kenjutsu, the art of the blade, is the perfect counter to ninjas."

"I was told Iaido could be used to attack the opponent before he could do hand seals," Yugito pointed out, joining the conversation. "Although I did not recognize the style you used against the Raikage."

"I created the Shadow Dragon myself," the samurai replied. "Being ambidextrous, wielding two blades allows me to maximize my offense and kill the opponent before he strikes back."

"It reminds me of the Silent Killing the Seven Swordsman developed in Kiri," Mei noted. "Inflicting lethal damage, hidden in the mist."

"This is a coward's way out," the Dark Wolf scorned. "A true warrior looks down upon trickery as the tool of the weak."

"This is the tool of the _survivor_," Izanami replied.

"If you fight without honor, you shall live without honor," the Dark Wolf shot back. "Better die in a blaze of glory doing your duty than living as a coward."

"But then you're dead like roasted chicken! With no seasoning or spices! The horror!" Inari shouted in mock fear, the samurai doing herbest to ignore him. "… Holy crap I can talk about chickens without fearing for my life again!"

"I saw you picked up a sword, Yugito-san." The black warrior glanced at her blade. "I could teach you, if you like… after you find new, better clothes."

"It would be a pleasure, but I first need to teach Naruko about mastering her Bijuu." Yugito briefly blushed, being reminded her current clothes weren't exactly appropriate to her size. "Wait, if you do not have whiskers…"

"I am the Kyuubi's prison." The admission surprised the group. "However… the process is different from yours. My seal keep it entirely sealed. I do not draw any chakra from it, and I never experienced any mutation. As long as I live, it shall not be reborn into the world."

Naruko wondered what kind of hardships she must have faced. Kurama's help had been the one reason why she had survived for so long. Being kept away from it, just as Naruko was for the moment, was troubling. She didn't have the courage to tell Yugito the truth…

"I see…" the Nibi's container blinked briefly. "By the way, I wanted to ask you. What does _'blood for the blood god' _mean?"

"This is a prayer to Hachiman, god of war and the patron of the samurai. He is also known as Khorne by some cultures. The act of fighting and shedding the blood of the enemy is sacred in his eyes." The samurai shrugged, as Mei adopted a distasteful expression. "Who am I to question the will of gods? Don't you know of the Kami?"

"I was never deeply religious," Yugito shrugged, searching in her traveling bag. "Kakashi did receive an artifact from some dog god, but-"

Light was coming out of her bag.

Frowning, the Nibi's vessel brought out a golden dog collar, the source of the illumination. "What's tha..."

The collar shined, shined, brighter than the sun.

Then Yugito and the rest of the group were suddenly thrown backward by a shockwave, awfully similar to Susanoo's Shinra Tensei. The ground started to shake, and the Nibi's Jinchuuriki could only watch, as the collar floated above the group, radiating with pure power. "What's happening?" Mei voiced their thoughts.

Naruko saw it.

A being of light. Pure chakra, purer than even the Bijuu's. It used the collar as an anchor to this world, forming a body around it. Soon, the creature was fully manifested in its holy glory. She had seen it on mural paintings in temples, and on tombs near Konoha's graveyard.

**"How nice of Inugami to have provided me with this anchor to the human world." **The Shinigami touched the collar around its neck as it finished materializing. **"It is mediocre, but enough to exact punishment upon the wicked."**

Its eyes, adopting the appearance of the Rinnegan, glared at the meditating Kazama. The deity seized its long sword, and prepared to strike the blonde down with it.

**"Die."**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kazama<strong>_

When he opened his eyes once more, it was to face blood.

He briefly felt dread and fear at that instant, before regaining control of his senses and enough reason to glance at his surroundings. It was still a groove. There was still a waterfall. There was still a sky.

Yet, it was different. Oppressive.

The skies had turned purple, and the clouds were gone, leaving only perfect, heavenly purity. The plants had turned into lifeless steel. And the water… the water had been replaced by fluid blood.

"Is this… is this my soul?" Kazama glared at the waterfall. In spite of the new substance, he could see his reflection.

Which wasn't a reflection.

"So you came," a blonde teen spoke, stepping out of the falls of blood. His face belonged to Naruto Uzumaki, but this one was proudly wearing Konoha's headband and the clothes Jiraiya had given him during his travels. It was the individual Kazama once used to be. "I was waiting for you."

"Are you my darkness?" He was nothing like he expected it to be… "What the hell are you?"

"I am the light… _your _light… buried in darkness, drowned in despair, I rise again." The illusion smiled kindly. "You can call me… Hikari Naruto."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Ninja Stats<strong>_

**Haku:**

Ninjutsu: A-Rank

Taijutsu: C-Rank

Genjutsu: C-Rank

Armed Combat: A-Rank

Defensive Techniques: A-Rank

Battle Strategy: A-Rank

Special Skill: Hyoton: A-Rank

Special Skill: Hozuki Hidden Jutsu: A-Rank

* * *

><p><strong>Mei Terumi:<strong>

Ninjutsu: S-Rank

Taijutsu: B-Rank

Genjutsu: B-Rank

Armed Combat: S-Rank

Defensive Techniques: C-Rank

Battle Strategy: A-Rank

Special Skill: Lava Release: A-Rank

Special Skill: Boil Release: A-Rank

* * *

><p><strong>KuebikoNidaime Hokage:**

Ninjutsu: S-Rank

Taijutsu: S-Rank

Genjutsu: B-Rank

Armed Combat: B-Rank

Defensive Techniques: S-Rank

Battle Strategy: A-Rank

Special Skill: Time Manipulation: S-Rank

* * *

><p><strong>Sasuke Uchiha:<strong>

Ninjutsu: S-Rank

Taijutsu: B-Rank

Genjutsu: A-Rank

Armed Combat: B-Rank

Defensive Techniques: C-Rank

Battle Strategy: A-Rank

Special Skill: Mangekyo Sharingan: S-Rank

Special Skill: Cursed Seal of Heaven: A-Rank

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **thanks ABitterPill and Third Fang for their betaing.

A breather chapter... and the calm before the storm. Afterward, prepare for a lot of mayhem. Let's see if I can turn Deidara into a scary, if flamboyant, villain (well, more than in canon). As for the zeppelin... the world he comes from is more or less Urban!Naruto.

Yep, Kazama is so corrupted he gets a Light Side instead of a Dark Side. As for how the Shinigami can manifest without a mortal's sacrifice... the mortal doesn't have to be _living_. The loophole used is explained in the next chapter.

Would you kindly leave a review?


	46. Chapter 43: The Name is Death

Echoes has officially two years and one day! Happy birthday! I guess it will be finished long before its third anniversary... thanks all readers who have followed this story from start to finish.

_On the reviews: _yes, Deidara's words were a shout out to Iron Man 3's Mandarin (although Deidara is very much real). Other shout outs in this arc will include: V for Vendetta, Batman, Street Fighters, Bleach, Iron Man: Extremis, Warhammer 40K, and Fallout.

Speaking of Warhammer 40K, if there are fans of the game, I published a humorous story on it. Check out my profile if you want to see the Emperor of Mankind fighting a Necron Overlord!

**Disclaimer:** reading this means you're awesome.

* * *

><p><strong>Main Cast (so you can keep track of them):<strong>

**Heroes: **Kazama (Original/Anti-hero Naruto); Naruko (female!Naruto); Chibaku (Puppeteer!Naruto); Sasuke Uchiha; Kuebiko (Tobirama Senju); Fem!Haku; Yugito Nii; Izanami (Fem!Tobi); Dark Wolf (Samurai!Naruko); Mei Terumi; Rinnegan!Konan; Inari (Feral Gale/Cameo).

**Villains: **Tsukiyomi (Madara Uchiha); Teikoku (interworld Akatsuki); Sound-Nin (Sound!Naruto); Sir Naruto/Jester-Naruto (Joker!Naruto).

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 43:<strong>_

_**The Name is Death**_

"Are you certain the chakra comes from this place?" Chibaku asked, observing the barren mountain. "It looks like a pile of rocks to me."

"I could pinpoint a person from the other side of the hemisphere, if I've a decent grasp of his chakra signature," Kuebiko stated serenely, his palm touching the ground. "Vajra is there. His chakra is very weak yes, but he's there deep under the earth. There must be some kind of complex built inside."

"They probably remodeled the caves." Haku narrowed her eyes. "Enemies?"

"Beside Vajra, I notice two sources of chakra… Jinchuuriki. Which demon, I cannot say for sure. I do not have enough knowledge of their frequency to differentiate between them and their respective seals are messing with my senses." The Nidaime joined his fingers, focusing. "With luck, we will be able to avoid them."

The fact that their enemies had at least two demon vessels in their employ was alarming, yet Chibaku was strangely peaceful. He had survived far worse, surely he could beat up yet another Jinchuuriki. Even if for one reason or another they were holding the old fox.

The cyborg was disturbed by the silence. _Hey, I just called you old. No reply?_

_**"Leave me alone. I'm not in the mood for a sarcasm duel."**_

_Oh, that's strange… what happened?_

_**"Remember Naruko's luck at poker?" **_The Kyuubi groaned. "_**Her Nine Tails has received some of it as well**__**."**_

Before there could be further questioning, the ninja was snapped out of his thoughts by Haku's soft hand on his arm. Nodding, the living puppet followed the rest of his group, as they raced toward the mountain, entering in the nearest cave.

As expected, the inside had been occupied. While the corridors were made of stone, candles had been added to them to brighten the darkness. Doors had been built, and metal melted to the walls to build rooms. "Behind this one," Tobirama warned them, as Haku stepped forward.

Opening the door, the snow woman found herself in front of a familiar face. Blue eyes, blonde hair…

Haku blanched, instinctively putting herself on guard. "Alpha?" She gasped, the Nidaime and Chibaku sharing the same reaction… until they realized the madwoman wasn't moving.

"What happened to them?" Kuebiko asked, worried and confused.

Silently, the puppeteer pushed his friend to the side, and approached. It _was _Alpha, wearing the same white robes. Her visage was trapped in a terrified expression, her back against a wall. Three was standing at her side, immobile and sharing the same situation. Chibaku sensed no life in the two women, and a close examination confirmed his suspicions. "Taxidermy."

As the rest of the group blinked, the puppeteer showed them the sewing traces on the clones' neck. "Someone stuffed them." _How the hell did these two end up-_

"The clown did it. Deidara thought they would be better as masterpieces than allies."

The voice caught the group off-guard before they turned to the source at their left. A man was sitting in a chair, restrained by chains and seals. His eyes shined slightly in the dark, conveying a slight sense of surprise. "You do not seem to work for Deidara. Are you some of Danzo's cronies?"

"Kakuzu of the Waterfall…" Kuebiko snorted. "S-Rank missing-nin."

"And the richest man in the world. Do not forget that." The man chuckled. "Look, my situation speaks for itself. Free me and I will help in any you wish… treasury, loans, bounty hunting... The seals here negate my chakra and prevent me from doing anything."

"Which is why we did not sense him…" Chibaku crossed his arms. "How'd someone like you end up there?"

"I was offered a job for a shitload of money… it was good until I got transferred under Deidara. When I mentioned money ruled the world, not art… he didn't respond well."

"What happened to these two?" Haku glanced at Alpha and Three. "And how did they end up in to this world in the first place?"

"Oh, you're from another planet too?" The deadpan admission made the team blink. "You must be this group of travelers they were keeping an eye on."

"Group of-" Karasu blanched, getting the picture. "They know we exist. The Teikoku has been investigating us…"

"These two confronted members of your group, and were interrogated. Deidara promised them help in retaking their homeworld so long as they provided their full cooperation… as you can guess, when they outlived their usefulness and told him everything he wanted to hear, they learned the hard way the bomber's word doesn't mean shit."

"This is worrying," Kuebiko noted. "We need to get Vajra and inform the rest of our team."

"The Uchiha?" Kakuzu shrugged and glanced in a dark corner of the room. "You're too late."

It was at this moment Chibaku noticed the blood on the ground. Haku put her hands over her mouth in horror, and Karasu clenched his fists. Tobirama approached the source of the liquid… an open, festering wound.

Chibaku couldn't tell if this was Madara Uchiha or not. The… man… was closer to a red smear on the ground than anything else. His captors had removed his lungs, stomach, and most of his spine, replacing them with black sharpened rods. The flesh was cut to the bones, whose composition was metallic instead of organic.

"Oh no…" The Senju touched the mangled corpse. "No… this can't be… they murdered you…"

"I don't know what they wanted to learn from him, but they were ready to go at all lengths to get it." Kakuzu snorted. "I guess they got tired of his silence."

"They…" The former Hokage clenched his fists in rage. Haku put her hand over his shoulder in an attempt to comfort the old man, but he pushed it away and glanced at the corpse. "There is a trace of his chakra left. Perhaps we can…"

"He's dead dude," Chibaku whispered coolly. "We better destroy the corpse or move it elsewhere."

"No… there has to be a way!" Tobirama snapped angrily. "If I put him in stasis-"

"You can't undo that kind of wounds," Chibaku pointed out. "Face it, he's dead and we can't do a thing about it. If he stays there, they'll probably dissect him or worse."

Haku winced at the harsh words. "Chibaku, you should be-"

"We don't have time for diplomacy," the puppeteer cut in. "Who knows if this isn't a trap? If the guards won't return soon? They're patrolling out there, who knows when they will return to watch out their prisoner?"

The Nidaime Hokage visibly hesitated… until cold pragmatism won out. He glanced one last time at his old comrade. "Sorry," Kuebiko whispered with anguish, surrounding the corpse with a stasis field, "If I had been faster… at the very least, I won't let them defile your remains any longer."

The flesh turned to dust, revealing the metal underneath… which started crumbling, along with the seal. Time was accelerated in this area, causing the body to vanish. "He was like me," the puppeteer guessed. "More machine than man."

"Yes," Tobirama nodded. "He… extensively enhanced his body in order to overcome his old age, which is probably how he managed to hack into nearby computers… and why he held so long."

"Deidara will pay," Karasu promised ominously.

Kakuzu chuckled. "I can help you to find him… in fact, I will be glad to do so, if you free me. I could trade my information against my freedom. Interested?"

Chibaku glanced at the Nidaime, who nodded. "Alright," the Hokage said, moving on to disarm the seals. "However, at the _first sign _of treachery, you're dead. I'm already pissed beyond words."

"I'm greedy, not crazy… and a deal is a deal." With the seals gone, Kakuzu managed to shatter the chains on his own. "Mmm… I really need to rebuild my supply of hearts."

"We should get out before Deidara's men locate us." Haku was the first to reach the door. "Hurry."

The group silently walked into the rocky corridors, refusing to utter a word. Chibaku glanced one last time at Alpha's corpse, briefly hesitating to mourn her, before deciding she had her death coming. When they were near the exit, a noise made them pause.

"I'm telling you!" The shouting almost caused the puppeteer a cardiac crisis. "My Chaos Sorcerer put him under control! This is a perfectly valid rule!"

The group froze on place, and the Nidaime pointed a finger at a door on his left. "The two guards," he whispered. "Better avoid them."

Haku frowned. "They-"

"I never forget a chakra signature, Haku. The Relay is our priority, but when Deidara and it are gone, I will track them down personally and put their heads on a pike." The words had been uttered without any change in the Hokage's tone. He was simply stating a fact. "Let's go."

The group stealthily continued to advance… until the second guard was heard.

"MORON!" A familiar voice shouted in anger. "That's not how it works! My Dark Eldar has protection against psychic powers thanks to the artifact! He cannot be affected by your Thousand Sons' Unit!"

Karasu stopped in the middle of the corridor, surprising Chibaku. The robot silently signaled him to hurry and get away… noticing the boy's angered face one second too late. "These words... it's _him_…" the Uchiha hissed, activating his Sharingan. "The Sound-Naruto…"

"Karasu, don't do what I think you're about to-"

The Uchiha shattered the walls with a chakra enhanced punch.

Chibaku found himself staring at two Naruto Uzumaki, both sitting around a table... playing with painted figurines. _Patrolling, my ass, _the puppeteer thought grimly, as he observed his two doubles. One was dressed like a red jester, the other wearing a grey uniform and Otogakure's headband. Both glanced at Chibaku and Karasu, then at each other… finally jumping on their feet.

"INTRUDERS ALERT!" Black lines started covering the Sound Naruto's skin. "EXTERMINATE!"

"You _assholes_!" The jester seized a spiked mace. "I was about to win!"

Chibaku allowed himself a final snark to Karasu. "Thank you very much. That was very discreet."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kazama<strong>_

"The hell? My light?" Kazama groaned. "How stupid of you to think I would believe this _shit_!"

"This is the truth, and your self-denial will change nothing." Hikari Naruto let his fingers touch the bloody lake. "This place is your soul… see for yourself what it has become. A haven of corruption and darkness."

"I was supposed to _face _my darkness!"

"Why? Darkness is the dark fantasies and wishes one hides from the world… and you embraced them with open arms. You do not repress them anymore. You're living them. What you imprison deep inside your heart is me… the compassion. The forgiveness. Love."

"I love others. I love Izanami. I love my family. I love my friends." Kazama glared at the illusion. "You're a fake."

"You used to love Sakura once," the illusion ignored him superbly, "Jiraiya too. Iruka, Teuchi-"

"Only for them to betray me!" Kazama snarled. "They were never my friends!"

"How can you be so sure? What evidence do you have besides Madara's words? You believe a liar?" Hikari Naruto shook his head. "You cling blindly to your hate and paranoia, as Amatsu-Mikaboshi and Madara want you to. How can you discard your old life so easily?"

"Because it makes me feel better," he stated flatly. "My old life was a lie. What I earned as Kazama Arashi is real. It is meaningful."

"Even if part of your old life was a lie, what makes you think your old bonds were fake? Shikamaru was ready to die for you. Didn't Tsunade stand in front of you to protect you from Orochimaru? Didn't Jiraiya teach you the Rasengan and Summoning?"

"They're either coworkers, or they betrayed me eventually. I trusted them, I worked hard to impress them, and they stabbed me in the back!" He growled. "The other versions of me… they have been so much more! Chibaku, N, even the pervert! They're stronger at twelve than I ever was at fifteen! Jiraiya, Tsunade… all of them were holding me back! Preventing me from claiming my rightful place in this world!"

"Rightful place?"

"I was the son of the Yondaime Hokage and the last Uzumaki! I was sacrificed at birth without my consent! I never asked for this, and I was treated like a dog!" Kazama glared at his reflection. "All I ever wanted… was acknowledgment. I just wanted them to like me, to be treated like anybody else! And yet… I was always alone. Until this power freed me of that life."

"The Village may have rejected you, but others gladly acknowledged you. Don't you remember Konohamaru? Sakura?"

"I… Konohamaru… he did not come to help me when I called. A true friend would have. I would have answered if _he _had called. In the end… he didn't love me. Same with Sakura."

"Haven't you considered they be might incapacitated or dead? Or that Amatsu-Mikaboshi didn't let them come to better manipulate your feelings? Surely Sakura-"

"Enough with Sakura!" Kazama snapped angrily. "She never understood me! Not once! I struggled so hard to keep her safe… to keep my promise to her! And when I was at the hospital… never once did she try to comfort me. Never once did she ask me if I was alright, if I had been crippled… no… all she cared about was Sasuke! I was nothing but a tool for her! _Nothing_!"

He glared at his reflection in the blood. "Can you understand the pain I felt? I realized… what a fool I had been. To think anyone would ever come close to liking me! And then… then I met my family. My world. Now… now I have the life I always wanted! I've everything I always desired in this new existence of mine!"

"Then why are you trying to destroy the old one?"

"Because I will never be free so long as it haunts me!" Kazama seized his head. "Why am I even saying this… you're nothing but a fake! An illusion I have to overcome! Then, the power to remake this world… the power I crave shall be mine!"

"No. I am Naruto Uzumaki."

"I could beNaruto Uzumaki if I wanted to!"

"Then prove it," Hikari Naruto replied. "Take off your mask."

"You fool…" Kazama seized his helmet. "I'm going to-"

The helmet refused to move.

The teen tried harder, and failed. It refused to budge. "What have you done to me? I can't take this mask off!"

"It isn't a mask, this is your real face. You simply decided to show it to the world, Kazama Arashi." Hikari Naruto snorted. "You know what? You're pathetic."

"I won't let an illusion-"

"Everything comes down to the fact you just can't come to term your insecurities. You have to blame _someone _for your misery. _Anyone_. Yes, your life wasn't perfect… but you can't accept it _just happened_. No, you have to blame everyone for intentionally ruining your life, that the entire world is out to get you. It all comes down to your wounded ego."

"Shut up."

"This armor is how you are in the inside. You keep wearing it convinced it's protecting you from everything. That it makes you look tough. That somehow by being some frightening dictator in control of everything, you can fix things and make them 'right'."

**"And what is wrong with that?" **The voice came from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. **"Someone has to do it. You can do it."**

"Mikaboshi…" Kazama hissed. "You are here too?"

**"I am always with you. Do not listen to this liar. It is a mere remnant of your old life. An impurity that refuses to be erased as its taint should be. It is trying to make you doubt yourself, your actions."**

"Yes, because you would love to see him run blindly in the direction you have pointed him!" The light embodiment glanced at Kazama. "You do not have to pursue that path. You can leave the past behind you… you can cease to crave a power that is beyond your understanding. You can drop this poisonous hate-"

**"Why? It is healthy to hate. Is it not easier to see those who wronged you gone ****forever****? Forgiving them means they will abuse you once more. Why ignore a problem when you can wipe it out? With the power you can gain, people will fear and acknowledge you."**

"It won't make people love you," Hikari Naruto replied, "If you forgive others, they will love you! Cease to condemn everyone! This thing is manipulating you!"

**"Lies. Come to me, and the darkness shall welcome you Kazama Arashi. I will protect and shield you from pain. Why should you try to earn people's love, when you can force them to adore you?"**

"SILENCE!"

The outburst caused the different tempters to shut up. "I'm sick of your words," Kazama growled. "I'm neither of you! I don't want either of you!"

**"Yes you do. You want to join me, but you are incomplete. Flawed. I have the means to perfect you."**

The blood's reflection twisted. Kazama glanced at images pictured with perfect clarity. His family was fighting a powerful enemy in the middle of a forest… an opponent he recognized to his dreadful realization.

**"The Shinigami has come to reclaim his power, and your 'family' is fighting to protect you." **Amatsu-Mikaboshi paused, as Kazama tightened his fists. **"I can give you the power to drive it back."**

"HOW?"

**"Destroy your weakness and become pure." **The voice paused. **"Kill this fake light. Drown him in his own blood."**

"There is another choice… as long as you live, you and your loved ones shall never be left alone." Hikari Naruto mimicked a gutting motion. "If you sacrifice yourself… they will be safe…"

"I choose…" Kazama gritted his teeth, reaching a decision.

"_My own path_."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Haku<strong>_

Instinctively, Haku turned herself into steel-hard ice, an action that saved her life when a powerful explosion propelled her through multiple walls of rock. Two seconds later, she was facing the light of the sun, crashing into the soil outside the mountain.

Two other objects suffered the same treatment, landing at her side as she regained a human form. Chibaku groaned while rising up, and Karasu was hissing with rage. His body had been shielded by purple… ribs? "The Susanoo armor…" The snow woman trailed off, shaping her own armor of ice over her skin.

"I'm going to kill him!" Karasu snarled, his Mangekyo Sharingan activated. The pupils' shape was similar to three kunai in the center of a red circle

As the trio rose up prepared to fight, their opponent landed ten meters in front of them, his skin covered with black lines. "I would like to see that MORON!" The alternate Naruto Uzumaki growled. "Your pretty eye won't save you from an ass whipping!"

"No, _you _won't escape from _mine_!" A knight of purple light materialized around Karasu, wielding a long blade. "I will crush you for killing Kurotsuchi, bastard!"

"Kurotsuchi…" The Sound-nin raised an eyebrow, genuinely confused. "Which one?"

The answer actually caused the Uchiha to pause. "What do you mean by _which one_?"

"I've killed, like, four Kurotsuchi. Five if a male version counts. You gotta be a little more specific." The ninja snorted. "Look, moron, the day I killed your girlfriend was perhaps the worst day of your life, but for me… it was Tuesday."

The answer made Karasu grow _angrier_. "It was a _Monday _you murderous asshole!" The Susanoo swung its blade and lowered it down, cutting the ground in half. The Sound-nin dodged at incredible speed, standing unharmed one foot to the sword's left side.

"I see our last fight didn't teach you how wide the gap between us-" A volley of explosive kunai detonated within an inch of the criminal's face, covering him with smoke and dust.

Chibaku snorted, upon noticing Haku's surprised gaze. "What? He was asking for it."

"Oh yeah…" An animal growl and the noise of flipping wings caught their attention, as the dust was blown away, revealing a monster. "Now I'm pissed off! _Curse Seal Level Two_! Behold my beautiful body, MORONS!"

The enemy they had in front of them had a humanoid shape, and had retained his grey uniform, but that was it. Gone were the pale skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes. The creature was covered with a black exoskeleton, similarly to an insect's. His eyes were pupiless, having turned entirely yellow. Beautiful blue wings had grown from his back, tearing the shirt apart.

All in all, the Sound-nin had become a cross between a human… and a butterfly.

"… He… haha!" Chibaku couldn't repress a laugh at the silliness of the scene. "What are you, mothman?"

A fist hit his face, bending the steel and sending him to roll to the side. Haku instantly attempted to crush the attacker with a Water technique, only to be punched in the chest before she could complete the seal sequence. Her ice armor took most of the blow, saving her internal organs. Karasu roared and attempted to cut the Sound-nin in half, only for the hybrid to vanish in a blink of an eye.

"I tire of this! Behold my perfect form! Curse Seal… LEVEL THREE!"

The creature's chakra manifested as a sick crimson aura, and his body mutated into a horrific creature. His fingers became claws, his teeth, fangs. His size was multiplied by three or four, his face turned more bestial. A tail grew from his back, ripping apart what little clothes he had kept. The Sound-Naruto was a beast, and his cruel eyes glared at his opponents with predatory hunger.

He opened his maw.

Haku's ice armor exploded, as powerful vibrations ravaged its structure. Karasu's Susanoo crumbled into shapeless chakra, unable to resist the sonic attack. The blast tossed the duo twenty meters backwards with sheer power alone. The snow woman's ears felt intense pain, causing a terrible headache. Her Uchiha teammate was barely better, holding his head between his hands and laying helpless on the ground.

_"I'm so loud you wanna die! Go forth and amplify! Here __comes__ the Sonic Blast!"_ The Sound-Naruto stopped shouting and chuckled. "Best battle cry… ever!"

"Nothing is better!" Another voice completed the rhyme, as half the mountain crumbled. Tobirama Senju was thrown above the clouds, and a giant walked out of the former edifice. The Jester-Naruto had grown to immense size… easily as big as a Bijuu. "Akimichi's Hidden Jutsu: Big Bad Fatass!"

"That's not the right name, MORON!" The Sound-Naruto snarled at his partner.

"I like this one better!" The giant raised a mace the size of a small tower. "Let the game begin! Wanna try human Baseball?"

"Oh yes!" The Sound-Naruto knocked away the explosive kunai Chibaku tossed in his direction, before closing the gap between the puppeteer and him faster than Haku's eyes could follow. The robot attempted to fly away, yet unfortunately both his legs were caught and crushed by the monster's palms. The hybrid rotated on himself, and propelled his prey toward the Jester-Naruto at the speed of a cannonball. "INCOMING!"

"I got it! Skullkisser…" The clown raised his mace to intercept the cyborg. "Kiss skull!"

Black threads swirled around Chibaku midair and brought him to the ground. The mace missed him barely, and the Jester almost lost his balance. Kakuzu caught the puppeteer, while the Sound-Naruto sneered derisively. "Geez, I guess second time's the charm-"

A Water Dragon hit him in the face, tossing him to his back.

"Alright…" Tobirama Senju stepped in front of Haku. He had lost his armor, and was left wearing only a blue shirt and black pants. "I wanted to keep you for last, but if you insist, I can roll with it."

"MORON, an old codger like you will never take me down!" The Sound-Naruto charged, moving faster than the wind. "I'm as fast as the Yellow Flash-"

Tobirama punched his face so hard more than two bloodied fangs shattered with the blow. The sheer power of the strike turned the Sound-Naruto into a projectile… which hit the Jester-Naruto's nose, much to his surprise. "I'm faster," the Nidaime replied calmly.

"You wanna see death?" The Jester-Naruto raised his mace, his previous smirk twisted into a vicious sneer. "Here I come!"

"Water Release," the Nidaime completed a twenty seals long sequence in less than three seconds and inhaled sharply, "Thousand Water Dragon!"

Haku blinked. "Thousa-"

Kuebiko opened his mouth and released an ocean.

It was no exaggeration. Never before had Haku seen so much water produced by a single jutsu. Hundreds and hundreds of water dragons materialized, each and every one of them powerful enough to destroy a small house… and they were launched at the Jester. "Oh fu-"

The thousand projectiles impacted on his body with a loud noise, and his back met the mountain.

"Tell me again," Kakuzu stepped to Haku's side, holding both Chibaku and Karasu with his treads, "Why are you considered inferior to your brother?"

"They're not dead," the Nidaime whispered, as the dust dissipated.

To their surprise, the Sound-Naruto floated in the sky, the Jester-Naruto sitting on his back, having been forced to return to his normal size. "Damn it, he's strong," the clown loudly complained, his clothes as wet as a fish, "Only Deidara-senpai or Orochimaru-dono could beat that guy!"

"I got to admit it… he's out of our league. RETREAT!" The Sound-Naruto flew at the speed of the sound, hoping to get away.

"You aren't going anywhere!" The Nidaime completed new seals, which Haku imitated. "Water Release: Water Dragon!" Both mentor and student shouted at the same time.

The Sound-Naruto skillfully dodged the attacks, dive-bombed in their direction, and forced them to split up. He avoided hitting the ground… and the Jester-Naruto caught Chibaku. "I got one! _Accelerate_!"

"No!" Haku shouted, as Kakuzu's treads tore under the strain. The two water users of the group attempted to hit them, without avail.

"They're too far away," Kakuzu noted, as the three Naruto vanished in the horizon. "This is useless."

"Damn it!" Haku cursed, before glaring at Karasu. "Idiot! If you hadn't foolishly attacked, none of this would have happened! Now Chibaku may be killed… or worse!" She glanced one last time in the trio's direction, anger and fear overtaking her heart. "Damn it…"

"Sorry…" The Uchiha apologized genuinely. "I… I just couldn't help…"

"We will find him," Kuebiko promised, comforting Haku. "I promise we will rescue him. I will track his chakra and-"

"Lady, gentlemen, and old codgers who have had their faces carved into the sides of mountains," Kakuzu cut in, "We've got a new problem."

The group instantly put itself on guard, as multiple ninja shunshined into their immediate surroundings. They was an entire squadron masked ANBU, wielding tanto and katana. "Identify yourself!" the smallest of them, a young man wearing a dragon mask, shouted. His blonde hair and voice were quite familiar. "Who are you? Raise your hands and drop your weapons! There is no reason this has to be difficult!"

"Sorry, just got done being imprisoned for days, not gonna happen again," Kakuzu retorted defiantly. If his tone was to be believed, he considered the ANBU as mere cannon fodder.

The ANBU's captain prepared to seize his blade…

"Enough."

The ANBU released his weapon. He and his comrades stepped back, letting an old man approach.

Haku instantly recognized him. Not due to the Hokage's robes he was wearing, but because she had seen his face in Kiri's Bingo Book. One closed eye and a few black hair, the rest of his face covered by bandages. The elderly Shinobi was one-handed, and seemingly too frail to walk without a cane, but the kunoichi was not fooled by the illusion of weakness.

"This chakra… it cannot be…" His lone eye widened in genuine surprise. "Tobirama-sensei?"

"Danzo…" Kuebiko sighed. "Why am I not surprised?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Naruko<strong>_

The Dark Wolf reacted first, unsheathing her blades and stopping the Shinigami's Katana. The strength of the blow forced the Samurai back, but she refused to let the weapon run its course.

**"Step aside," **the deity ordered, sounding slightly surprised the warrior managed to parry. **"I said-"**

Twin tails of blue flames and a Rasengan hit its face, propelling the deity backwards far into the forest. Adopting a Tailed Beast form, Yugito growled. **"What the hell is going on?"**

"So we have a genuine god on our hands this time? Oh goodie." Inari narrowed his eyes, created multiple Shadow Clones without lifting a finger and had them disappear in the woods the following second. He didn't bother to notice the looks of skepticism the others were giving him due to his change of tone, which had become far more commanding. "Dark Wolf, Mei, you protect Kazama until he wakes up. If the God's after him, it'll come back. The rest of you with me."

"And what do you suggest doing?" Naruko asked, completely lost. "What's happening?"

"My guess is that the Shinigami wants the power Kazama stole back, otherwise it would have gone for the rest of us when it appeared. To be honest the guys back home were a bit surprised that it didn't happen already when you first arrived in my multiverse," Inari elaborated, charging into the forest without wasting a word. Izanami, Yugito and Naruko jumped after him in pursuit. Much to the blonde girl's astonishment, the Feral Gale's eyes started changing, gaining an amphibian nature.

"Hmmm." Izanami mused. "I did hear that you were quite knowledgeable when it came to gods. Do you happen to have any game changing info little Inari?"

"He said the collar was his medium so there's a good chance that if we destroy that he'll be forced out of our realm… it's not uncommon for those upstairs to require something like that to manifest physically in our worlds."

**"A ninja Mei and I fought, Hidan, used a technique to call the demonic deity Jashin in a similar way the Yondaime used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal," **Yugito pointed out. **"It devoured its summoner's life force and vanished when it was extinguished, having lost its anchor to the material world."**

"A medium only needs to have a strong connection to a deity in some way." Inari nodded. "Being a person or an inanimate object only affects how much juice the God can manifest here and the requirements dictating how long they can stay. Items like the collar need to be kept physically intact, but they tend to break due to overexposure to the god's power after a while. Especially if the item's theme doesn't match up to the god's."

"Which means either we must wait until it runs out of power or breaks the collar by itself, which might take hours, or we destroy the collar," Izanami whispered. "Someone must attract its attention while the others sneak up on it."

"My favorite pastime. Stay close," the Feral Gale snapped, as a cloud of yellow smoke progressed toward them, swallowing the forest. Again without any seals, the young boy manipulated the air around him instantly and split the cloud to either side of the group to give them safe passage. It also allowed them to see what would have happened had they come into contact with the gas.

The trees and plants touched by the miasma were instantly dried, crumbling into dust. The Shinigami stood in the center of a circle of dead vegetation, glaring down at its opponents. The eyes betrayed no emotion, and it was absolutely clear to Naruko the creature considered the group a minor stepping stone at best.

**"My business is with the Darkspawn and the Darkspawn alone," **it warned with a deep, raspy voice. **"There is no need for you to die. Step aside and you shall be spared."**

"Sorry Shinigami-sama, but the guy is a friend of ours," Inari replied, adopting a non-threatening stance. Once the cloud fully dissipated, Izanami grabbed Naruko and teleported with her a dozen meters behind the Shinigami, waiting for an opportunity while its attention was occupied by Yugito and the Feral Gale. "Look, I know you must be pissed for accidentally losing a sliver of your power to a mortal, but in his defense Kazama never asked for it in the first place. If you ask nicely, I'm sure he will give it back to you… without having to kill him... maybe."

"**You're not very convincing." **Yugito grumbled.

**"He will not. Worshippers of Amatsu-Mikaboshi never surrender the power they claim. They grow addicted to it after a time." **The deity snorted at Inari. **"You have no idea what is at ****stake**** here, do you?"**

"More than you'd think, but I'm pretty sure you're going to explain anyways for everyone else here regardless."

The deity narrowed its glowing eyes. **"Your soul is different… it belongs to another deity. What are you? An invader? A visitor? Speak or be doomed."**

"Hey there's no need to be snappy. I'm just an emissary lost on the road of life," Inari replied casually raising his hands in mock surrender, before leering at the transformed kunoichi next to him. "Besides, Naruko and Yugito were the ones that blasted you here, not me."

"**Whose side are you on?!" **The Kumo Shinobi yelled at him disbelievingly.

"**An emissary? Whose? Explain."**

The visiting Naruto shrugged as if not being stared down by a mildly irritated god. "Believe it or not this little issue of yours has bled into my mutiverse as well. The higher ups sent me here to keep an eye on things and just make sure that what happened really was an accident, investigate everything, and help resolve the issue. Obviously they didn't come themselves because that would just cause everyone a whole mess of other problems that nobody wants to deal with. You don't have to worry about any sort of invasion. The gods in charge of my mutiverse aren't interested in conquest or the like. They find it boring really. Regardless, from what I know of Kazama's experiences, the fact that you're directly involving yourself only just now is a bit concerning given the nature and severity of the situation. Please calm down and explain what's happening. I doubt that either of us would prefer a meaningless confrontation."

The god growled slightly before its stance relaxed very slightly. Obviously it saw the merit in talking to the unwanted visitor even if it didn't like it. **"The Darkspawn you are protecting is worshiping Amatsu-Mikaboshi, the deity of the void and the biggest threat our pantheon has to face on a consistent basis. The essence that it stole from me is surely being corrupted as we speak to serve its foul purposes. The breaches are caused by your ****comrade's**** interference, and he will not stop there. The power he stole, the power of a creation deity, combined with Amatsu-Mikaboshi's own abilities, will allow the dark god to reshape our entire reality. This must not happen."**

"The cycle of creation? But you're the god of death. Your realm of influence isn't a part of this unless you're… shit." Inari narrowed his eyes. "Life and death are two sides of the same coin. If one controls one, one can affect the other."

**"Yes." **The Shinigami acknowledged. **"With my power, Amatsu-Mikaboshi can corrupt the cycle of life and death that governs our entire realm. It will achieve dominion over all souls, alive or dead, and decay into nothingness any aspect of reality it desires gone."**

"I see." He lamely shrugged without bothering to look at the deity. "Pretty bad."

"**Then you know what must be done."** The god concluded, neither confirming nor denying the boy's suspicions.

"No. As it stands I believe that things have not reached a dire enough stage that would warrant Kazama's execution." Inari countered calmly. "I may be wrong, but beside some… ok, a lot of emotional issues, I do not believe he's as bad as you say. He probably does need a solid ass kicking and a shrink to help him deal with them, but he isn't past the event horizon yet. As far as I know, he does not worship an evil deity or whatever-"

**"The order to eliminate him has been approved by our ruling deities, and we shall solve our problems ourselves," **the death god snapped. **"Step aside, stranger, and you and your gods shall be left alone. This is your last warning."**

Inari clicked his teeth in irritation. "The _ruling_ gods _authorized _this? You've got to be kidding me. Alright! Alright! You win. I'm going to step aside NOW!"

Naruko and Izanami reacted at the signal, the first forming a Rasenyari, the second attempted a sword strike. Both aimed for the collar, hoping to destroy it in one attack.

**"Fine, if this is your wish, I shall ****crush**** you." **The death god rotated, hitting both girls with a swift, quick motion of its unarmed hand. Naruko felt the heat and warmth of her body being absorbed by the brief contact, and the two kunoichi crashed to the ground.

"Shit, its contact negated my intangibility," Izanami grunted before seizing Naruko and leaping away to dodge the Shinigami's katana. "Still, I expected to be helpless after a direct contact. I guess it is minimizing use of its power."

The deity's counterattack would have continued further, however before it could pursue its closest targets it quickly moved its blade to block an even larger blade made out of solid wind chakra complete with Inari on its end with his hands clasped together.

"**You have made a foolish mistake envoy." **Death incarnate stated as the chakra blade began to weaken and fade as its influence took hold, causing the fabrication to crack and shatter within seconds…

And force the shrapnel-like energy to fly right in the direction of the god's head and neck. The surprise attack did momentarily catch the god slightly off guard, however only a few scratches were made on the collar before its free hand moved in the way to protect it. What few pieces made it past the god continued on to assault the landscape and cut through virtually everything in their path, starting up miniature gales of wind in the process.

"I tend to make a lot of them," the Feral Gale grumbled knowingly before he was stabbed almost instantly with the god's sword, only to disappear in a cloud of smoke.

Moments later an army of blade wielding Inari clones appeared from all around the god and attempted to cut off the collar in the same way the previous iteration had failed. Unfortunately the god would not be fooled a second time. It effortlessly parried all the oncoming blades, knocking the weapons away and giving the Shinigami the perfect opening to tear apart the clones wielding them.

Izanami didn't wait for another opening as she teleported right to the back of the god's neck with her sword drawn and the collar in her sights. However it yielded no fruit as the god somehow responded to her presence and parried her sword slash with its katana in the next second. The Uchiha landed to the ground and attempted to destroy the necklace with a powerful fireball, but the death god lazily dodged in the next instant.

**"You are attempting to stall me until I run out of power, **am I correct**?" **The Shinigami noted, casually avoiding its opponent's attacks. **"Fools. The souls feeding me come from the Pure World itself. You would be surprised how many are ready to sacrifice their afterlife to see the Darkspawn gone. I could fight you for months."**

"Yeah right!" Naruko yelled as she threw some exploding kunai. "You're using the Inugami's collar to stay here and you're not a dog spirit! We know it'll break by itself eventually!"

The death god knocked away the kunai with its free hand, nullifying the explosives before they were set off. They fell harmlessly to the ground, and the deity continued its advance. **"Eventually is a vague word to a timeless being. I will see my task done. Your resistance is futile."**

"Yugito, give me some heat!" The original Inari commanded, wasting no time as he breathed in deeply next to the Nibi's container.

Not bothering to question his decision, the former Kumo Shinobi mimicked his motions. Both jinchuriki unleashed their respective elements in absurd quantities at the same time.

Meshing together perfectly, the two techniques combined into a concentrated blue twisting inferno that swallowed the Shinigami whole.

Izanami and Naruko observing from the sidelines couldn't help but show some surprise at the new technique while putting in some effort to prevent from getting burned despite the distance they had from it. Even from where they were standing it was hard to ignore the intense heat the twister was giving off.

**"If we melt the collar, maybe we can-" **Yugito's words were interrupted as a large thin blade tore through the blue inferno straight towards its sources and forced both Jinchuuriki to jump away in opposite directions. Neither of them bothered to pay attention to the dozens of trees behind them that had been felled in the process.

Standing in the middle of the trail of scorched earth and ashes that extended far past it, the Shinigami seemed to be unharmed. In fact the only thing that appeared to be different about him was that its collar was now glowing white hot.

"**Your attacks should have been rapidly negated on contact with me. You can resist my influence." **The God of Death, who apparently did not care in the slightest about being temporarily stuck in an inferno, glared at Inari who was busy making a new set of seals, displaying the first real emotion since it had appeared.

"I can barely stagnate the effects at best, and it's not like you're trying in the first place. Lazy ass god," Inari muttered under his breath before finishing the last seal. "Wind Release: War Scars."

Without further warning, all the air within five meters of the God erupted into blades and tore apart everything within its reach in a blur of relentless chaos. Just as quickly as the attack manifested, it had stopped less than a second later…

However the Shinigami was left untouched as was the earth within a foot of its person.

"Figures. His influence didn't stop at just his body. Looks like only stronger techniques can get through after all." The wind manipulator sighed, clearly not expecting the jutsu to work in the first place.

Before the Shinigami could attack the Feral Gale, its attention was drawn to the slew of fireballs and water projectiles that were barreling down on it from several angles.

"**Stick to long range for now and keep it pinned! It is too dangerous up close!"** Yugito shouted as she blasted off great fireballs one after another, aiding in the carpet-bombing of the death deity.

"How the heck are we supposed to cut off the collar like that though?" Naruko asked out loud as she unleashed just as many water bullets. From where she was she could easily tell that the attacks were doing nothing save for forcing the God to move at a far slower rate, weaving in between the projectiles with unnatural ease.

Through the chaos, fire, and water, Izanami teleported rapidly and erratically with her sword drawn. Using the attacks and destruction as a cover, the woman closed the distance between herself and the god until she was right behind him…

And then quickly teleported to the side as its fist swung through the area she had just been in a hair of a second beforehand. Said hand had to move less than an instant later in order to avoid a fireball.

The woman had reappeared to the god's left for a short time, however she once more warped space as its blade stabbed what would have been where her head was. The blade flashed away as a large ball of water nearly hammered its side. The weapon would not have been damaged, but it would have put the God slightly off balance which was unacceptable.

"He's too fast…" Izanami muttered as she teleported again to try and get behind the god, only to barely escape a vicious backhand and phase through a fireball. "I can't get anywhere like this…"

"**Nor will you,"** the Shinigami stated calmly, seemingly tired of simply dodging and spun around while swinging its sword, creating a large shockwave in all directions that blew away the attacks and Izanami with ease. The savage winds would have continued on to destroy the nearby vegetation and the attackers. However just before it reached the targets, the savage winds had all stopped and disappeared at once.

"God of Death or not, wind's my gimmick."

From the perspective of every human on the ground, it had appeared as if dozens of tremendous pillars of air the size of small buildings had relentlessly crashed down on the deity from the heavens and blasted away everything in the area that had not been in its direct path. The consecutive blows were strong enough that the island turtle they were on shook and moaned in protest, lengthening the duration that the ground rumbled.

Thankfully the three females there were far enough away to not get caught up in the chaos, however they still had to make an effort to dodge all the kicked up debris.

"Overkill anyone?" Izanami stated in half annoyance and half amusement just as she finished phasing through the last of the debris..

"**We're dealing with a deity. If anything it wasn't enough," **Yugito growled, having decided to knock away the wood and dirt with her demonic body. **"A little warning wouldn't have hurt though."**

"He has bigger attacks, but we would have been caught up in them if he used them," Naruko admitted, having to dodge everything that came her way, remembering seeing the Rasenshuriken in action. "Wait why does the air feel heavier?"

It was at that moment that the three females realized that the air around them seemed to have gained weight and power. None of them missed that there seemed to be active chakra flowing through it and was progressively moving faster.

"Back up and pay attention damn it!" Inari shouted darkly as his hands blurred, finishing roughly thirty seals in four seconds while using the kicked up air below him to chain into his next technique. "Maelstrom of the Wind God! Heaven's Path!"

"Maelstrom of the what now?" Izanami blinked before the kicked up winds from the Sage's previous attack suddenly spun into overdrive around the just as distracted Shinigami and formed a very large and violent twister that rapidly extended upwards to engulf the caster and into the sky. "Holy cow!"

"**Is he trying to kill us?!" **Yugito yelled as she backed up as fast as she could despite the monstrous winds trying to pull her and the others into the massive vortex. She barely paid attention to the trees and plants that were being torn from the ground nearby into the tremendous funnel. **"How the hell is this supposed to help destroy the collar?!"**

"I don't know! I'm having trouble just keeping my eyes open!" Naruko shouted, not bothering to try and get away from the twister and instead focusing on sticking to the ground with all four of her limbs. "Wait! What the hell is that?"

Yugito and Izanami looked up to see that the part of the twister that Inari had been in was bloating rapidly and taking on a bright hue through the folds of kicked up dust. The bulge continued to grow and grow until it was roughly twice the width of the twister itself, which stretched around it like a rubber tube…

And then it began to fall.

Izanami's eyes widened with realization as the ball dropped, literally. "The tornado wasn't for attacking! It was to keep the Shinigami in one spot!"

Yugito's eyes widened. **"You mean that giant thing is a…"**

"RASENGAN!"

The twister was torn apart from the inside to reveal the Shinigami blocking the largest Rasengan any of the women had ever seen with its sword single handedly. The raw backlash from the clashing forces was more than enough to cause the women to stumble, as they had to switch from not being sucked in to not being blown away.

"**Futile," **the god stated plainly as it's free hand slowly reached out to the ball, which was already beginning to shrink due to its influence. **"Regardless of how much you try, it is pointless to try overcoming death."**

Because the deity was directly beneath the giant ball however, it did not see the small smirk growing on the Feral Gale's face.

"Atlas."

The unnatural sense of vertigo that the three females momentarily experienced was nothing compared to what the deity went through as it stopped whatever it was about to do with its free hand and instantly made it support its buckling sword to prevent itself from being crushed. The destructive force of the giant rasengan had been magnified exponentially with the additional mass of all the air in a five kilometer radius pushing down on it.

... toughly three hundred and thirty billion kilograms of dead mass. Give or take.

"**Another trick?" **The god of Death lazily asked in genuine surprise as it focused on the task at hand.

Naruko could only look around confused as the ground beneath the god shattered and caved in beneath its feet. The land itself rumbled violently.

"Izanami! What the hell are you waiting for?" Inari roared from the top of the still shrinking ball.

The Uchiha's eyes widened as she realized that Inari had intentionally been using massive technique after technique just to set up this exact scenario.

A scenario where both of the God's hands were occupied and it could not move even if it wanted to.

"Right!" She nodded as she instantly warped behind the god with her sword drawn, ready to deal the final blow…

"**I have had enough of toying with you."**

Naruko was too far away to experience its effects, but she felt the power anyway. A surge of absolute coldness raced through her bones, a primal, instinctive fear overtaking her heart. In between the kicked up clouds of dust, she could see the air itself stagnate and turn yellow.

Izanami, being ring next to the god, took the phenomena point blank and as such screamed in pain as her body _died _ in every way possible, only to regenerate and repeat the process.

Inari on the other hand was losing ground fast as his ball seemed to shrink rapidly and…

"Swamp of the Underworld!"

With as sickening wet sound, the death god and Inari shot down into the suddenly not solid ground and disappeared from sight, much to Naruko's and Yugito's surprise. Moments later another Inari appeared from the ground nearby and quickly grabbed Izanagi before carrying her to the others.

"Well that went south fast," he grunted irritably, not paying attention to the small shaking underneath him. "I'm going to get such shit karma for putting the turtle through all of this. Having a death god so close to its organs can't be healthy."

"How the heck did you get here when we just saw you do all of that up there?" Naruko shouted bewildered while looking at Izanami and trying to think of anything she could in order to help. Her body was rotting and regenerating at the same time, the experience was undoubtedly extremely painful.

"Rule one of abusing clones, always have an extra on standby to switch with." Inari carefully laid Izanagi on the ground. "Rule twelve of Sage mode, clones are a lot stronger with sage chakra." He briefly chuckled to himself. "Heh. I just used a move called Swamp of the Underworld on the god of death."

"**Don't you dare go idiot on us now!" **Yugito snapped as she tore off some of her comrade's useless clothing so that it would not get in the way of her recovery or brush against her reappearing wounds. **"What are we supposed to do?!"**

The Feral Gale was about to say something before he paused and looked in the direction they came from. "We stall for time. Kazama just woke u-" His eyes widened; "Shit, the Shinigami is coming back!"

Inari changed. His eyes lost the pigmentation around them, but gained a vertical slit in addition to its horizontal one while changing to a dark burnt orange hue. Three solid tails with fur that matched his eyes emerged from his backside the same time that two ears of similar coloring appeared on his head.

"**What the hell?!" **Yugito grunted as she and Naruko were hit with a massive wave of chakra that floored them both. The air itself was supersaturated with power and whipped around eagerly as if it was part of the blond in front of them.

"Demon Sage Mode. Three tails." The Feral Gale cracked his neck lazily. He clapped his hands together as if praying, and countless bubbles of chakra appeared all around him. Dark red. Clear blue. Dark green. Bright yellow. The four colors hovered around him ominously as he smirked and slowly began to pull apart his hands. The action seemed to act like a vacuum as all the chakra balls were pulled to the space at rapid speed, spinning and condensing into a growing glowing ball of raw power with four black blades spinning around the edges.

"**That's like my plasma breath…" **Yugito whispered as she realized that the boy was fusing not only demonic and elemental chakra together, but also adding sage chakra, and shape to it as well, evident by the telltale rotational pattern of Rasengan she was seeing. How he was able to fuse so many different concepts and energies, let alone in human form, was beyond her as she had enough trouble fusing her elements to demonic chakra.

"Masen-"

**"I have lost enough time with you," **the Shinigami's voice echoed. _**"Feel the power of decay."**_

Then it happened. Without warning, a ghost like arm shot out of the ground and latched onto Inari's head with no remorse, instantly dispelling whatever monstrous technique he was about to use. Not stopping there, the God of Death rose from where it had sunk into the earth and retracted its arm, dragging the helpless sage with it.

Naruko felt her stomach growl in disgust at the spectacle. The Feral Gale's flesh melted into black and sick rot. His screams froze everyone in place as the intense pain forced him to thrash wildly to escape.

**"Tell your gods never to interfere with our affairs, **_**ever again**_**," **the Shinigami whispered calmly, as its aura intensified briefly, melting half of the Feral Gale's jaw in the process. **"We shall close the gates to your home and leave it undisturbed, but the next unauthorized intrusion will result in dire consequences. Farewell."**

A yellow glow surrounded Inari, and he vanished in a blinding flash.

_Then _the Shinigami glanced down at the withering Izanami before somehow teleporting right next to her. Without even paying attention or looking, it backhanded Yugito with its free hand, almost instantly draining her of her biju's power, and launched her unconscious body deep into the woods. **"I see… once more you humans mess with the cycle of life. Your miserable existence has come to end." **The death god's palm approached the Uchiha's visage, the woman powerless to protect herself. **"Embrace the freedom of de-"**

A Water Dragon deflected the hand. True, it was mostly a distraction, yet it had the desired effect. The Shinigami glanced at Naruko, chilling her to the bone. **"You desire to be the first to go?"**

Summoning a dozen Shadow Clones, Naruko had them produce a Water Dragon each. This would cut her reserves by half, and hopefully push the Shinigami away from Izanami… at least enough for the kunoichi to approach safely, grab her partner, and flee. Or, more unlikely, hit the collar.

**"This is useless," **the Shinigami pointed out, protecting itself with its arms. **"You cannot overcome death itself-"**

A flail of wind hit the deity in the face, the shock powerful enough to make it step back.

"Naruko!" Kazama's voice renewed the girl's confidence, as the armored warrior leapt at her side. Mei and the Dark Wolf were backing him up, the latter carrying the unconscious Yugito with one hand, and a katana with the other. "Are you alri-"

It was at this moment he noticed Izanami.

The resulting killing intent Naruko's mentor produced was almost as oppressive as Madara's at his worst. It was downright painful to be nearby. "Naruko, prepare your Imperial Water Tide," her mentor commanded, "Mei, Dark Wolf… burn it to ashes."

Both women stepped forward.

Mei Terumi unleashed a barrage of magma at the deity, and the Dark Wolf raised her blade. Fire swirled around it and progressed forward, a tornado of flames. The inferno covered the death god, surprising it. "As long as the collar is present, this is useless," Naruko warned, forming her Imperial Water Tide.

"I do not want to beat it. I want to reduce its field of vision." Kazama summoned two dozen Shadow Clones, who dispersed around the Shinigami. "Uzumaki Fishnet!"

Dozens of blue chakra chains, projected by the clones, swirled around the death god, restraining it. Taken by surprise, the creature hissed as its arms were forcefully extended, leaving the collar unprotected. With a roar, the deity attempted to free itself physically, the chakra chains quickly vanishing… yet it wasn't fast enough to respond to the more dire threat coming right in front of it. "Imperial Water Tide!" Naruko shouted, launching the sphere of water at the Shinigami's neck.

The death god barely had the time to blink before it impacted on the golden, melting collar.

The intense release of water tossed the Shinigami to its back and destroyed Kazama's clones. One managed to grab Izanami and run away, as a miniature lake grew exponentially, forcing the group to leap into the last untouched trees.

The golden collar cracked due to a combination of the brutal change in temperature and the aftershock of the attack, shattering into a dozen pieces. The death god dissipated into yellow smoke, although it did not appear bothered in the slightest. **"You are delaying the inevitable," **the Shinigami calmly threatened with absolute confidence, as it completely vanished, **"Next time, I shall take you seriously. Mark my words: I shall return."**

When the deity was completely gone, Kazama rushed at Izanami's side, taking her in his arms. "The wounds… they're not healing…"

"Guess I will need a medic for once," the Uchiha smirked sadly. "But… I can take it."

"You idiot… you could have died!" the blonde snapped, more out of worry than anger. "Don't ever try something like that again!" He glared at Naruko. "That goes for you as well!"

The girl sulked slightly, ready to retort they did not have a choice in the matter… but she put herself on guard instead.

A masked man and a strange creature with a two-colored face walked forward. "Well…" Madara whispered calmly, "You wanted a medic? I brought one. Believe me… Zetsu will patch you up in no time."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Warlord<strong>_

There was something beautiful in seeing people fighting to the death. The spectacle of warriors clinging to their life and hopes, when the universe couldn't give a damn… it was inspiring.

The Warlord had not always enjoyed death and war. It was only after conquering his own world and learning how boring it was that he uncovered his true calling. The discovery of the Multiverse had left him with so many opportunities to indulge in his quest for perpetual enjoyment, and he was grateful for whatever force had caused it… He had spent much of his resources to learn the truth behind the breaches, so he could properly thank his unknown benefactors.

And here he had found them, fighting a god… and winning. A feat _he _had struggled to pull off.

"Wonderful," the conqueror whispered in awe, as he watched the world travelers frantically trying to cure their wounded. "Marvelous. Simply marvelous."

"We've got one hell of an opportunity," Obito Uchiha pointed out, his lone Sharingan watching the scene from a distance. He glanced sideways at the masked man. "And we are not the only ones with an interest in them."

"This chakra… Madara Uchiha…" The Warlord smiled, remembering his last battle with the powerful madman. Smashing his head with a Rasengan had been a wonderful experience. "Yes… so many powerful ninjas… who aren't that different from us."

"They will never join us," Obito lazily pointed out.

"You would be surprised." The Warlord glanced at this 'Kazama Arashi', this 'Dark Wolf' Zetsu wanted to kill so badly, and the rest of their group. They could be so easy to recruit with the right offer… "When the time comes, I will meet their leaders. Then you will see just how good I am at… diplomacy"

He would not take no for an answer.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chibaku<strong>_

It was a disturbing experience, to be completely and utterly helpless. Especially since it was the third time he had been captured within six months.

The puppeteer couldn't move. He didn't control his limbs. He was imprisoned inside his own body. "How long will your Shadow Control hold?" The Sound-Naruto asked his partner, sitting in a piggy-ride position on the mutant's back. "It would be nice if he didn't shoot me mid flight."

"Ah, don't be a baby!" The Jester-Naruto grinned wickedly. "My Shadow Art will keep him immobile as long as I wish!"

"Art? That's just a stolen Nara technique, moron!" The Sound-Naruto shrugged. "Then again, what _didn't_ you steal from the Leaf?"

"Oh come on, it's not my fault if they wasted their potential! _Someone _had to create beauty out of the junk!"

"Like how you stuffed Alpha and Three?" Chibaku carefully considered his options. He doubted the Nara technique would prevent him from activating his body's hidden compartments, or the emergency jet-pack… allowing him to escape.

_**"Drop it. It's our only chance of learning where the Relay is located." **_The Kyuubi snorted. _**"At worst, I can take over."**_

_I will manage._

"Remind me to crush the vocal cords next time," the Sound-Naruto told his partner.

"Brute." The clown grinned at Chibaku. The pressure holding the puppeteer's head lessened, allowing the owner to move it. "Horrified by my work?"

"Nah. I'm a fan of taxidermy too." Human puppets were awesome. "I'm more surprised than disturbed. Why did you kill them?" And how did they manage to pull it off so easily? Alpha should have sensed the betrayal coming.

The Jester-Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "Deidara decided it on a whim. The brief, intense despair their face betrayed when they realized what idea crossed senpai's mind… _this _is true expressionism."

… _Why__ do I run into sadists all the freaking time? _"And Vajra?"

"Oh, that? A nice work of art, don't you think? If only I had the time to finish it..." The clown chuckled. "It was mercy. He had no further use, and Deidara-senpai said since you were coming, it was better for him to die than fall into the hands of-"

"Stop talking or I drop you and watch the results," the Sound-Naruto snapped. "The moron is trying to sweet-talk you into revealing info."

"It was an attempt at small talk, thanks." Chibaku glanced at the ground. They were above a desert of rocks, probably in the border countries between Earth and Wind. "Fine, I will shut up."

"When Deidara gets his hands on you, smartass, I can guarantee you will learn to respect your betters." The Sound-Naruto grunted as the Zeppelin was in sight, floating near a giant structure. "Here we are."

Chibaku watched the Relay in silence.

The structure could be mistaken for a red torii, those portals of oriental temples… except this one was the size of a small mountain, and glowing with a crimson aura. "I maintain the argument that orange would be a better color," the Jester-Naruto mocked, his partner groaning.

The trio landed calmly on the ground… although Chibaku was quickly dragged to the ground by the Sound-Naruto's strong claws . "Guys!" The Jester-Naruto shouted to a group of ninjas wearing red clothes. "We're back!"

"You look like hell!" A man snickered. "What happened? Got into troube with Danzo's goons? And what's that? A doll?"

"Kinda. Tell Deidara-senpai we brought him a new toy."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Stats<strong>_

**Karasu Uchiha:**

Ninjutsu: A-Rank

Taijutsu: B-Rank

Genjutsu: S-Rank

Armed Combat: C-Rank

Defensive Techniques: A-Rank

Battle Strategy: C-Rank

Special Skill: Mangekyo Sharingan: S-Rank

Special Skill: Nine Tails' Chakra: S-Rank

Special Skill: Crow Techniques: A-Rank

* * *

><p><strong>The Dark WolfNaruko Uzumaki-Namikaze:**

Ninjutsu: D-Rank

Taijutsu: S-Rank

Genjutsu: D-Rank

Armed Combat: S-Rank

Defensive Techniques: B-Rank

Battle Strategy: B-Rank

Special Skill: Sealed Nine Tails: unavailable

Special Skill: Cursed Weapons: A-Rank

* * *

><p><strong>InariFeral Gale/Naruto Uzumaki:**

Ninjutsu: S-Rank

Taijutsu: A-Rank

Genjutsu: C-Rank

Armed Combat: A-Rank

Defensive Techniques: S-Rank

Battle Strategy: A-Rank

Special Skill: Sage Mode: S-Rank

Special Skill: Chakra Synergy: S-Rank

Special Skill: Nine Tails Chakra: A-Rank (due to the Kyuubi limiting access to its power)

* * *

><p><strong>Jester-NarutoSir Naruto/Naruto Uzumaki:**

Ninjutsu: S-Rank

Taijutsu: A-Rank

Genjutsu: D-Rank

Armed Combat: A-Rank

Defensive Techniques: D-Rank

Battle Strategy: C-Rank

Special Skill: Nine Tails Chakra: S-Rank

* * *

><p><strong>Sound-NarutoNaruto Uzumaki:**

Ninjutsu: A-Rank

Taijutsu: S-Rank

Genjutsu: D-Rank

Armed Combat: B-Rank

Defensive Techniques: B-Rank

Battle Strategy: C-Rank

Special Skill: Curse Seal of Rebirth: S-Rank

Special Skill: Nine Tails' Chakra: S-Rank

Special Skill: Enhanced Body: A-Rank

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** thanks ABitterPill and Third Fang for betaing, and in the latter's case, rewriting the Shinigami fight scene.

I hope I made clear Deidara and his cronies aren't exactly the people you want to share a room with. As for whether Vajra is dead or it is an elaborated hoax... _surprise_.

Having his face briefly melted off is one of the many reasons the FG is... _less adjusted_... in "Take Two, Round Two" than in the prequel. The Shinigami is partially based on Bleach's Baraggan (although I stopped reading Bleach after the Deicide Arc; in spite of the disappointing Ichigo/Aizen fight I found the end of the arc to be a fitting closure for the story as a whole).

Next chapter will include a cameo from Crossoverpairinglover's works (which will be _hilarious_) and perhaps a Money-sama omake.

Would you kindly leave a review and have fun?


	47. Chapter 44: Chaos Unleashed

I moved the cameo of Crossoverpairinglover's in the second omake, since apparently not all of you would like it. Consider it an alternate universe of the main story/humorous crack.

Thanks ABitterPill and Third Fang for their betaing.

**Disclaimer:** reading this means you're awesome.

* * *

><p><strong>Main Cast (so you can keep track of them):<strong>

**Heroes: **Kazama (Original/Anti-hero Naruto); Naruko (female!Naruto); Chibaku (Puppeteer!Naruto); Sasuke Uchiha; Kuebiko (Tobirama Senju); Fem!Haku; Yugito Nii; Izanami (Fem!Tobi); Dark Wolf (Samurai!Naruko); Mei Terumi; Karasu (Uchiha!Naruto) Rinnegan!Konan, Kakuzu.

**Villains: **Tsukiyomi (Madara Uchiha); Teikoku (interworld Akatsuki); Deidara; Sound-Nin (Sound!Naruto); Sir Naruto/Jester-Naruto (Joker!Naruto).

* * *

><p>They're divided in two worlds:<p>

**Kazama's homeworld:** Kazama, Naruko, Sasuke, Yugito, Izanami, Dark Wolf, Mei, Konan, Madara.

**Godaime!Danzo:** Chibaku, Haku, Kuebiko, Karasu, Kakuzu, Deidara's gang.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 44:<strong>_

_**Chaos Unleashed**_

This Deidara was nothing like Chibaku imagined he would be.

A blonde man barely reaching twenty, the mad bomber was resting lazily on a chair watching the endless desert in front of him peacefully, smelling a blue rose with one hand and drinking a soda with the other. He was wearing a black trench coat, and a ring on his finger. Chibaku briefly found it familiar, but couldn't find the reason why.

"Deidara-senpai!" The Jester-Naruto dropped Chibaku in front of his superior. "We brought you a gift."

The anarchist briefly glanced down at the cyborg, then at his student. The Sound-Naruto had adopted a human shape once more, both him and his partner covered with bruises. "He seems to have been a tough guy to subdue," the destroyer of nations noted.

"Nope. He wasn't, but his squad leader was a pain in the ass, metaphorically speaking," his kohai replied. "Too strong for us, but I'm sure you're going to wipe the floor with him boss."

"DOC!" Deidara shouted to a random man. "We've got two wounded!" He glanced once more at the two villainous Naruto. "You should take a better care of yourselves, boys. Leave the robot to me and go take a rest. I'm loath to overwork you."

"We're ready to die for the greater glory of Teikoku, Deidara-dono," the Sound-Naruto complained politely. "We don't need-"

"Baka, Deidara-senpai told you to get cured, and so you will," the clown cut in, grabbing his partner by the shoulder and dragging him away forcefully.

As Chibaku felt his restrains vanishing, the Jester having released his binding technique. Deidara offered him his drink. "Thirsty, Chibaku-kun?"

"I don't need water. Sorry…" The puppeteer froze. "Wait, how did you know my name?"

"People talk," the bomber replied coolly, "Whether they want to or not. Don't be so alarmed. If I wanted to kill you, you would be nothing but scraps already. For now I think we can just speak as fellow artists. I've worked with a Sasori once upon a time."

The revelation caused Chibaku to pause. "You don't mind if I repair my legs?" He asked, unsure.

"Sure, go ahead." Deidara snorted lazily. Moments later the puppeteer opened a scroll containing spare limbs. The fact the bomber allowed him to repair himself spoke volume about how little he considered the cyborg a threat. "I expected you to be different. My Sasori was fond of adding scorpion motifs to his creations. I expected at least a tail of some sort."

"I don't see him nearby," Chibaku grunted upon replacing his crushed legs with new, fresh ones.

"He's dead. His granny broke him in half back when I was working with Akatsuki. Bad times." The anarchist snorted. "You must have many questions."

"I thought I was the one being interrogated?"

"Oh come on pal, the fact my men abducted you does not mean you're a prisoner. Consider yourself a guest, or an ambassador on a diplomatic trip. Whatever pleases you the most." The terrorist's grin grew wider. "Go ahead. Ask away."

"Why did you kill Alpha and Three?" He asked hastily. "Why kill Vajra? Why?"

"The first two were tyrants, and embodied everything I stand against." Deidara drank the rest of his soda. "They robbed people of the supreme gift of free-will and wanted to control everything. I felt like killing them after they mentioned their intent of repeating their old mistakes, and I never regretted this decision."

"You promised to help them."

"Promises only bind those who believe in them, and I do not," Deidara countered without hesitation but still maintaining his lazy demeanor. "As for the Uchiha, it was that or the Warlord would get his claws on him. In that case, he would have wished for death. Since he wasn't needed anymore, I had the excuse to spare him this fate." The terrorist shrugged his shoulders. "Teikoku is an alliance of ten criminals, power brokers, god wannabes and emperors. The Warlord is the one who first discovered the rifts and proposed us this arrangement to all of us. Unfortunately, he's also completely insane."

"Says the guy who bombed an entire city."

"I lost count after two hundred," Deidara admitted serenely, unashamed of his atrocities. "I've been called insane, but I consider myself the sanest man in the world. I don't bomb places for the sake of blowing them up. I blow cities up so the citizens can be free from those who try to chain them. The Warlord randomly killed all life on a planet because he wanted to see if he could."

The chilling image of a devastated planet planted itself in the puppeteer's mind. "How the hell is blowing up cities going to free anyone? The chaos you bring is nothing but a swallowing pit. Anarchy."

"Chaos isn't a pit," Deidara countered. "Chaos is a _ladder_. Rules, laws, traditions, they're chains binding individuals. Chaos is the essence of life: a world free of any restriction, of any ethic, of any limit. Chaos allows artists to express their craft without fearing censorship. It allows people to decide what they _want _to do instead of being _commanded _to. It's a world where one can do as he pleases. Anarchy is not the same. It means_ 'without leader'_ not _'without order'_. I aim to destroy order itself."

"It's savage. There's freedom and there's lawlessness."

"What is the value of laws? They're just words on a sheet of paper, a lie we tell each other again and again until we start believing in it." Deidara smiled. "Do you know what human life and roses have in common?"

"They both got thorns?" Somehow, the whole discussion had slide into a debate.

"No. They're short, beautiful, senseless. Roses remind me all the time life is too short to waste on obeying any rule." Deidara glanced at the blue skies, lost in his memories. "When I was working with Akatsuki, I had been tasked to capture the Four-Tails jinchuriki, someone I had known far less than I originally thought. It was a spectacular failure, with the creature unleashing an eruption during our fight. A city had the bad luck of being nearby. It was pretty populated, with monuments oozing arrogance, and their laws, their government, their prayers, did nothing to shield them from the destruction. In the end, only a few remained, yet, they were free from these illusions. I realized that day that there was a design greater than blowing buildings up: giving everyone else the means to do it too."

"If you were with Akatsuki, weren't you supposed to catch the Bijuu?" Chibaku asked, glancing at the Jester-Naruto.

"Oh, I was, until I blew up Pain and Tobi from up above." Deidara threw his rose away. "Naruto-kohai was imprisoned in an asylum after he killed a girl called Sakura Haruno for saying bad things about him while he was disguised as Sasuke Uchiha. Since I couldn't let people be kept against their will, I released him, and he followed me ever since. I like to consider him a little brother, although he is a bit too nihilistic for his own good."

Much to the puppeteer's brief horror, he noticed the similarities between the Jester's story and his own. It was quite chilling to realize if Deidara had been the one to find him instead of Sasori, he could have started bombing cities too. "I see. Why are you telling me this?"

"Why _not_?" The artist sneered derisively. "Don't lie, I'm pretty sure you know what Teikoku is. It works in reverse too. We know about your little traveling guild and the mayhem you left in your wake. I don't think we're that different, really."

"Beside both our groups being a ragtag bunch of dimensional travelers, I fail to see what we have in common." Was he suggesting an _alliance_?

Deidara's smile did not falter. "Your party leader is a totalitarian despot with a serious case of narcissism and one hell of a god complex. He reminds me of my old boss Pain, to be honest. You and your mentor kill people and turn them into puppets. Your group includes an unstable child-murderer, a psychotic war criminal in black armor, and that's the members we've compiled dossiers on. I've no idea about the rest, but your membership is barely better than ours."

Chibaku shrugged. If the man intended to lecture him, it was foolish. He wasn't the first person to try pointing out similarities in an attempt at psychological warfare. "I don't give a shit about who my teammates may be or what they did, as long-"

"As long as you keep practicing your art?" Deidara finished for him. "You can keep doing it with us too. I'm pretty sure you and my kohai would get along fine, in fact. It's not like either one of you shies away from messing with the corpses of your enemies. Look, why can't our groups work together? The only _real _difference is the scale of our operations. If you want to expand your collection, we've the means to do so."

Chibaku briefly pondered the proposal, before reaching a conclusion. "No," he responded honestly, guessing lying would probably get him killed anyway.

The terrorist leader raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised. Obviously, he had expected a different answer. "Why, may I ask?"

"Because beside the fact my friends will never work with a serial destroyer of civilizations like you, my personal ideology clashes with yours." Chibaku snorted. "Your art is… incompatible with mine. I aim to become immortal, for true art is everlasting."

Deidara laughed.

A cheerful, genuine laugh. He calmed himself after a short while. "Tell me," the bomber smirked, "Do you remember the Sage of the Six Paths' true name? The name of the empires that ruled the earth four thousand years ago?"

The puppeteer did not have the answers, obviously. "I don't see-"

"In time, everything turns to dust, my friend, be it gods or the greatest achievements of man. That is the one primordial truth. Did your teacher achieve immortality? No, he did not. Will your work exist forever? No. Don't you see? Life is but a brief light in the dark, and it vanishes as fast as it was lit up. Everything is allowed, nothing is forbidden, and _no one _is everlasting. True art is a _bang_."

Deidara pointed a finger at the desert. "Sunagakure stood there once. They fought like madmen, but I blew up their city anyway. Monuments that endured one hundred years were destroyed within seconds. The dreams of thousands were drowned in ashes and sand. Your sterile art will turn to dust too."

He rose from his chair and touched his ring. "Can you guess what this is?" As the puppeteer shook his head, the war criminal continued his explanations. "This is a gift from the Warlord. Short story, this is a portable key for opening rifts at will, and only individuals with potent chakra can hope to use it well. The Relay here is more or less a king sized version. The ring can transport a zeppelin here, but it is nowhere near enough for my masterpiece."

The ring released a flash of red light, and next thing Chibaku knew, he was atop a building, while it was night. He glanced around and saw a city of grey towers. "Where are we?"

"My world," Deidara explained. "Ninjas here have declined. Hidden Villages hide from the world, selling their skills as underground assassins while civilians turned to technology to solve their problems. They invented things like cars and telegraph, while other worlds stick to chakra and messenger doves… finally, they invented _this_." He pointed a finger at the sky. "Look above you."

Chibaku did as he was told, and his heart stopped beating briefly.

It wasn't night. The sun was simply being shadowed.

"I've a fleet of twenty zeppelins and two hundred airships in standby beyond the Relay. Once it will be opened, I will make my greatest masterpiece out of Danzo's empire." Deidara glanced at the horrified Chibaku. "Go to your friends, and ask them: why do they bother fighting us?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kazama,<strong>_

_**The Dark One**_

This 'Zetsu' was truly astonishing.

In a few seconds, he had built an entire mansion out of nothing, as Yamato did once upon a time. The Wood Release had shaped the walls, tables, chairs, and the very room Kazama, Naruko, and the Dark Wolf were waiting in. However the samurai wasn't happy about it if her glaring at the door behind which Zetsu was working was any indication. "We should have killed him," she hissed. "This creature is up to no good."

"This isn't the Zetsu you fought," Kazama pointed out, although he inwardly shared the same worries. "Yours was world-destroying monster. This one seems to be Madara's lackey and nothing else."

"He should have found a better one," the samurai replied with anger, as Naruko sulked in a corner.

After a time, Mei Terumi opened the door and Yugito Nii closed it behind her, causing Kazama to lock eyes with the latter. She was bruised, pale, yet better off than Izanami. "So?"

"Her life is not in danger," she explained, much to everyone's relief. "Zetsu is confident he can 'fix her', in his own words. However…"

Kazama ground his teeth, Mei adopting a serious expression and continuing. "Whatever the Shinigami did to her canceled her healing factor," the Kiri-nin explained. "Part of her flesh rotted, which means she will undergo extreme surgery. Zetsu says he can save her, but he needs to be left alone."

"Can't I be at her side?" Kazama asked, hopeful. "Will she be crippled?"

"Zetsu is… _shy_," Mei decided after a short pondering. "He does not want to be disturbed by foreign presence. He believes if the surgery work, she will be perfectly fine… in the best case."

The Amekage clenched his fists, hating feeling powerless to help. Yugito gently put her hand over his shoulder. "I know this is hard, but you cannot do more," she said. "We have to trust Zetsu, as difficult as it is."

"This is my fault if she's like that," he replied, shrugging off her hand. "I… the Shinigami is after its power. It's because of me your lives were put in danger."

"I've learned, much to my detriment, sometimes bad things can happen to those you love due to your own actions… but blaming yourself is pointless." Terumi smiled, putting her hands on her hips. "She's going to live, Kazama. We're safe for now. That's all that matters. Be optimistic."

"Thanks," the Amekage said, although he was barely half-convinced.

His mood slightly improved when Madara teleported right in front of them alongside Sasuke, Konan, and a chained old man. He was somewhere in his seventies, his body covered with white robes and bandages. He lacked a right arm and eye. Kazama glanced at him briefly, but Konan was faster. "We have good and bad news," she said, briefly glaring at Tsukiyomi.

"Begin with the bad," Kazama frowned.

"Zetsu is a member of Akatsuki, as you probably guessed," Madara explained, "He briefed me on the current events. Pain captured the Eight-Tails."

"Which means he has all Bijuu except the Nine-Tails," Sasuke pointed out.

Kazama frowned. This was bad. "How many Akatsuki members does he have left in his employ?"

"None. That was one of the good news." Konan interlaced her fingers. "Sasuke killed Deidara and Itachi. Hidan and Kakuzu were beaten and killed during a battle with Konoha's ninjas. Sasori was dead before you even left this world, and Kisame died from the wounds he received while capturing the Eight-Tails' Jinchuuriki. My counterpart apparently sacrificed herself to bring the demon vessel to Pain."

"Pain is still a very dangerous opponent, and with all the Tailed Beasts under his control he doesn't need soldiers anymore," Madara pointed out. "He can carry out his plans on own."

"Why are you helping us?" Naruko suddenly snapped at the ancient Uchiha. "And how did you survive?"

"By now, you should have learned I will never cease to haunt you." Tsukiyomi deadpanned. "The worlds are collapsing, and the end is near. Your failure would spell _my _annihilation. What profit can I gain in the destruction of everything? Consider this a truce until our mutual problems are solved."

"We shall deal with our feud later," Kazama agreed, desiring to keep his alliance with the Uchiha a secret for the time. "What else? More good news?"

"Kakashi and Sakura are alive," Sasuke explained.

Kazama paused briefly, before brushing off the news, deciding to focus on their prisoner. "Who is this?"

"Danzo Shimura, Tsunade's temporary replacement as Hokage. We caught him while he was going to a Kage Summit to discuss Akatsuki." Konan glanced at the old man briefly. "We thought he might have the answers you were seeking."

Kazama's heart stopped beating briefly as he recalled what Sasori had told him before his death regarding the leader of ROOT, and coldly glanced down at the restrained old man. He removed his helmet, revealing his face. "Do you remember me?" He had been waiting for this for months.

Danzo clenched his jaw. "Yes, you do remember me," Kazama stated, "I am Naruto Uzumaki, the underdog… although now, I believe the roles are reversed. I have so many questions to ask you, and you're going to answer them. Why, for example, Konoha ordered Sai to betray me."

"Never," Danzo replied flatly. "I will not reveal the Leaf's secrets to you, Uzumaki." He glared at Madara. "Or _him _for that matter."

"Always such a child, Danzo," Tsukiyomi mocked him, before glancing at his secret student. "Do with him as you like, but be quick. Zetsu informed me breaches have opened in the Land of Iron, causing trouble. I need help to close them." He vanished through the walls. "See you soon."

Kazama grabbed Danzo's throat and lifted him above the ground, tightening his hold. Although he briefly coughed, the Rokudaime showed no fear. "You don't have a choice in the matter, if you want to live."

"My father and grandfather died in battle as ninja," Danzo replied softly. "Self-sacrifice is a ninja's duty."

"I will make him talk," the Dark Wolf suggested.

"How?" Sasuke asked.

The samurai seized one of her blades. "A naked man has a few secrets. A flayed man has none."

The sentence chilled Kazama to the bone, but his desire for revenge and learning the truth overwhelmed his scruples. Konan, however, was blatantly horrified. "There is a… cleaner solution," she suggested. "With the Rinnegan, I can extract all information from his brain. The process will be… deadly, but painless and efficient."

"How long will it take?" Kazama asked, Danzo narrowed his lone eye.

"A few days at worst. I'm nowhere as good in this area as I am with the Deva Path."

Kazama nodded to himself, and glanced at the rest of the group. "Sasuke, Dark Wolf, you keep an eye on Danzo. He might try to escape during the procedure, and I will have none of that. Mei, Naruko, you keep Zetsu under watch. I do not trust him, and I want Izanami to be safe."

"And what will I do?" Yugito asked.

"You're in command now."

The entire group glanced at Kazama, then at Yugito, who was the most surprised of them all. "What?"

"Konan would be my first choice as new leader of the group, but she will be too occupied with Danzo." Kazama crossed his arms, noticing the brief pleased look on the paper woman's face. "You're the second person with the leadership skills here. So, you're in charge."

"Why?" The Nibi's Jinchuuriki couldn't understand.

"Because I'm leaving the group until I find a way to keep the Shinigami at bay." Kazama inhaled sharply. "I put you all in mortal danger, and this will not happen again. Inari is perhaps dead as we speak thanks to my very existence, and despite how he acted he was _still_ one of the strongest members we had. If he was taken out so easily while fighting with us, then there's a high chance that more of you can get caught up in this if you stay with me. I will return, especially to check out on Izanami's status, but only occasionally."

He locked eyes with Yugito. "I understand this is a great responsibility I put on your shoulders, but it's necessary and I trust you to handle this. If… if Izanami wakes up before I come back… tell her I'm sorry for what happened."

"I… I'll do my best." Yugito frowned. "What will you do in the short term?"

"First close the rifts with Madara," he declared. "Then…" The picture of his light side materialized in his mind. "We'll see."

"Kazama-sama, my place is at your side," the Dark Wolf noted. "Allow me to follow you. You will need swords… and a shield."

"Against a god, you cannot do a thing," the Amekage replied. "Watch over my family in my stead for the time being." The samurai seemed ready to protest, yet nodded her head and consented. "Take care of yourselves." The rest of the group nodded, with the world wanderer leaving the house. However, as he walked outside, a blonde girl caught his sleeve. "What is it, Naruko?"

"Sensei… I have to confess you something." She bit her lip. "The Kyuubi… gave me a special ability…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kuebiko,<strong>_

_**The Nidaime Hokage**_

Konoha had changed.

It wasn't the little town of wood he had helped build and loved with all his heart. His Konoha had been small and peaceful, a haven of tranquility, at least until the Great Shinobi War started. Although conflicts and years had changed the Leaf, it had remained a home to Kuebiko.

This wasn't the Konoha he had grown within and loved.

True, architecturally speaking the city was the same as in the Nidaime's memories. Yet a few new elements chilled him to the bone. Danzo's portraits were placated over walls. People were forced to wear uniforms. There was ANBU on every roof, watching over the population.

It was horribly reminiscent of a much more sinister Konoha he had visited a few weeks ago.

As he kept observing the city from the Hokage's tower, Kuebiko silently listened to Danzo's offers of peace. "Wine?"

"Alcohol dulls the senses," the scientist replied coolly, certain the Godaime Hokage had nodded to himself. It had been a subtle test, to see whether or not the man in front of him was truly Tobirama Senju, instead of a phony. DNA analysis had been ordered, and Kuebiko had submitted to them. At this point, causing troubles was unnecessary, especially considering the threat posed by Deidara.

"This is strange." Tobirama raised his eyes at the Hokage Monument, "To see two of my students' faces watching over Konoha. While none of my brother's apprentices survived the First Shinobi War, two of mine made Hokage."

"Sarutobi was a good Hokage… if a bit too soft in his later years." Danzo walked at Tobirama's left, glancing down at the city. "He died to defend the Leaf, as any Shinobi should. He passed the torch to me."

"I see you lost an arm and an eye yourself," Kuebiko noted. "I almost sacrificed my life, yet luck decided otherwise. I could have easily died too." Countless counterparts of his had not survived the fateful confrontation with Kinkaku and Ginkaku.

"Thousands died, but the Leaf endured, rising better and stronger with each new war," Danzo replied. "Now, your dream is realized. Peace has been achieved. The Shinobi Code is obeyed. The Uchiha have been contained."

Kuebiko narrowed his eyes. "Are there any survivors?"

"The clan died out with Itachi Uchiha." Danzo tightened his grip over the cane. "We are doing our best to reverse-engineer the Sharingan and the Mokuton. We have made interesting discoveries, and I hopefully await the day we will be able to create a new generation of Shinobi, trained from birth to serve Konoha."

Tobirama briefly remembered Alpha's face, and banished it from his mind. "It is in the nature of monsters to destroy their makers," he warned his former student.

"It is in human nature to destroy one another. Did you not create the Shinobi Code to tame this very nature?" Danzo snorted. "Are you a ghost? A product of Edo Tensei? A clone? My teacher is dead, and yet, you have his face, his chakra, his techniques, and his behavior. Why and how did you come back, Nidaime-sama?"

"I am alive. As for why I came back, Deidara has to be stopped." The Nidaime clenched his fists. "I can sense him in Sunagakure."

"Sunagakure's ruins," Danzo corrected. "It was the second place he destroyed, behind Iwa. Kiri and Kumo followed. The Elemental Nations are crumbling. Only the Leaf remains. But our roots are strong, and they run deep." Danzo's lone eye glanced at his former teacher. "You did not answer my question. How did you come back?"

"This is a long story…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Haku,<strong>_

_**The Ice Princess**_

"You shall sleep here," the Dragon-masked ANBU told them, upon presenting Haku, and Karasu their different rooms. Kakuzu was detained somewhere else, Danzo deeming the criminal highly dangerous. "You are not to leave the building unless authorized and accompanied."

"We aren't your prisoners," Karasu snapped. "We're visitors."

"The difference is lost on me." The ANBU snorted, his voice deep and guttural. "Dinner will be served soon in the dining hall. We will not wait for you."

Although slightly unnerved by the man's aloof behavior, Haku followed him in silence as he guided them through the place. She did not wish to cause trouble, especially within Danzo's territory. The man's offer at forming an alliance was not to be wasted, especially considering the threat Deidara posed to the entire planet.

After leading the group to the dining hall, the ANBU sat at a table. A woman in her mid-twenties, which Haku recognized as Shizune, Tsunade Senju's apprentice, was waiting for him next to a twelve years old kid. "Konohamaru Sarutobi," Karasu whispered to the snow woman, upon noticing her confusion. "The Sandaime Hokage's grandson."

"Hello!" The boy waved at the world wanderers, a cheerful smile on his face. "Nice to meet you! I'm Konohamaru, the Leaf's best ninja and soon to be Rokudaime Hokage!"

"Konohamaru, don't boast before strangers. I'm Shizune, a member of the medic-nin corp. Danzo-sama informed us of your coming." She glanced briefly at Karasu, as he and Haku silently sat with them. "So this is true… another Uchiha survived. And the missing-nin Haku Yuki is alive."

"She's not Haku," the ANBU said coolly. "Haku died, impaled by Kakashi's Chidori, and yet she's there in front of me. She isn't her ghost. She's… like Deidara. Same face, different person."

"He could have survived his fight with you," Shizune noted.

"No. The Deidara I killed was an over-the-top fool whose skills weren't that impressive. This is one has enough chakra to back up an army with C2 and behaves differently. He's far more focused and smarter." The ANBU snorted. "I've got a new mission. Could you give me the injection please?"

"So soon?" Konohamaru frowned disapprovingly. "But you just returned!"

"Deidara is still out there as we speak. The injection please." Shizune sulked briefly, bringing a syringe out of her blouse and inflecting liquid in the ANBU's arm. Once the brief operation was over, the man rose up, bowed politely to the group, and left without a word.

"Don't blame him," Shizune told Haku and Karasu. "Naruto wasn't always like that."

"So he's the Naruto Uzumaki of this world…" Karasu whispered, as Shizune blinked briefly. "Too long to explain. What happened to him? His chakra system…"

"Your Sharingan sees what isn't obvious at first glance." The medic sighed sadly. "He cannot remove the chest plate. Nor the mask."

"Why?" Haku asked.

"Because there is nothing left underneath." Konohamaru sighed sadly. "He cannot eat food anymore, and the injections are the only way for him to get the nutriments his body needs."

The implications chilled Haku to the bone. "What happened to him?"

Konohamaru and Shizune briefly exchanged a glance, and the Sandaime's son answered the question. "The boss was very nice and cheerful once upon a time. He was studying under Kakashi Hatake and partnered with a bastard called Uchiha Sasuke," Karasu briefly frowned at the name's mention, "They were best friends and rivals, until Sasuke defected to Orochimaru."

"Nobody knows why exactly," Shizune spoke. "Naruto was informed first, misinterpreted it as a kidnapping, and with a few genin launched an unauthorized rescue mission. Danzo-sama heard of it quickly and sent a squad of ANBU after them. Unfortunately, the entire rescue team was massacred by Orochimaru's men before they could catch up, leaving Naruto as the only survivor."

Konohamaru growled. "Sasuke attacked the boss, and… you have seen the results."

"Sasuke destroyed most of his face, spine, and vital organs," Shizune continued. "It was a miracle the Kyuubi's chakra managed to keep him alive… but it was obvious he wouldn't live outside a hospital room. Danzo contacted Tsunade-sama and I to solve this problem. My teacher wanted nothing to do with either Konoha or the Godaime, while I couldn't let a kid live like that. We argued, and we separated. I never looked back."

Shizune lowered her head in shame. "I did what I could to help Naruto. I really did. But it wasn't enough."

"You did what you could," Konohamaru comforted her. "The boss can walk now."

"He doesn't have a true face anymore, and he will die without that special chest plate," Shizune whispered. "His skills were crippled, and I realized he wouldn't be able to live without someone to check him out… so I decided to stay at his side."

"But Danzo…" Karasu frowned. "Wouldn't he… well… a Jinchuuriki like that isn't optimal. He could have replaced him with someone else."

"Konoha forgot the boss saved the Village fifteen years ago, while he never asked for the burden of being a Jinchuuriki," Konohamaru pointed out, "Danzo, he… he didn't."

Haku briefly remembered how Zabuza, an otherwise merciless man, had once taken her under his wing. _I guess no matter how hard they try to repress it, most Shinobi cannot forgo their empathy entirely._

"Naruto dedicated his life to avenging his friends by killing Sasuke," Shizune explained. "Doubly so when the rest of his comrades fell during the Fourth Shinobi War. We're the only people he has left. In spite of his shortcomings, he became an excellent Shinobi and rose through the ranks, reaching the statue of ANBU Captain within a few years. Danzo gave him the name of _'Masayoshi' _as title, he was recognized as a war hero, and in the end, he couldn't care less. All he wanted was to see Sasuke die by his hand."

"And did he succeed?" Karasu asked.

"No." Shizune inhaled sharply. "Sasuke was abducted by one of Deidara's goons, a boy looking like a clown. We found the stuffed corpse during one of our raids against their organization."

"Your friend has lost his reason to live on," Karasu realized.

"He's risking his life in pointless missions, always running into danger, obeying orders without question," Konohamaru summed up. "He has nothing left to live for."

"No." Everyone glanced at Haku. "He has you."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kazama,<strong>_

_**The Dark One**_

A maelstrom.

A small black hole. This was how one could describe what Kazama and Madara were facing. A breach in the very fabric of space, devouring snow and trees, dragging them to who know where.

"Can you close the rift?" Madara asked.

"With some effort…" The Amekage focused, closing the breach with one last push. He felt drained of all vitality, and almost fell to his knees, the backslash getting worse. "Done." Kazama suddenly noticed a disturbing element. "Your arms… they're healed?"

"You would be surprised how easy it is to replace limbs with the right resources." Tsukiyomi snorted, brushing away the teen's concern. "I've an ace I want to show you-"

The powerful noise of clapping hands was heard. Mentor and student glanced in the noise's direction.

A man was walking toward them, his black boots producing not even the faintest noise in the snow. The individual was tall, between six and seven feet tall. He was wearing an elegant, regal red outfit, with drawings of dancing golden dragons sewn on the torso. His hands were protected with black gloves, the rest of his body by a cape of the same color. His face revealed he was in his thirties.

It revealed _who _he was too. Shining golden hair, beautiful blue eyes… and whiskers.

"I am most impressed by your abilities." The older Naruto Uzumaki smiled kindly at duo. "I have been looking for you, Kazama Arashi, Madara Uchiha. You were a pain to locate."

There was a disturbing aura surrounding him, which caused Kazama to narrow his eyes. "Who are you?"

"I guess you already figured out my identity…" The man chuckled cheerfully. "Well, while my name is the same as yours, I have a title different from you, Amekage. One I earned through fire and blood myself.

The man presented his hand to them.

"You can call me the Warlord."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sakura<strong>_

The Land of Iron was silent and eerily calm.

Sakura Haruno glanced at the snowy mountain where the Kage Summit was supposed to be held. Three peaks, with a fortress dug inside. This is where Danzo was... hopefully, they will catch up to him before the summit began. "Is he here?"

"I cannot say," Kiba replied, riding Akamaru's back. "The scent simply vanishes after a point... and I can smell blood."

"Did Akatsuki attack?" Ino wondered. "Bandits, perhaps?"

"In which case, this journey will have been a waste of time," grunted Neji Hyuuga, the final member and leader of the four man squad. His Byakugan could not see far enough to confirm what happened which obviously angered him.

Sakura ignored them and focused on the mountain. They had come this far to convince Danzo to renege on his newest decree, which had ordered the execution of Sasuke Uchiha, missing for three years. Sasuke had yet to do anything against Konoha or his old comrades, and the medic-nin was positive she could convince him to come back.

She had promised herself she would.

"Troubled forehead?" Ino whispered. "How is Kakashi-sensei doing since last time?"

"He isn't getting any better." When she had found him, he had drowned his failures in three bottles of sake and was about to open a fourth until she intervened. "He has been like this ever since... ever since..."

Ino narrowed her eyes, understanding Sakura's troubles. Naruto's disappearance had shaken up and shocked the Konoha 11, more so when Konoha's investigations led to the the nearly certain evidence that the blonde was dead. Hinata and Kakashi in particular had been brought to tears, with Tsunade and Jiraiya not so far behind. The Sannin had been hurt by the revelation Naruto had probably achieved a mutual kill with their old teammate Orochimaru.

Sakura had attempted to find him, again and again while her friends deemed it a fool's errand. _He told me to get away, _she remembered, _That he would survive. Naruto never breaks his promises, he has to be alive somewhere._

Meanwhile Sasuke had vanished, although Jiraiya's spies revealed he had managed to kill two Akatsuki members, Itachi Uchiha and Deidara. Sakura had attempted to locate her old crush without any success. _Is he even worth the effort? _She asked herself. _It was because of him Naruto died._

_"Naruto loved you! How could you... how could you let him die?"_

Hinata's angry words resonated in her mind once more. Sakura didn't muster any reply. The Hyuuga had been right, everything Naruto had done was for her, and she never acknowledged his efforts. His death was the medic's fault, and she couldn't deny it. If she had been stronger, if she had stayed with Naruto, perhaps they could have beaten Orochimaru. _I should have been the one to die instead of him._

Kakashi wouldn't have fallen so low if Naruto had been there to give him confidence again. Team 7's teacher was a shadow of his former self, drowning his sorrow and blaming himself for the defection and death of two of his students. All Sakura could do now was to preserve Sasuke's life, and try to bring Kakashi and Konoha hope by convincing the last Uchiha to return home.

Then things had gone to hell. Gaara and Sunagakure were gone. The Godaime, in a diplomatic mission at the Hidden Sand when Pain had assaulted it, had been beaten into a coma. Jiraiya was doing his best to locate Akatsuki's leader, allowing Danzo Shimura to replace Tsunade temporarily. Akatsuki itself was on the verge of winning, and had to be stopped. But they couldn't defeat the organization if they were divided.

"Still the same thick-head." Ino's voice snapped Sakura out of her thoughts, and she realized she hadn't listened to her friend's words.

"Sorry," she apologized. "It's just... I can't stop wondering what went wrong. What I could have done-"

"You can't change the past," the Yamanaka shot back. "Drop it. What happened is set in stone. Now, all we can do is looking forward." The blonde lass glanced at Kiba. "Hey, doggy, can't you hurry? It's getting cold."

Sakura suddenly realized the Inuzuka was as pale as the snow surrounding him. Both him and Akamaru were silent, their eyes open wide. "What's happening?" Haruno asked, "Enemies?"

"This scent..." Kiba locked eyes with the medic. "It's _his_."

Sakura's heart beat faster than ever.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Naruko Uzumaki,<strong>_

_**The Golden Lady**_

As she sat before the fall in a lotus position, Naruko received last encouragements from Yugito. "I'm certain you will win," the former Kumo-nin told her younger friend. "You only have to focus and be determined."

"I will prevail," Naruko replied, more to herself than Yugito. Closing her eyes, and opening them again, she found herself facing her darkness.

It was a gigantic shadow, with a vaguely humanoid shape. A creature of smoke and darkness, devouring the surrounding light like a parasite. "I was waiting for you," it began, with a faint, inhuman voice. "Welcome back, failure."

"Hello, my darkness." Naruko shrugged her shoulders. "I expected you to be taller."

"I am as tall as your flaws," the creature mocked. "I am Yami Naruko. I am the true you, and you are but a weakling. Have you come to bother me?"

"I have come to conquer you." Naruko crossed her arms. "Step aside and let me see Kurama."

"Why? Because you're weak without it?"

"Because it is my friend and I want to meet it," Naruko shot back. "Cut the crap about how weak I am without the Kyuubi, Madara tried that and it failed. Yes, its chakra helped me win many of my fights. Yes, it saved my butt countless times. But I am not weak. I've survived Susanoo without it. I have broken the Tsukuyomi without it. And I will continue to win without it. I'm not here for its power. I am here to speak with Kurama."

"Friendship is an illusion!" The shadow's tone betrayed true anger. Obviously, it hadn't expected Naruko to stand up to it. "Your friends are fake! Your thralls! Your pets! You're alone, and you shall _always _be alone! Your bonds are as fake as you!"

"I'll tame my power and create true bonds," she shot back. "I was fake, yes. Presenting a mask to be loved… but I don't need that anymore. Honesty doesn't hurt. The truth you keep to yourself, however, does. I've resolved to be myself from now on." The girl crossed her arms. "Do you know what Kazama-sensei told me, when I admitted I had the power to influence others?"

The shadow stayed silent.

"He told me the truth as well. He told me about the creature eating his mind, how tempting its offers were, how difficult it was to resist the urge to go mad with power. I inspired him to say the truth to others." Naruko smiled. "And then, he told me he trusted me."

Yami Naruko almost retorted something, but Naruko cut in. "He _trusts me _to control this power. He isn't afraid, he isn't disappointed… far from that, in fact. He's proud I admitted my faults. He's confident I will be able to overcome them." She put her fist over her heart. "That's why I will prevail. Because I've someone who believes in me."

"But do _you _believe in _him_?" Yami Naruko replied sneakily. "You have seen him for what he is: a man slipping into madness, a ruthless tyrant, a mass murderer. Your hero is a false idol!"

"I will change him," Naruko replied. "I will save him. I'll defeat Madara, anyone who tries to drag him into the dark. Even if I've to die for it… I will be by his side and help him."

"And if he chooses evil out of his own free-will?" The shadow chuckled. "What if you fail?"

"If I fail…" Naruko adopted a determined expression. "I will assume the consequences. This is all I have to say. I will win or I will die. I've made peace with that possibility. I'm Naruko Uzumaki: I will not give up, and I will not break. That's my nindo, and I won't compromise on it."

The shadow stayed immobile, uttering no word. Finally, it started speaking once more, with Naruko's own voice. "You have grown bold, girl." It extended its hand. "Very well. Let see the path you will take, together."

Naruko smiled, and shook hand with her shadow. "Let's go meet Kurama."

The shade chuckled, and vanished in smoke and sulfur. The scenery changed, being replaced with a sewer and a giant, nine-tailed fox. **"Welcome back, Naruko," **Kurama said, **"I was waiting for you."**

"I was looking for you," Naruko grinned happily, grabbing the creature's muzzle. "Let's go back to the real world."

When Naruko opened her eyes once more, it was shining with power.

"W-wait? What happened?" Yugito frowned in surprise, as the girl stood up on her feet. Her body was covered with a layer of golden chakra, giving her a feral, graceful allure. She could feel pure power racing through her veins.

"Kurama's power," Naruko whispered, focusing. The power vanished, returning her to her normal state. "But not mine."

She glanced at the surprised Yugito and grinned. "I want to win my battles with my own strength from now on. Say hello, to the brand new Naruko Uzumaki! The girl who won't ever give up!"

Yugito Nii beamed with pride.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Pain<strong>_

He sensed it.

This chakra. This power. The last of the nine had woken up once more somewhere. Pain, once known as Nagato Uzumaki, opened his eyes, revealing the Rinnegan to the world.

"Kyuubi…"

* * *

><p><strong>Stats<strong>

**Danzo Shimura/Godaime Hokage:**

Ninjutsu: A-Rank

Taijutsu: B-Rank

Genjutsu: A-Rank

Armed Combat: A-Rank

Defensive Techniques: S-Rank

Battle Strategy: S-Rank

Special Skill: Sharingarm (lame pun intended): S-Rank

Special Skill: Mokuton: S-Rank

* * *

><p><strong>Nagato UzumakiPain:**

Ninjutsu: S-Rank

Taijutsu: B-Rank

Genjutsu: A-Rank

Armed Combat: S-Rank.

Defensive Techniques: S-Rank

Battle Strategy: A-Rank

Special Skill: Rinnegan: S-Rank

* * *

><p><strong><em>Omake 1:<em>**

**_Why the characters should never meet the Author_**

This new world was strange. It looked like a room with a computer, with a large windows allowing the moonlight to bath the screen. Kazama glanced at it. "How to make your characters miserable?" he read.

"Someone is writing about us!" Chibaku commented, upon examining the data. "Chapter 19, Chapter 43... Damn it, there's even a prediction for the next events!"

"Wait, let me see!" Izanami pushed him aside, read, and dropped her jaw. "WHAT?"

"What what?" Naruko asked.

"Apparently Kakuzu is going to live the rest of his life in a world made of pure gold, silver, and the final arc will be a giant poker tournament for the fate of the universe!"

"And I'm going to win!" Naruko smirked.

"I'm afraid yes." The group turned around, noticing someone observing them in the dark. He was rather tall, wearing a black suit, and a white faceless mask. "Sorry for the Slender Man parody, but I thought it was fitting, considering my killing spree of main and secondary characters. It was that or G. R. R. Martin"

"Who're you?" Chibaku asked, slightly bothered by the man's presence.

"Me? I am Kagaseo, the Reaper of Characters. With my pen, I reviewed a hundred stories, and am about to write a dozen more! I've been called the Troll Lord, Jack the Ripper, and, my favorite name, 'Sadist'. I'm the guy in charge of making your life a living hell, by the way."

"BUT WHY?" Kazama asked.

"Because I've got a master plan involving turning misery into a happy ending. You can thank me later." He snorted. "For the poker party, blame my beta."

"Beta-"

A light brightened the dark, and everyone took a step back. _**"Money-sama has taken over the story!"** _a flying ryo shouted. _**"Next step, taking over the manga and turning Naruto's dream into BECOMING FILTHY RICH!"**_

"I don't know why, but I think I'm going to become the main character," Kakuzu smirked.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Omake 2: <strong>_

_**When cameo can kill your sanity**_

When he teleported next to a breach in space with Madara, the traveler was faced with an interesting spectacle.

"Push it back!" A Naruto Uzumaki with a straw hat shouted, extending his arms as if they were made of rubber. His fists hammered a creature vaguely reminiscent to a giant lizard with a hole where the heart should be, which was attempting to cross through a rift in space.

"KAMEHAMEHA IN YOUR FACE!" A Naruto Uzumaki with a monkey's tail roared, firing a beam of blue light at the creature. The beast hissed madly, as it was thrown through the rift.

"Blizzaga!" A Naruto wearing wizard robes shouted, impaling a second monster with an icy spike. "2500 hit! Ice is Super Effective guys!"

"Wood Release: Rasenshuriken!" A Naruto looking like an adult in his early twenties, ripped a third creature's throat apart after throwing a greenish giant chakra Shuriken at it. The attack exploded into a bunch of spiky roots that ripped the monster apart. "Phew, that was the last one."

"2000 exp! I gained a level! Next time I unlock a new spell!"

"Sayonara giant monsters from the afterlife!" The Straw Hat Naruto waved at the rift. "Don't come back!"

"I told you the breach was causing trouble," Madara told the astonished Kazama, as the four other Naruto noticed him.

"Oie, a new one!" The monkey-tailed Naruto pointed a finger at Kazama. "Tell me you're a Super Saiyan! We really need one right now!"

"Uh… no…" The Amekage could only shiver at the insanity. "I have come to close the gate. The guy here is a… friend, I guess."

"Hi new party members!" The wizard Naruto waved at him. "Wait until the boss shows up. Apparently, it's Arrancar Naruto with Kyuubi as Zanpakuto."

"Excuse them, they come from worlds extremely different from the one you probably occupy, mister," the normal looking Naruto coughed. "You can call me Taisune. I'm just a traveler lost on the road of life... or was. I had finally retired to be with my beautiful pearl eyed wife after years of travel, and then I sort of got sucked into some crack in reality... _again._" He glanced at his group. "Explain to him who you are."

"I'm Naruto the future Pirate King!" The Straw Hat Naruto shouted. "I will get the One Piece and everyone will respect my awesomeness!"

"I'm San Naruto," the Uzumaki with a monkey's tail said. "I was trying to find the Dragon Balls to bring Kakashi-sensei back from the dead, but I ran into a hole in space instead!"

"I downloaded the 'Bleach and Strange Cameos' DLC, and here I am." The Wizard Naruto shrugged. "That's what happens when you try a new adventure without level-grinding. I should have downloaded the Harem DLC instead."

"Wait, you have harems in your universe too?" Taisune asked. "I thought mine were the exception among us."

"Nah, with the right option, you can complete multiple romances and get harem endings for the game. There is even a 'Mindless Orgy' ending, but from what I read on the guidebook it's badly written porn."

"H-harem?" San Naruto glanced at Taisune, genuinely shocked. "What does that mean? Can you eat it?"

"It means polygamy." As the monkey-man blanched, the ninja shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, polyandry is nearly omnipresent too. Boys _and _girls have their personal harem. We have gender equality!"

Deciding these four were completely insane, Kazama focused on Taisune, apparently the most reasonable of the bunch. "From what I understand, you are aware of the existence of alternate realities."

"My world's Sasuke sent me to a different world after he tried to kill me, and I had to find my way back to my own, me and Fluffy…" Noticing the Amekage's confusion, the alternate Naruto explained. "My Kyuubi. She's out of her seal, and follows me around, causing all sort of chaos..." Apparently mistaking Kazama's _lack_ of understanding _for _understanding, the man continued. "Anyways, after many years, we finally found my world again, although in the past. We changed the future, gave my counterpart the nine Kekkai Genkai I accidentally obtained- You're still with me right?"

"I take back everything that I said about Inari behind his back regarding his past," the reality warper muttered under his breath, his eyebrow twitching under his helmet.

Realizing Kazama was more lost than when he began his explanation, the strange Naruto dropped the subject. "I found myself with these three doppelgangers transported here, and we've been keeping the rift back ever since. Unfortunately, as you have seen… not everything it spits out is harmless, and my method of travel isn't working to get us out of here."

"Hey, at least it isn't that pink toad monster again," the Naruto with the Straw Hat shivered. "I've never thought blood quills could hurt that much."

"Or that corrupted Little Pony Sephiroth," the wizard Naruto cursed. "Hardest bonus boss. Ever. And I've survived Shinryu and Omega Weapon _at the same time_."

"You know, the more I listen," Kazama began, "The more I think my sanity was thrown out of the window."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **if you missed the Game of Thrones and V for Vendetta shout outs, shame on you!

The character Taisune from the second Omake/cameo comes from Crossoverpairinglover's works (he appears in a few of his stories as cameo). The rest are humorous Naruto I couldn't implement in Echoes itself.

The Deidara-Chibaku discussion was inspired by the dialogues you can have with Caesar in Fallout New Vegas: you would expect the leader of a barbarian empire to be a brute, yet he turns out to be educated, philosophical, and pretty friendly... as long as you agree with him. When not, you realize he's just as bad as he was said to be.

Thanks the Infamous Man for having helped design the Root!Naruto universe (I would suggest you to check out his Fate/Stay Night fics, they're among the most humorous in the category). If you ask, Masayoshi means 'justice' in Japanese. Most Root!Naruto fics end with Naruto turning awesome, but I think having Danzo as mentor might be unhealthy for your sanity. After learning about how he caused Kabuto and his mother to try killing one another _while they were his agents_, I'm pretty sure he has a serious case of Paranoid Personality Disorder.

Naruko won't use the golden cloak (although she will go Nine Tails mode later in the story, when she has no choice). She pretty much stopped seeing the Kyuubi as an instant win ticket and decided to rely on herself first and foremost.

After reading Tv Tropes' page on the story, I would like to point out Kazama suffers from the Narcissist Personality Disorder aka compensating for deep rooted feelings of inferiority with a grandiose opinion of oneself. Most of his personality flaws (seeing those with him as pure good and those against him as pure evil, delusions of importance, obsessive envy of others and belief he is persecuted) are real life symptoms of this syndrome.

Anyway, the Reunion Arc is over, and the Darkest Hour mini-arc starts with the next chapter. Next chapter will take a little more time to come out, however. I've got to publish more chapters of _Atlas _and_ Property Damage_ first.

Would you kindly leave a review?


	48. Chapter 45: The Darkest Hour

How long has it been? Nah I didn't have writer's block (at least in this story), but between a few events and the return of my old Fallout: New Vegas addiction (I made a little shout out to Legate Lanius in the chapter below) I didn't write all that much. But here I come back.

By the way, a review asked if Kitsune will return: yes, he will, and he'll be quite different. As for the pairing... surprise.

Thanks ABitterPill and Third Fang for betaing.

By the way, just to remind you, the characters are divided in two worlds, and two Konoha:

**Hokage!Danzo's world:** Kuebiko (Tobirama Senju), Haku, Karasu (uchiha Naruto), Chibaku (puppeteer Naruto).

**Kazama's world:** everyone else.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 45:<strong>_

_**The Darkest Hour**_

It had the shape of a bird, and that was about it.

It was a district and long machine in the image of a giant red bird. It was built with steel and iron, thick and strong. A door the size of three men opened, allowing the Warlord to invite them inside. Shadow clones of the vessel's master, which appeared to be operating the weapons, glanced at the newcomers. "Don't worry," the older Naruto Uzumaki reassured Kazama and Madara cheerfully. "They're harmless. I don't trust anyone with my jewel."

"I see, this is a flying warship," Madara noted, entering calmly. "Impressive."

"The inside is more welcoming, however," the Warlord confided, and he was right. The interior was similar to a rich and decorated mansion, with comfortable sofas, tables of black wood, and fine food. The older Naruto sat calmly on one of the aforementioned sofas. "Would you like some wine? Or perhaps would you prefer ramen? Believe me, Ichiraku's ramen is the best in the world."

While Madara politely declined, Kazama skipped straight to the questioning. "Who are you?"

"I believe this should be obvious."

"Teikoku." The Walord confirmed Kazama's guess with a sly, innocent smile.

"You're a multiversal criminal?"

"Criminal? I don't break laws, I make them. I've built empires and admittedly destroyed a few as well." The Warlord pointed at another sofa. "Sit. Please. I'm pretty sure you have heard a lot of bad rumors about my group. Do not judge us so hastily."

Kazama frowned, but reluctantly accepted the offer. He sat, Madara joining, his arms crossed. "I think I know enough."

"Which means?"

"You are a raider, a despoiler of worlds," the Amekage declared.

"Really? Have you seen me do it?" The Warlord snorted. "My group is a cooperative. We share resources and do not interfere in each other's operations for we strive for different goals. Fellows like the Red Zetsu and Orochimaru do match your description, but most of us are sane."

Kazama clenched his fists at the names. "The Red Zetsu?"

"Didn't your beloved Dark Wolf tell you?" The older Naruto chuckled at his counterpart's surprise. "You haven't been the only one running investigations, and my spy network is much better than yours, I think. I've been observing your group for weeks, and let me tell you Zetsu-san has quite the grudge on your pet bodyguard. She massacred thousands of his children, but didn't stop there. You should have seen the throne she built out of their skulls and how she crucified many of them as an intimidation tactic."

So he was working with _that _Zetsu. "What exactly do you know about me?"

"That you are in all evidence the individual that allowed me to create Teikoku in the first place." The Warlord smirked. "Allow me to tell you a little story. When I was… sixteen, I think… I crushed an organization called Akatsuki, and took over the Elemental Nations. How and why would take too long to explain. I ruled them for two decades, and then, one day, a breach in space and time opened near Kusagakure. I had my ninjas study it, and they concluded it was a doorway to… _somewhere_. After a short time, I developed a special ninjutsu able to open this rift… and another… and another… until I realized my world was one among an infinity of them."

Kazama ground his teeth. The man was right: the Amekage's own power was probably the enabling factor of Teikoku's rampage.

"Suddenly, the ungodly boredom that had haunted me ever since I achieved power was replaced with true excitement and joy. There were so many lands to discover, so many adversaries to fight. I had a purpose once more. And for this, I sincerely want to thank you."

Kazama blinked, and the Warlord chuckled. "You should see yourself. Is it so surprising? I could do so much more than thank you. Why not join forces? You, me, Madara. The three of us together, we could take over all of creation in the blink of an eye. Civilians would call us the three legends or make songs about our adventures."

Kazama clenched his fists. "And your companions?"

"I have no companions, only allies. If you wish to see Teikoku gone, it will be gone. I could destroy it on my own if you desire me to do so, as a token of my good faith and friendship… think about what we could accomplish together. What we could create. Or destroy."

Madara snorted. "We could, yes. And then, what? What afterwards?"

"Whatever I want." The madman smiled. "I want to do what I want, when I want, how I want. The world is but a playground for us. Madara Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, we're exceptional. In nearly all the worlds I have visited, we accomplish great feats. The members of the Teikoku are simply the few other possibilities which got lucky, they're the exception to the rule: the world, all worlds, belong to _us_."

Kazama inhaled sharply. "And if we refuse your offer? What would happen?"

The Warlord smiled. "We could fight one another again, and again, and again. Thousands, no millions, would die in the crossfire. Glorious, but monotonous, I think. I don't see why you would want to go down that road." He laughed. "I can see it into your eyes. We have the same goal you and I."

"Which is?"

"We want the world that wronged us burn." The Warlord locked his eyes onto Kazama's in clear understanding. "You have three days to ponder my offer, for I am a patient man. Afterward, I will come to hear to your decision. Think wisely."

A few minutes later, Kazama and his mentor exited the fortress.

"Well, he wasn't half as crazy as I thought he would be," Madara deadpanned, as the duo walked through the snowy wastelands. "Do not worry. I have the means-"

Kazama laughed.

Madara glanced at him strangely, as he continued laughing, tears in his eyes. "That's… that's so funny I want to die," he said, wiping away the tears. "I'm truly fucked."

The Uchiha stayed silent an instant.

"I've got one deity eating my mind," the blonde went on. "I've another pursuing me, threatening to kill everyone I hold dear. My girlfriend is in a life-threatening coma. The multiverse is collapsing. I've got to stop an empire's rampage… and I'm on my own…" Kazama inhaled sharply. "Leave. I… I want to be alone."

Madara nodded briefly. "I will come back for you within a few hours," he said, vanishing through a rift in space.

Once finally alone, Kazama stood immobile, surrounded by winter. Then he started walking aimlessly. He did not have an objective in sight. For once, he desired solitude instead of companionship.

The snowy wastelands were seemingly endless. The world was white, the earth covered with snowflakes and the skies colored with the clearest blue. Silence ruled supreme, and Kazama felt at peace for an instant.

Reaching a frozen lake after a few hours, Kazama glanced at the ice, locking eyes with his reflection. Removing the helmet from his head, while keeping it in his hands, the Amekage observed his features. He seemed so old, so lost.

For an instant, the man who had been Naruto Uzumaki felt truly tired.

He had enough. Enough of being on the run constantly, of facing dangers and threats, never able to escape his past. Enough of carrying a burden too heavy for him. Enough of having his happy ending constantly beyond his grasp, after the ordeals he and his family experienced. Enough of never finding inner peace.

For the briefest instant, Naruto considered simply dropping everything. Somebody else would take care of Teikoku, somebody else would protect Ame. He could retire in some faraway world and live the rest of his life in peace. Settle down and let the world struggle.

Kazama banished the thought. He would never stop walking forward.

It was in his nature. He simply couldn't back down, surrender, or stop. The Amekage never learned to settle down, only to walk forward until he reached the end of the road, to beat his problems into submission. There were so many people to save, so many flaws to correct. He simply couldn't walk away and ignore them.

Kazama observed the endless snowy wastelands, relishing in the brief calmness and silence. _This is true order, _he thought, closing his eyes, _true peace. True silence. No life, no conflict, no movement. Nothing._

He could have stayed there forever, if a voice hadn't shattered his tranquility. "Naruto?"

_That's a dream, _he told himself. _An echo of my memories. I just __have__ to ignore it and it will go away. It has to go away._

But the voice refused to leave him alone. "Naruto, is that you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kazama replied, opening his eyes and glancing at the group of ninjas observing him from the other side of the icy lake. "Leave me alone. I want to meditate in peace."

Yet, they did not listen. Then again, they never listened to him in the first place.

Most hadn't changed since the last time he met them. Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru were such a perfect duo. Neji Hyuuga was as stoic as ever. Ino Yamanaka was pretty, although less so than Izanami.

He couldn't care less about any of them.

Sakura was the most different one, however. She had let her hair grow longer. She was wearing a Chuunin uniform and her eyes were slightly more confident. The same eyes that were observing him in a mix of confusion, and tearful, naïve hope.

For an obscure reason it enraged Kazama.

"My name is Kazama Arashi, ninja of Amegakure," he told them. "You must be mistaking me for someone else."

"Liar," Kiba narrowed his eyes. "I recognize your scent, Naruto."

Cursing whatever ancestor the Inuzuka had and their horribly acute sense of smell, the world wanderer grunted and shrugged his shoulders. "Naruto," Sakura couldn't suppress tears. "You're alive…"

"My name is _Kazama Arashi_. Naruto Uzumaki died fighting Orochimaru. He's _gone_, for good." His harsh tone caused the four Konoha-nin to wince in surprise. "Leave me be. Everything went to hell in my life lately and I want to enjoy a brief break. Go away-"

Sakura hugged him.

Kazama was genuinely taken aback by the display of affection, to the point he did not dare push her back.

The young woman silently cried the head against his neck, in such a pitiful way the blonde actually welcomed the embrace. "I thought you were dead," he heard her whisper. "I thought I… I thought Orochimaru killed you."

Kazama briefly felt warm inside, and his previous, intense dislike of his former teammate was suddenly replaced with genuine compassion. "I beat the snake. He refused to stay dead, but I killed him all the same," he told Sakura, before gently breaking the hug.

"What happened?" she asked, shaking. "Where were you?"

"I traveled. I've met amazing places and people. I started a war with Death and I won a battle with it. I've changed a lot." He crossed his arms. "You however did not change that much."

"We kept looking for you…" Kiba complained. "Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Kakashi were shattered by your disappearance."

**"If they were looking for you, then why did they not answer our distress call?"**

Kazama's heart turned to stone. Jiraiya's very name had become a sore point for him. The group apparently noticed his change in expression. "Let's go back to Konoha," Sakura suggested. "Kakashi-"

"Never."

The chilling tone caused the group to glance at him in surprise.

"Why would I return?" Kazama crossed his arms. "The Leaf is not my home anymore. I have no intention of setting a foot in this place anymore. No… that a lie. I'm going to return. To pay back a few people. Just like Danzo as we speak, some will wish to be dead when I'm done with them."

"W-what?" Sakura's reaction was the most extreme. Neji, the most level-headed, simply asked a simple question.

"Why?"

"You remember, Neji, what I told you, back when we fought for the post of Chuunin?" The Hyuuga frowned, yet nodded. "I was wrong. I was being a hypocrite and I didn't even know it. My inborn advantage was simply better than yours. I proved nothing that day, and I will correct that. I will make my own destiny, and I will surpass the Leaf, my father, everyone. That's my new nindo."

He gave one last glance at Ino. "Tell your father and the Inner Council to watch their back," he warned, mentally asking Mikaboshi to teleport him elsewhere, "For I'm coming for answers very soon."

"Wait, Naru-" Sakura's words were cut short, as Kazama's surroundings were replaced with a snowy, lonely peak.

"Finally alone," he sat to the ground, and inhaled sharply. "Finally… alone."

**"No. Not yet." **The voice was but a mental whisper. **"It is time to speak. Draw a symbol with your blood, then give it your chakra, so I can feed on it. Do so, and I shall answer all your questions."**

Kazama blinked, and despite his desire to finally get some rest obeyed the voice. Biting his finger, he painted the Jashinist symbol on the snow with his own blood. The red fluid shined briefly with purple light when Kazama transfused his chakra to it, and the voice materialized inside.

**"I told you I would come for you."**

The _thing _wasn't the darkness embodied. It was pure darkness itself. A primal absence of light.

The shadowy form grew before Kazama, revealing itself in its full glory. Its shape was vaguely humanoid, and a single purple glow worked as its eye. Air itself was being consumed by its very presence. **"I am Amatsu-Mikaboshi. Ask your questions, and I shall answer them."**

Kazama, paralyzed in dread, however found the resolve to ask."What are you? What do you want?" The blonde bit his lip. "What do you want from me?"

**"I am the voice in the void. I am Jashin the Shepherd of Damned. I am Amatsu-Mikaboshi, Kami of stars and oblivion. I am order, and my design is conquest. I have existed since before the morning of the world, long before there was life and movement, and until the end of times I shall remain in the dark. All I wish for is to help you."**

"How? By sending the Shinigami after me?" Kazama narrowed his eyes. "How long have you been messing with my mind?"

**"I have been following your progress ever since the devastation of the Land of Wave." **The creature shifted slightly. **"If you allow me to improve you, if you offer your soul to me, I will give you everything you ever wanted ****and will want.**** I will protect you from the Shinigami. All I desire in exchange is your loyalty. I aim to reshape the universe in my own image. You can help me with it. Consider it a win-win deal."**

"I've managed to fend the Shinigami off once," he replied calmly. "Me and my family will do it again."

**"Family?" **The divinity shook its shadowy head. **"You do not understand, do you? They are with you for their own gain. They will betray and abandon you when you will need it the most."**

Kazama clenched his fists in anger. "_Why_?" The blonde asked angered. "_Why _do you keep bothering me? What did I do to you?"

**"****It is**** what you can do for me that interests me. You, and creation itself, are flawed. This must be corrected." **Kazama's world was swallowed by a bright purple light. **"It would be better if I were to show you the light. The true face of the world."**

For the briefest of instants, Kazama saw reality through Mikaboshi's eyes.

It was perhaps the single most traumatic, brutal, nightmarish experience a human mind could experience. It was to see reality through the prism of a godlike perspective. It was to have their thoughts invaded by an alien presence to whom a single man was nothing more than an ant. It was to see the darkest of truth. Yet, for all its horror, Mikaboshi's vision of the world was perhaps the simplest thing in the world.

Everything flawed had to be deleted for the world to truly be perfect. _Everything_.

Mikaboshi's ideal world was a model of simplicity. Human life had no value. Each individual was a mere cog in a big machine that served no purpose save for simply existing. Failure was punished with death. There would be no privacy, no forgiveness, no escape, no chaos. It would be a world of order, where power was an ideal and an end in itself. It was a world where the only emotion was the zeal to inflict pain on those beneath you. It was a never-ending engine fueled by ambition and rage.

As the information was marked in burning letters in Kazama's helpless mind, the voice grew stronger.

**"Obedience is Salvation! Freedom is Damnation! ****To disobey is to die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Obey! ****Obey! Obey! Obey! Obey!"**

Kazama screamed.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tobirama Senju<strong>_

It was when he visited the academy that the former Nidaime Hokage learned how low his former student had sunk.

It didn't take long to discover the secret 'special training program' a good chunk the students of the Leaf had to undergo as graduation. Kuebiko was a man of many talents, and one happened to be information gathering. He had created the ANBU, after all.

The truth had left a bitter taste in the man's mouth. Danzo had sullied both the Leaf and his teacher's ideals. The road to hell had been paved with the blood of the innocent, and Danzo had walked in an ocean of it without hesitation.

When Danzo summoned the former Nidaime to his office, he instantly noticed the scientists' cold stare. "May I ask what is bothering you, Tobirama-sensei?"

"How could you inflict _this _on children?" Kuebiko snapped. "How could you cross this line?"

Danzo instantly understood. "The program showed results. There is a reason the Bloody Mist created one of the best military in the Elemental Nations in spite of their low population."

"This is insane!" Tobirama replied, outraged. "You have students grow up as brothers, then force them to kill one another to graduate?"

"Konoha has the highest population on the entire continent, so we can afford it." Danzo's cold pragmatism chilled Tobirama to the bone. "I value quality over quantity."

"I fail to see how this madness can make better ninjas," Tobirama replied in disgust.

"Upon killing a loved one, the student kills his emotions," Danzo shot back, narrowing his lone eye. "You taught us a true Shinobi had to contain his emotions, to obey a code without fail. Emotional bonds go against this ideal."

Kuebiko felt as if he had been slapped. "How dare you use my own values to justify this atrocity? I taught you to contain emotions, not to kill them!"

"Everything I did was in accordance with your teachings," Danzo defended his viewpoint. "You taught me emotions were a ninja's biggest enemy. The Uchiha were the living proof of it."

"I never advocated killing Konoha-nin," Kuebiko shot back, starting to lose his calm.

"No, but you advocated self-sacrifice. Isn't what the new generation is doing? By dying, they can help their teammates improve and better defend the Leaf."

Kuebiko clenched his fists. "You completely missed the point of my lessons."

Danzo paused, causing his teacher to elaborate. "All I did was for the greater good of the Leaf. For the big picture." Tobirama narrowed his eyes. "But a big picture is made of small pictures. Konoha was created to give a better life to the victims of the warring states era. People do not exist to serve the Leaf. The Leaf exists to serve its people. To make them happier and safer with a higher standard of living than the hell I grew up in. By ignoring this rule, you spat on the sacrifices of those who gave their life to create a better world."

"What I did-"

"Enough," Tobirama cut in, "I failed as a teacher, and if my lessons truly lead to this situation, then I failed as the Hokage too. We have nothing to say to each other, Danzo Shimura. You are my student no longer."

Danzo frowned. "What will you do?"

"Destroy the Relay, kill Deidara, then never see your face again," the Hokage shot back, turning around. "Farewell."

"You are not going anywhere." Danzo warned, as the ANBU opened the office's door. "You are under arrest. I cannot let you leave with the Leaf's secrets."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chibaku<strong>_

Sand, sand, more sand.

He wondered whether or not this desert had an end. The puppeteer continued walking, economizing his chakra. _**"I can pump you up," **_the Kyuubi suggested.

"No," he answered with his truthful voice. "I will walk. It helps me think."

The fox stayed silent an instant, as its vessel found a rock with indications on the way to follow. "West, Suna. East, Konoha. How simple."

_**"You sound bitter. What is the matter?"**_

"Nothing," he replied. "It's just I feel lost on the road of life." Both metaphorically and literally. "Fucking sand."

_**"**__**What Deidara said troubles you, doesn't**__** it?"**_

"No," he lied, before deciding to be honest. "Alright, yes. It shook me how close I am to Deidara's gang. And not in a good way." The puppeteer cursed. "The only real difference is the side we're fighting for. I'm just as bad as they are."

_**"You never cared before," **_the Kyuubi pointed out. _**"Why do you think about it now?"**_

"Because… I can't explain… probably the result of spending too much time with moral absolutists." The puppeteer shook his head. "My art… is my art, Sasori's art, meaningless? Is… is my dream impossible to achieve? I… I am lost."

The Bijuu fell briefly silent. _**"You're not Uzumaki Naruto."**_

"Of course I am furball."

_**"No you aren't!" **_Chibaku winced at the raging tone. _**"The Naruto Uzumaki I**__** was forced**__** inside never gave up! He didn't let a psychopath's words get under his skin! Well, metallic armor… the point is, who cares if your dream is impossible? It is still beautiful enough to fight for! Even if you fail, your efforts will inspire others, so one day, someone can succeed! Deidara's group is a bunch of nihilists, they don't believe in anything, so they try to drag others to their level, but Naruto Uzumaki is better than that. How can you be this hollow?"**_

"I… you're right…" the puppeteer realized, with renewed confidence. "I'm such an idiot. Who cares if I fail? At least I will do my best to fulfill my dream, and be at peace with myself."

_**"That's the spirit." **_The creature snorted. _**"But don't think I said that to cheer you up! I did it so you would be motivated when we fight them again."**_

"Right… thanks anyway." Chibaku turned back. "Let's lay waste to them. I'll let you take over for once."

When he arrived, they were all gone.

The Relay and the Zeppelin stood silent. Deidara's base was empty, its occupants having vanished without a trace. The puppeteer observed his surroundings, trying to find any hint of what happened. "Did they all turn invisible?" Chibaku deadpanned. "My sensors should have noticed them."

_**"They left the Relay unguarded," **_the Kyuubi noted. _**"The one reason I can see is, they're starting a big operation and they need everyone they have to carry it out."**_

"Deidara… I didn't understand why he let me go, now I do." The puppeteer clenched his fists. "He was gunning for _something_, and he didn't want me nearby."

Suddenly, Kyuubi had a revelation. _**"Kakuzu is a poisoned bait."**_

As the puppeteer inwardly frowned, the Bijuu elaborated. _**"Boy, think a little: why leave a prisoner with valuable info on your operations and no tactical value alive? Why leave only two guards with him? Don't you find it convenient these two were occupied at a trivial game while they **_**knew **_**we would come sooner or later?"**_

"They wanted us to pick Kakuzu." Chibaku started panicking. "It was all a trap."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Haku<strong>_

It happened with a bang.

Kuebiko, Kakuzu, Haku and Karasu were brought before Danzo and his ANBU squad for one last meeting. The old man was obviously troubled by something and had decided to work together with the group of wanderers, proposing them to collaborate against Deidara in exchange for their freedom.

Tobirama had replied he was in no position to negotiate, as he could kill everyone in the room on his own and walk out.

Then the ANBU told them they noticed strange seals glowing on Kakuzu's back, much to the Taki-nin's surprise.

Suddenly the Hokage tower exploded.

Once more, Haku's reflexes saved her life, as she turned into water to survive. Reforming in the middle of ruins, the snow woman found herself being helped to stand up by Kakuzu and Tobirama. The three ninja glanced around at the devastation. Many hadn't survived the explosion. They were either not fast enough, powerful enough, or both.

Karasu and the Dragon ANBU had immediately been tackled and thrown aside by the two insane copies of Naruto Uzumaki. Men wearing red clothes scattered into the streets, throwing bombs at the surrounding buildings.

And in the center of the chaos, glancing down at a surprised Danzo, a blonde man stood proudly atop the ruins.

"Boys and girls, time to make this story _end_," Deidara grinned wickedly, "With a _bang_."

Kakuzu immediately understood what had happened. "You put transportation seals on me while I was sleeping?"

"Hell yes," he smirked. "I guessed they would pick you up when they learned you had important information, so that Uzumaki lady gracefully crafted the seals for me. When a spy of mine told me you had been brought to Konoha, I realized I could kill two ninjas with one Shuriken. Sorry for using you as a pawn, yet you deserved it for insulting my art-"

Deidara absentmindedly dodged a bullet of water projected by Kakuzu. "I love it when people gloat," the Taki-nin whispered, "Makes them easier targets."

"Geez, you're trigger-happy, aren't you?" Deidara asked, glancing at the world wanderers next. "Let's be reasonable. Why can't we be friends?"

"Because you are a mass-murdering homicidal maniac," Kuebiko replied without missing a beat. "Haku, Kakuzu, back me up. Danzo, let's make a truce until he's dealt with."

"With joy," the bounty hunter whispered.

"I will support you," Haku whispered.

"Sigh… I guess it will be a nice opportunity to show why I'm nicknamed Akai Kazan, the Red Volcano," Deidara noted, raising his hands. Pressure increased around him, and his killing intent turned nearly unbearable. Much to everyone's amazement, red chakra surrounded the mad bomber, ripping his skin apart.

"Have you heard of the Gold and Silver Brothers?" Deidara's skin was covered with a mix of blood and magma, increasing his size and bulk. His fingers turned into claws, his eyes into two pits of fire, his mouth into shining hellfire. Three long, simian tails of chakra materialized out of his back, and the man's mere presence increased the heat around him. "When the Yonbi kicked my ass, it did more than open my mind! It made me living art!"

The pseudo-Jinchuuriki roared savagely. "Prepare to vanish, for my art… is _an explosion_!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kazama,<strong>_

_**The Fallen Hero**_

When Kazama opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Naruko. "Sensei… are you alright?"

"No." His head hurt, and his mind was in ruin. He was in a bed, back to the wooden mansion. "I feel cold."

The blonde girl glared at Madara. "What did you do to him?"

"For once, nothing. I found him in this state." The Uchiha crossed his arms. "Go bring Konan. She has information to share with him."

The little lady was about to refuse, but Kazama was faster. "Do as he says." Naruko locked eyes with her mentor, before obeying.

Madara glanced at his student. "What happened?"

"I learned something I wasn't mean to learn." His voice was low and serene. As if he had lost all will, all warmth. "How long was I out?"

"A long time. It's past midnight." Kazama winced. "Konan finished early."

"And?"

"And Sasuke didn't take the truth well."

As he spoke, both the paper woman and Naruto's former rival entered the bedroom, followed closely by Naruko. Sasuke seemed downright heartbroken, while Konan… the second she noticed Kazama, she hugged him. "I… I didn't know…" she whispered to his ear. "Twelve years… twelve years alone and hated in that place…"

"It was nothing," Kazama lied through his teeth, breaking off the embrace. "What happened while I was out?"

"Izanami's operation went fine, but she will need a lot of rest," Naruko said. "I managed to beat my darkness at the Falls of Truth, and Danzo…"

Kazama focused on Konan. "Speak. Tell me the whole truth."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Madara Uchiha,<strong>_

_**The Winner**_

Madara Uchiha had no idea why, or how, but he _knew _he would win today.

It was an intuition. A gut feeling. He had the premonition his efforts in trying to convince Kazama to see his point of view would pay off within the next ten minutes if not hour. Months of works would achieve the desired result. Now, all Tsukiyomi had to do was to wait in silence, and enjoy the moment.

Just as planned.

"Go ahead," Kazama told the worried Konan. "I'm all ears."

"You won't like what I am about to say." Konan interlaced her fingers. "Maybe is it-"

"I waited too long to settle on this." Kazama clenched his fists. "Go on."

She inhaled sharply before letting it out slowly and reluctantly. "Let's start with the very beginning, the Kyuubi's rampage. The authorities of the Village were worried an Uchiha was behind the event," Kazama briefly glared at Madara, who shrugged, "As a result, they started investigating, and in turn isolating the Uchiha clan. As you can guess, they did not appreciate it and attempted to rally other clans to their cause. While a few, like the Hyuuga, supported their plea, it was not enough to alleviate the pressure. Danzo Shimura in particular… the man in charge of Konoha's intelligence, was adamant the Uchiha had to be kept under heavy scrutiny. After a point, the Clan Head Fugaku Uchiha became convinced there would be a purge sooner or later, and planned a coup in a last ditch attempt to prevent this."

Sasuke clenched his fists. "My brother Itachi was ordered to exterminate his entire clan, with his payment being my safety." He ground his teeth. "He lied for years, and he let me kill him."

This little information, Madara was aware of. He had intended to inform Sasuke of it to turn him against Konoha at a point after Itachi died of his illness, giving the ancient Uchiha a powerful weapon against the Leaf. Of course, Orochimaru had ruined this plan when he caused the Kyuubi's disappearance, and Tsukiyomi missed the opportunity.

"After this is when the Inner Council was created, or at least, the incarnation Madara revealed to you the existence of." Konan bit her lower lip. "It is difficult to say how, but the Clan Heads learned about the real circumstances of the massacre, and became afraid. If the Hokage could exterminate one entire clan, what prevented him from doing it again?"

Kazama made her a sign to carry on. "They were afraid, and banded together to serve as a counterpower to the Hokage's influence. This is where you enter the picture again. As Sarutobi was the closest person to you, the Clan Heads started to worry that you were being groomed as a weapon to be used against them. As a result, they attempted to limit your progress as much as possible by threatening both Sarutobi and later Tsunade with civil war should they not comply to their demands. They wanted you to receive the minimal training possible, so while your Bijuu could still serve as a war deterrent, you wouldn't be able to exploit its power as a rational Shinobi. The Hokage wouldn't be able to use you safely against them without endangering the entire city."

"So they kept me isolated not out of not hatred, but unfounded fear of the Hokage? That's it?" the blonde asked softly, betraying a hint of seething anger.

"Yes. The Clans and their allies mutually agreed to keep interactions with you to a bare minimum, so no one could train and groom you as a clansman and potential weapon to take over the Hidden Leaf. Since the Yondaime's seal was powerful enough not to break, they did not expect retaliations from you. The resentment in the populace as a whole did the rest."

"… Jiraiya, Sai," Kazama whispered coldly, "Tell me about them."

Konan held her breath for a few moments before continuing. "Jiraiya and Tsunade did not wish to start a political arm wrestle with the Inner Council, and as such pretended to go along with them until the organization could be dissolved peacefully. Jiraiya pretended to teach you only the strict necessities. Shinobi basics and some techniques, but no apparent real style or anything to benefit you outside of combat. However, Danzo discovered he was secretly teaching you the basics of the Sage Mode behind everyone's back. Obviously, he intended for you to master it once the Inner Council dealt with… and hoped the Kyuubi would allow you to survive everything else."

"After a time, Danzo had enough of pretending to be ignorant and decided to prepare a coup to 'regenerate' Konoha. Upon learning you were sent to meet Sasori's spy in Orochimaru's camp, he added his own mole in your team and made a deal with the snake: Sai would help him subdue you so Danzo could extract the Kyuubi and seal it inside one of his followers. In exchange, Orochimaru would have been left alone once Danzo made Hokage. He never intended to honor the deal, of course."

When Kazama stayed silent, Naruko paled briefly. "Sensei?"

"You're are telling me… that my suffering… that everything they did to me…" The Amekage clenched his jaw, locking eyes with the paper woman, "Was nothing more than a collateral damage in a grander scheme?"

Konan did not answer.

Kazama snapped like a string drawn too tight, then shattered like glass.

It wasn't obvious at first. Subtle hints in his facial expressions, a gaze getting colder, fingers twitching uncontrollably. Then a brief, compulsive smile widened on his face, before being replaced by utter, absolute killing intent. It was as if the boy had reached enlightenment.

"I'm going to burn them all."

This was the one sentence the blonde uttered, with perfect serenity, before vanishing, space twisting around him.

"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted too late.

"Where did he go?" Konan asked, sounding genuinely worried.

"Where he should go," Madara whispered, vanishing as well. "I've been waiting for this for a long, _long _time."

The sweetest fruit took the longest to fall, but the Uchiha had it inside his palm at last.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Naruko<strong>_

"Shit!" Was the word Yugito uttered, upon being told what happened. "Where did they go?"

"To Konoha," Sasuke guessed. "I've an idea what he's about to do, and this is not going to end well."

The Nibi's vessel frowned. "Dark Wolf, go take Izanami to someplace safe and kill Zetsu if he resists," she ordered, before moving to exit the mansion. "The rest of you, we're going after those two."

"How?" Naruko asked. "They're in another country!"

"She can turn into the Two-Tails, Konan can fly," Sasuke noted, "And I have flying summons. Maybe we can reach the Leaf before-"

The group stopped outside.

Six men with orange hair and Rinnegan for eyes were waiting around the house. Their skin was pale and covered with piercings. Each of them was wearing black robes with red clouds on them.

"You aren't going anywhere, Kyuubi," the six spoke with the same voice, "We are Pain. Accept judgment."

_Oh hell, not now, _Naruko thought, as one of the six joined his hands and unleashed a very familiar technique.

When the Shinra Tensei activated, blasting both the artificial house and the entire forest surrounding them, the group was shielded by a giant blue cat. "Sasuke, take Naruko with you and get Kazama back before he does something stupid," Yugito ordered, "The rest of us will take care of Pain!"

"But he has the Rinnegan!" Naruko shouted, Mei and Konan already engaging the Paths of Pain in battle, "You can't beat him with so little manpower!"

"That's our problem and Kazama going insane would have disastrous consequences," Yugito shouted. "Now go! He's after you, so get the hell out of my firing range!"

"Understood," Sasuke whispered, summoning a giant hawk and grabbing Naruko against her will. The two jumped on the bird, who flew in the sky faster than the quickest wind.

As Naruko sent one last glance to the island, she had the feeling she wouldn't see some of her friends again.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sakura<strong>_

"I'm telling you," Sakura repeated, "It _was _Naruto."

The gathered Shinobi collectively frowned. Upon returning to the Leaf, Sakura's group had been summoned by the entire high command of Konoha: Jiraiya, Sarutobi's teammates, the heads of the Clans, and the main jounin of the Village. The rest of the Konoha twelve had been invited as well. "Are you certain he's behind Danzo's disappearance?" Shikaku Nara asked. "We have received a message from the Kage Summit indicating he failed to show up."

"He all but said he had Danzo killed," Neji informed them. "He also said something strange. _The inner council should watch their backs_, were his own words."

Sakura couldn't miss the worried glances a few members of the assembly exchanged. Kakashi, however, was utterly overjoyed. "Is he… is he wounded? Is he alright?"

"He… he changed, sensei," Sakura admitted. "Physically speaking he's looking much older than last time we met. Mentally, he's…"

"Bitter," Neji said in her place. "Naruto used to be full of warmth and energy. The man we met could have been made of ice and it wouldn't have made a difference."

"He also changed his name," Ino pointed out. "And while he always had the worst fashion sense in the world, seeing him wearing that scary armor was disturbing."

"After he left Akamaru and I noticed multiple scents matching his own," Kiba shrugged. "He probably used Shadow Clones so we couldn't track him down, so we abandoned the search and returned home."

"It doesn't seem like he's going to come back, at least on his own," Jiraiya whispered. "Tsume, Shibi, you will put your best trackers on the case. Since he reappeared, we might be able to locate him-"

"He has space time ninjusu," Shikaku Nara pointed out. "Locating him is useless if he can teleport to the other side of the country anytime."

"He obviously does not wish to come back," Tsume added. "Maybe we should leave him alone."

"He abandoned the Village in its time of need," Mitokado pointed out. "For a Shinobi, this is unacceptable. We need him back in order to extract-"

Jiraiya glared at him venomously. "It's your actions which lead to this situation," the Sannin hissed. "I will have him back, but you won't touch a hair of his head. I'm done tolerating your actions."

"You do not have the authority necessary," Utatane pointed out.

"With Tsunade and Danzo incapacitated and as the Daimyo's first choice as Hokage, I will act as the temporary Rokudaime," the toad sage replied.

The rest of the assembly was divided over this. "Go," Hiashi told the Konoha twelve, "The high command of Konoha must discuss in peace."

The group of teens reluctantly obeyed, exiting the Hokage's HQ. Sakura briefly glanced at the sky. The new moon resulted in stars being the only source of light, for they shined briefly tonight. The young woman briefly wondered if Naruto was glancing at them too, wherever he was.

"Do you think… Naruto would truly come back?" Hinata asked Neji, her voice shaking with naïve hope.

"Highly unlikely," the other Hyuuga replied bluntly. "Konoha probably won't forgive him for abandoning the Village for so long and refusing to return. He might be executed as a missing-nin."

"Or we could find him first, and convince our parents to ignore his defection," Shikamaru pointed out. "They were willing to get Sasuke back without much problems, since he never took arms against the Leaf. Their reluctance to do the same with Naruto, who risked his life more than once for the Village, troubles me."

"You think they're hiding something?" Ino guessed.

"Naruto's sudden transformation into a bitter deserter strikes me as out of character," Neji pointed out. "His words were confusing as well. He said he traveled a lot, yet as far as our sensors were concerned he vanished from this side of the planet."

"When he comes back, it's with an unknown Space-Time ninjutsu," Shikamaru pointed out. "No, I believe Konoha's high command is hiding something. Did you see how they reacted to the mention of this _'Inner Council'?_"

"Too many pieces of the puzzle evade us," Shino pointed out. "We should focus on Naruto first. He's the only one with answers."

"Maybe he was hiding in the Land of Summons?" Chouji suggested.

"Possible," Sakura replied, although Jiraiya had been clueless about Naruto's location for months. "I'll have to ask Katsuyu. After I see Tsunade-sama."

The others nodded, and Sakura left them to their own devices, reaching Konoha's hospital. Tsunade's room was protected by two ANBU, who allowed her enter after checking her out. The Sannin was on a respirator and under heavy medical care. Sitting next to her teacher's bed, Sakura began talking. "We found Naruto," she explained, fairly aware the older woman probably couldn't listen, "He's… fine, I guess. Different but fine."

Sakura lowered her eyes. "After all this time, he was alive, somewhere. But… I doubt he'll come back. I've seen it in his eyes. The Naruto we knew and loved… he's gone. He has become someone else."

She sighed sadly. "I guess I can't cut my hair again yet… I told myself I would let them grow until Naruto returned, to keep reminding myself not to give up." The medic glanced at Tsunade's face. "What would you do in my place, sensei?"

Tsunade did not answer. Deciding to check out Tenten's theory, Sakura prepared to summon a fragment of Katsuyu when a horrifically loud noise interrupted her. Recognizing as an explosion, she briefly wondered if the town was under attack.

It took Sakura just a brief glance through the windows to understand what was happening.

Armored soldiers everywhere. Hundreds of them.

They were unleashing fiery devastation upon the Leaf. A few were standing atop the houses, launching fireballs toward the compounds of the clans. Others were roaming the street, fighting Konoha-nin attempting to hinder their progress. Black fire started spreading, consuming entire streets.

Konoha was being invaded.

"Impossible," Sakura whispered, praying she was hallucinating. "It can't be-"

The door of Tsunade's hospital room opened, and Sakura hurriedly glanced in its direction.

Stepping over the roasted, cooked corpses of the ANBU guards, a masked man glanced at the pink-haired teen, a lone Sharingan being the only part of his body visible. "Pink hair, pretty face… you must be Sakura Haruno," the man began, his voice as soft as silk, "A pleasure to meet you."

He glanced at the comatose Tsunade. "She has her grandfather's face, don't you think?" the killer whispered, "Too bad she hasn't woken up for this performance. I was looking forward to immortalizing her despair with my Sharingan."

Guessing the man's intentions, Sakura shielded the Sannin with her very body. "Who are you?"

"Uchiha Madara, rightful lord of the Uchiha clan," he replied, Sakura having trouble believing him. "I am Naruto's teacher, by the way, so I guess you should be a little more respectful."

The bold claim caused Sakura's eyes to widen. "Teacher?" She assembled the pieces of the puzzle. "You kidnapped Naruto!"

"I did no such a thing, although it was my intention at one point." The masked man cracked his neck. "I _did _convince him to adopt a battle plan instead of rampaging aimlessly, however, and I did start the black inferno in the old Senju compound. It was an old reflex. I'm somewhat surprised I still had it truth be told."

"What's happening?" Sakura asked, her skin as white as chalk. "What are you doing?"

"We are invading Konoha, obviously," he explained flatly, "Naruto's Shadow Clones were teleported into the middle of the Leaf's most vital elements of its infrastructure. The men in charge of the barrier were taken care of first so they wouldn't inform anyone. Then the clones proceeded to destroy the communications and assassinate most officers. Now, all we have left to do is destroy the clans' settlements and this city will be unable to organize a coherent defense. Then we'll keep burning it until there is nothing left to burn."

"But _why_?" Sakura's heart beat faster. Naruto couldn't possibly do this.

"Because I planned for it to happen," Madara explained flatly. "Naruto hates the Leaf. More than you can possibly imagine for perfectly legitimate reasons that everyone here has long since decided to ignore, which was convenient for me. For months this hate has built up, growing stronger and stronger as he learned more and more of the injustices Konoha has committed against him. But he wanted to be a hero, and heroes don't destroy entire cities… at first. I simply waited for the breaking point, and Naruto crossed it at last just recently. Now, he will not stop until this town is wiped off of the face of the Earth."

He coughed upon glancing at Tsunade. "As much as this little moment of weakness shames me, I came here to gloat to this woman's face. How can't I? The Leaf will be destroyed by what could have been its greatest protector. I hope you appreciate the poetic irony."

Sakura blanched deathly, and clenched her fists. "You're the responsible for all of this!"

"No. I simply prepared the set and your former teammate happily trashed it." The man sighed. "Now, since Tsunade is sleeping, I guess all that remains for me here is to watch the fireworks," he finished before vanishing.

Sakura glanced one last time at her comatose teacher, and rushed outside.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Jiraiya the Sannin<strong>_

Before his world went to hell, Jiraiya had been sitting behind the Hokage desk, pondering about his many, many failures.

The first, original one, was to fail as a teacher. He should have known better than leave three kids alone in a war-torn country, especially one with the Rinnegan. When Pain destroyed Suna and the survivors described Akatsuki's leader, it didn't take long for Jiraiya to guess which of his students was destined to destroy the world. He had failed Nagato and Yahiko, no, the entire world.

The second mistake, just as bad, was to fail as a friend. He should have been a better teammate to Orochimaru, helped him with his problems, instead of antagonizing them. Jiraiya truly believed he could have avoided the snake's descent into madness, had he acted more maturely at the time.

The third mistake, was failing as a godfather. And this one was catching up to him fast.

Sighing, Jiraiya promised himself he would make up for this one. He had lacked strength once, but this was over. He would be a good Rokudaime until Tsunade was awake, he would find his godson, and he would protect him from _anyone_.

Biting his finger, Jiraiya decided to summon the toad elder Fukasaku, in order for advises how to locate Naruto. He slammed his hands on the Hokage's desk, and the toad materialized in a puff of smoke.

"Jiraiya, finally!" Fukasaku seemed incredibly disturbed. "I thought you would never summon us!"

"What-"

"Listen! The Great Sage has been murdered!" The news shocked Jiraiya, and the elder's next words even more so. "Your student appeared out of nowhere and roasted him alive on the spot with a fire technique before vanishing with that masked man as promptly as he came! What's the meaning of this?"

_Could Nagato- _Jiraiya's eyes snapped open, as he heard explosions through the window. Turning to face his city, he found it ablaze. "The hell-"

Noises of struggle came from beyond the office's door, causing Jiraiya to face them. The sounds died off, which sent a lot of bad messages to the sage.

Then the Kusanagi broke past the doors and impaled the Sannin through the stomach, drawing blood and piercing the window to his back. An armored man kicked the doors open, oozing with killing intent.

"Jiraiya!" Fukasaku joined his hands, preparing a Jutsu. "Sage Art-"

The attacker absentmindedly threw a kunai at the summon's skull with his free hand, killing the toad on the spot. He didn't even waste it a glance, focusing entirely on Jiraiya.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you," the armored man said with the most serene, peaceful voice imaginable, before twisting the extended Kusanagi, causing Jiraiya to wince in pain. "I'm going to nail you to the Yondaime's face on the mountain, so you two can properly watch your beloved Konoha die."

"N-Naruto?" Jiraiya frowned, recognizing Sakura's description. "W-why?"

"You dare ask why?" There was no anger in the tone, only cold resolution. "The Uchiha, the Branch of the Hyuuga, the smaller nations, myself… the Leaf thrives on misery and injustices. It is a corrupt and wicked place. I will burn it down, turn it into a wasteland, and salt the ground so it can never nurture life again. Fitting. Its citizens step on us, ruin our lives, and they don't even dare to acknowledge our losses. It is only natural for them to lose everything. A civilization which uses its people as pawns does not deserves to exist."

The Kusanagi retracted, allowing Jiraiya to regain his footing. "Now, it is time for me to prove, once and for all, I have surpassed you, and all who hold me back." He raised his hands. "On your knees. I want to see you crawl at my feet and beg for your life."

"I refuse-"

A blast of wind propelled the Sannin through the windows.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Omake:<strong>_

_**The REAL reason Kazama went crazy**_

"Hey, Naruto… since you banged my mom, I decided to take my revenge." Sasuke joined his fingers. "I'm going to beat you at your own game!"

"How? You're going to marry the Dark Wolf?" Kazama snorted, briefly wondering what kind of technique the Uchiha would use-

"Harem no Jutsu!" Sasuke shouted, causing a hundred copies of him and Kushina to materialize in smoke. Kazama blanched upon realizing they were all naked. "MAKE OUT PARADISE!"

Then the illusory Sasuke started making out with the fake Kushina. _Then_, they went straight to the nasty. "Let's make a hundred Uchiha babies!" the clones boasted.

And that's the real reason Kazama lost his sanity.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Omake 2:<strong>_

_**The OTHER reason Kazama went crazy**_

"As Kazama's mind eroded in that single instant of viewing existence through the eyes of a God, it recognized the sections of reality that possessed instances of himself.

And in those instances he saw himself and Sasuke, and sometimes Kakashi or Sai or some other male… and they were…

"Yeah, let's see how deep you can put your Chidori blade..."

"I'm gonna vibrate you, you'll see."

And Kazama screamed in horror.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Character Stats<em>**

**Deidara/Akai Kazan:**

Ninjutsu: S-Rank

Taijutsu: D-Rank

Genjutsu: D-Rank

Armed Combat: S-Rank

Defensive Techniques: D-Rank

Battle Strategy: A-Rank

Special Skill: Pseudo Yonbi Jinchuuriki: S-Rank

Special Skill: Magma Release: S-Rank

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** here it is. The turning point of the story. Things won't ever be the same.

Yeah, I planned for Kazama snapping for a lot of time. It might seem a bit quick, but remember he built up pressure and anger for the last two dozen chapters. It's just the straw that broke the camel's back. It's more or less a very twisted mirror of the Invasion of Pain, with Naruto replacing Pain.

Danzo has tunnel vision. It's pretty obvious he doesn't have a long term vision: having Kabuto and his mother try killing one another was both stupid (they worked for him remember) and backfired, and letting Pain destroy the Village could have backfired spectacularly. He sees a goal and is oblivious to everything that happens outside it.

Yep I made Deidara a pseudo Jinchuuriki (I did leave a few hints in the previous chapters). I think the idea wasn't exploited much both in fandom and outside it. I think it could be terrifying if an already dangerous ninja gained Bijuu-based superpowers.

By the way, I think I've found a good theme for Kazama's Amegakure (and Kazama overall): "Collective Consciousness" from the Metal Gear Revengeance's soundtrack. I think it fits Kazama's megalomania and deranged beliefs.

Would you kindly leave a review?


	49. Chapter 46: He Who Fights Monsters

_**IMPORTANT:** _I will be brief and to the point. The main reason there hasn't been any update for quite a while in any of my stories is that my mom has cancer and recently started a medical treatment. As you can guess, it killed my will to write for a time and I've spent most of my free time helping her. Updates will probably be slowed down in the foreseeable future. I hope you understand.

Anyway, here is Echoes' next chapter. Thanks ABitterPill and Third Fang for their betaing.

PS: I would suggest listening to 'Divine Hate' from Devil May Cry or 'Roar of the Departed Souls' from Lost Odyssey while reading. I believe they fit the chapter.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 46:<strong>_

_**He Who Fights Monsters**_

Fires. Fires, everywhere. His home, his life, was ablaze.

Homura Mitokado could only witness the devastation from atop the building he had been working in just a few minutes ago, and despair. His entire city was burning, flames spreading through the wooden buildings and the empty streets. His home, his world, was dying before his very eyes. "Report!"

"The defense of the city is completely unorganized and our troops are being pushed back or exterminated," the ANBU captain kneeling in between him and the squads of lesser ranked shinobi replied. "Our chain of command has been decimated and our attackers quickly adapt to everything we can throw at them without utilizing any form of physical or verbal communication."

_Shadow Clones, _Homura realized. The destruction of a clone meant all its copies gained its memories, allowing them to react to any new development with ease and transfer intel at high speed.

There was only one person with enough chakra to field an entire army of them and had the motivation to launch a one-man invasion of the Leaf. "And the damage?"

"We cannot put out the fires," the ANBU stated bluntly, "The city is primarily made of wood, and even with the precautions we had set up in case of large fires the inferno is spreading faster than water jutsu can extinguish it. The Shadow Clones interrupt all our efforts to do so, and the black fire spreading from the old Senju compound somehow resists all efforts to extinguish it. We cannot both fight the invasion force and focus on saving the population. At this rate, the city will burn."

Homura closed his eyes. How did things reach this point? "The city is lost," he stated grimly. "Konoha is lost."

It was one thing to say it, but it was another thing entirely to admit it. The city, the civilization they all strived to protect and cherish, the home they built over decades, would be gone soon. And if nothing was done, its citizens would follow Konoha to the grave. "Start operation Broken Tree," Homura declared. "Order all Jounin to evacuate the population of the city and abandon it. The ANBU will focus on stopping the invasion force inside the Village and prevent it from giving chase."

"Sir, they will gladly fight to protect the Leaf," the ANBU pointed out, "If the population flees, do you understand things will never be the same?"

"I know." This crushing defeat would forever remains in memories, a humiliation so powerful, so tainting, it would haunt the survivors for decades to come. The ninja world would never forget this day: the day the mighty Leaf was destroyed. Even if the buildings were rebuilt, even if they recreated Konoha somewhere else, they would never fully recover. "We might be able to prevail, but our losses would be too great. We need to survive the fire and regroup elsewhere. Buildings can be rebuilt, people can't."

The ANBU nodded sadly, before glancing at the skies. "They're coming."

"For me," Homura agreed, noticing a trio of Shadow Clones projecting fire from their boots and achieving a primitive form of flight. "Go now. I will face them."

The ANBU paused briefly. "It was an honor to serve you, Elder-sama," he said, before fleeing.

Homura took his breath and waited calmly as the three Shadow Clones landed around him. "I see you decided to face me head on," one of them spoke with a derisive tone. "You're either dumber than I thought, or suicidal."

"I won't run from you," Homura replied calmly, "Or from what I've done."

"Ah, so you guessed who I am and why I'm here," the Shadow Clone whispered. "You know, for months, when I faced progressively greater dangers without end, more than once I thought about giving up. Do you know what gave me willpower and purpose?" He cracked his fingers. "How I was going to make your kind pay."

"I did what I did for the good of the Leaf," Homura defended himself, "The Kyuubi had to be contained."

It caused the armored madman to stop moving. "Kyuubi?" He repeated. "That's all I am to you, right? The Nine-Tailed Fox. No matter if I got rid of it, I will never escape its shadow."

Slightly surprised by the admission, Homura quickly dismissed it as the rambling of a madman. "I understand your desire for revenge, although to be honest, I thought Sasuke would be my demise. I will not run from my punishment. But please, stop this madness. The citizens of this city do not deserve-"

"_Deserve_? I am the only judge here, Mitokado." The armored man rolled his shoulders. "Konoha deserves to be destroyed. Its citizens must be punished. You must be terminated."

Homura paled. "I did-"

"You did what you did for the good of the Leaf, but what good does the Leaf do? As long as it stands, atrocities will be justified in its name. The Uchiha Massacre, the treatment of Jinchuuriki… all of it can be tracked to the Hidden Villages." He snorted. "I always thought there were one or more wicked people to blame for everything, when in truth… everyone is guilty to a degree. Konoha rejected me long before the Inner Council appeared, and as long as it exists, it will keep harming people. I won't suffer its presence any longer."

He raised his eyes at the sky. "I just received the memories of a clone killing Utatane by breaking her neck." The man's fingers twitched uncontrollably. "If this is any consolation, what I will do to you shouldn't be anymore painful than that."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Iruka Umino<strong>_

When the world went to hell, the first thing Iruka did was to start helping civilians evacuate. As a teacher, he was well-versed in this kind of exercises. Yet, this unexpected, mindless chaos brought back terrible memories.

Although there was no Tailed Beast in sight, Iruka felt like living through the Kyuubi's attack once again.

"Iruka-sensei!" Konohamaru shouted, joining his old teacher. "You're alive!"

"For now!" The teacher replied, exchanging greetings with the kid. "Where is Ebisu-san?"

"I got separated from my team when the fireballs fell," Konohamaru replied. "What do we do?"

"We try saving as many lives as we can," Iruka replied, before blanching. An armored man walked out of the nearest street, his hands red with the blood of his latest victim. The invader glanced at the teacher with his black orbits, his eyes hidden behind a helmet.

Konohamaru was the first to react, faster than Iruka himself. "The name is Konohamaru!" he boasted. "Remember that!" A Rasengan in hand, he attempted to smash the mysterious man by surprise. Unfortunately, the invader saw him coming, dodged, and exploited the genin's lack of momentum to grab his neck and put a kunai against his throat.

Iruka would have been proud of Konohamaru's progress, if his life hadn't been in danger.

Instead of gutting the kid, the armored man glanced down at the boy, who was sweating with fear. "Konohamaru," he said, releasing the kid, "I will never forget that name. It appears you have become a fine ninja in my absence. I regret having not taught you more."

Konohamaru observed the man with genuine surprise. "B-boss?"

Suddenly, Iruka had a revelation. The thousands invaders with the same shape and equipment, the sudden attack right after he heard Naruto had been seen once more… "Impossible…"

"Don't worry, Iruka-sensei," the man removed his helmet, confirming the teacher's fears, "I'm not going to slaughter you like the rest of these degenerates. In fact, it's fortunate we met. You and Konohamaru are among the few people I do not want to die today."

While Konohamaru was too shocked to utter a word, Iruka bit his lower lip. "This is all about the Kyuubi, right?"

"No. Not only that." The Shadow Clone snorted. "I was taught to respect the Will of Fire… I guess I took the _'fire' _part literally. You can call what I do a sermon. I am teaching Konohagakure the lesson it most deserves."

"But… boss… why?" Konohamaru started crying, disappointment and horror overtaking his heart. "_Why_?"

"Because I've decided to." The Shadow Clone shrugged his shoulders. "Out of respect for our old friendship, I will let you go unharmed. I wish you good hope with your new life, beyond Konoha." He slammed his hands together and dispelled. "Farewell."

As his former surrogate son vanished, Iruka watched Konohamaru. The kid was paralyzed, unable to process what happened. "Konohamaru…"

"This is an impostor," he muttered with a low voice, "He's an impostor. Under mind control. This… this is not possible."

Iruka inhaled sharply, his voice betrayed his sense of sadness. "I feared something like that may happen, one day… and we can't do a thing about it any longer." He put his hand on the broken kid's shoulder. "Let's go."

Konohamaru's face broke his heart.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Jiraiya the Sannin<strong>_

"Jiraiya, wake up!"

Jiraiya slowly opened his eyes, the blue toad underneath him exhaling in relief. Summoning it mid-air to prevent his death from crashing onto the ground had saved his life, but briefly knocked him out. Above them, a flying star descended, a man of metal propelled by streams of fire. The toad grabbed Jiraiya, tossed him to the ground, and leapt upward.

His attempt at intercepting Naruto failed spectacularly when the blonde moved out of the amphibian's trajectory and set the beast ablaze with a fireball. Then he focused on Jiraiya, launching a volley of smaller fiery projectiles at his former mentor.

Jiraiya, by this time, had regained his footing and dodged the projectiles. Unfortunately, the wound on his chest was bleeding profusely and prevented him from moving as fast as he wanted to. Naruto descended, his fist raised, and punched the toad sage's face, the speed increasing the power of the blow.

Jiraiya's nose broke instantly and his body was propelled a few meters backwards. Managing to keep his momentum, the old man saw his former apprentice land gracefully, preparing his next jutsu. "Naruto, please, can't we talk this over?" The Sannin pleaded.

"We just did. Time for talking is over." The armored ninja released a blast of air from his hands, focusing on the ground. The ashes covering it were blown toward Jiraiya like a deadly cloud, preventing him from seeing clearly. While the Sannin had his arms shield his eyes, blue chains of chakra seized his legs, spun him in the air, and threw him against the walls of a burning building.

Quickly using one of the few Water jutsu he knew to extinguish the flames spreading across his body, Jiraiya focused on ignoring the pain and got back to his feet. If Naruto had mastered Kushina's technique and so many new Jutsu, then the Sannin might have to resort to lethal force to survive. But could he truly kill his student? "Naruto, stop!" The Sannin pleaded again, Naruto charging in his direction a sword in hands. "What are you doing?"

"Are you blind?" Naruto mocked him ruthlessly, attempting to impale the Sannin through the skull. "I'm destroying your home."

"This is your home too, Naruto!" Jiraiya countered, dodging the strike. "What the hell happened? What happened to your dream of becoming Hokage?"

"Hokage?" The toad sage heard his former student's low pitched, sardonic laugh. The Sannin suddenly realized the blade his student was wielding was Orochimaru's Kusanagi. "You have to be a fool to want to be Hokage."

_"My poor Jiraiya…" Orochimaru smirked devilishly, swinging the Kusanagi, "Hokage… only a fool would try to become Hokage!"_

The horrible sense of déjà vu caused Jiraiya to grind his teeth and attack. With a hand seal, he had his hair grow and launch needles at his student's eyes.

Naruto appeared genuinely taken aback by the change in strategy. He backed off, protected his eyes with his arms, and left an opening. "Odama Rasengan!" Jiraiya growled, shaping a giant sphere in his hands.

The blonde, too close to dodge or use a Shunshin, extended the Kusanagi and used it as improvised shield. The blade stopped the attack… for a brief instant. The next, Jiraiya pushed forward more forcefully.

The blast threw Naruto across the fiery ruins of Konohagakure, the Kusanagi having reduced the shockwave's impact. Chakra chains appeared out of thin air, anchored themselves to the ground and allowed the blonde to control his trajectory and land on his feet. The fallen hero glanced at his sword before sheathing it.

"This sword… I killed Orochimaru for it." Naruto's chains swirled like vicious snakes, surrounding themselves with the buildings' flames and charging at Jiraiya. "You haven't lost your edge, Ero-sennin… or should I say, _godfather_?"

Jiraiya's surprise and sudden realization of why his student had turned against him didn't prevent him from dodging the improvised whips. The chakra chains kept moving, destroying the spot where the Sannin was standing a second ago. "So you know…"

"I know _everything_." Naruto finished a Katon jutsu and unleashed a series of fire blasts at his old teacher. The Sannin found himself fleeing from both the flames and the chains' swings while trying to close the gap between him and his adversary. "From my legacy to your own dealings with the Inner Council… everything."

"Then you know I tried to do what was the best for you!" Jiraiya replied. "I was in the middle of teaching you Sage Mode when-"

"Sage Mode?! A skill I never mastered, never needed, never even explained!? I killed Orochimaru without the Kyuubi nor the Sage Mode you old lecher. I did it with my own skills! Not yours!" Naruto took a few steps back and kept bombarding his former mentor. "Summoning brought me nothing, and the Rasengan is nothing compared to what so many other teachers taught me!"

"I tried to teach you the best I could!" Jiraiya countered, finally reaching his adversary. The teen's insistence on staying away implied his new fighting style revolved around spamming high-level techniques from distance, using the armor to compensate for his lack of physical prowess. "You were the chosen one! You were supposed to bring peace, not start fires everywhere!"

"Supposed?"

The tone changed. The previous calmness was replaced with boiling rage and venom. "_Supposed_?" The chakra chains vanished and Naruto punched his teacher's ribcage by surprise, right where he had previously impaled the Sannin. The legendary ninja felt the pain racing through his body and more blood was spilled. "All my life people controlled me like a puppet! I was never more than a weapon to defend the Village, a tool for you fools to bring peace! For the first time in my life, I am truly free!"

_Advantage for me, his wrath, _Jiraiya thought, as he dodged the careless, unfocused blows. A_dvantage for him… his fucking armor._

Hand to hand, it was obvious Naruto was average at best. He wasn't especially strong nor fast, and his rage left many openings for Jiraiya to exploit. But his armor prevented the Sannin's strikes from inflicting damage and the spikes made any blow risky at best. Had the sage been in better physical condition, he could have easily made a rasengan to overcome these defenses, but his chest wound made creating one fast enough nearly impossible.

"I wasn't _supposed _to burn this city right? I wasn't _supposed _to kill this Toad Elder either, right? For all his precognition he didn't see me coming!" Naruto's inability to hit Jiraiya caused his fighting style to degenerate into a chaotic frenzy of punches and kicks. The Sannin briefly thought about exhausting his student, before deciding the boy's insane stamina would prevail, or his own wound would make him bleed to death.

"I wasn't aware how he looked until Madara brought me in front of his throne, but I killed that creature all the same! And he didn't see me coming. Do you know why? Because destiny is _shit_! Where is the salvation I was _supposed _to bring?"

It was difficult to make sense out of the mad rambling, but Jiraiya still listened. He exploited an opening and caused the teen to stumble, giving the elder man enough time to make and smash a Rasengan against the teen's helmet. The metal cracked, the blast causing the madman to stagger, his helmet falling on the ground.

_He has his father's hair, his mother's face, _Jiraiya thought grimly, as his adversary regained control of himself, _and Orochimaru's eyes. _"Yes, I thought you would be this world's best hope!" The Sannin admitted. "Because you were pure of heart, and because I trusted you! I did the best I could in a difficult situation, so why do you seek to destroy everything I hold dear?"

Naruto raised his fist, sneering in rage. "Because you left me alone for _thirteen years_."

Jiraiya suddenly found himself paralyzed by guilt, unable to dodge the punch. The fist hit his face with the strength of a sledgehammer, breaking teeth. The Toad Sage saw a second attack coming, yet didn't find the strength to dodge it. "You abandoned me like a dog!" Naruto bitterly hissed, punching his former teacher repeatedly. "And when you reappeared, you lied to me, manipulated, denied me the truth about my legacy, my identity! I was only a tool to you, a fool for you to mock! Just like what everyone else in this sham of a village had done in your stead!"

The Sannin was brought to his knees, and kicked in the chest. Even as the blonde kept hitting him, he didn't find the resolve to fight back.

"Can you imagine how painful it is? To realize your mentor, the person you trusted with your life, only stayed around you to fulfill a prophecy? That the friend you loved had left a child to fend for himself for years? That everything good in your world was a lie? That your loved ones were dishonest since the very beginning? That in the end, you are _alone_?"

The savage beating grew in violence and intensity. Jiraiya felt his bones break, hid blood filing his mouth, and his vision blurring.

"Get up!" Naruto ordered, his voice echoing with rage and bitterness. He raised his fist again. "Get up and fight back! I'm superior you hear me? I'm your tool no longer! I bested you, surpassed you, in spite of everyone's efforts to contain me! So get back up! I _command _you to get back up!"

"You… you were never a tool."

Naruto stopped his assault, and Jiraiya regained enough strength to speak. "I… there wasn't a single moment where I didn't regret… not adopting you. I… I chickened out. I admit it. I… when we met at the onsen, I wasn't impressed either… but later I… I began seeing your potential… I put my faith, my hopes in you… but I never found the strength… to admit how I wronged you… and I never found the strength… to do what I had to do…"

He tried to smile, his broken teeth most probably making him look ugly. "So I… I deserve what's coming to me… I knew it would happen someday… but please know… that I am… truly sorry."

For an instant, Naruto's deep blue eyes reflected his inner conflict. Sadness, bitterness, confusion, a friendship long dead, contradictory emotions were fighting for dominance. For a brief moment in time, it seemed the spark of forgiveness that had animated the boy for so long had returned.

For a split second, Jiraiya's heart was engulfed with hope.

Then they were crushed, as the spark of love was replaced with grim bitterness, then vengeful fury.

"You regret?" He hissed, lowering his fist and punching Jiraiya's teeth with his metal glove, "That's all? _That's all_? You think regrets can change anything?"

He punched his mentor again, Jiraiya too stunned to fight back. "You regretted but you did nothing!" he snapped. "Nothing! You dare… you dare to say that you cared, but it's all a lie! A lie!"

At this point, Jiraiya's wounds were too great for his mind to handle. The horrifying reality was replaced with fond memories, the pain with happiness, the grim Konoha with the remnants of an era long gone, of a boy who smiled at him instead of an adult murdering him.

_"Say, say, why did you choose me?"_

_"Long ago, I taught the Yondaime Hokage," Jiraiya told his godson, "And you have an uncanny resemblance to him."_

_"That's so cool!" Naruto grinned._

_"Yeah," Jiraiya smiled back, "Fine feathers make a fine bird."_

He had hoped such days would never end…

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kazama Arashi<strong>_

As his fists descended, raised, and then lowered again only to repeat the process. Kazama couldn't think of anything. He was lost in his bloodlust, in his rage. The blood of his sensei was red on his gauntlets, but it wasn't enough. He wouldn't stop until there was nothing left to crush.

When he realized Jiraiya was dead already, he observed the corpse for a few seconds before rising up. His shadow loomed over the dead Sannin, the second to die by his hand. There was still a third to kill, but her death could wait.

Kazama didn't know what he felt exactly in that instant. Sadness? Regret? Whatever this feeling was, it wasn't as satisfying as he expected it to be.

Whatever. He had judgment to pass.

As he walked away, his brain was overloaded with memories. The experience was painful, terrible, overwhelming.

_"But… boss… why?" Konohamaru started crying, disappointment and horror overtaking his heart. "Why?"_

"I…" Kazama's eyes widened. "I…"

_"Stop it, Naruto," Shikamaru Nara warned, Chouji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka and Asuma Sarutobi protecting Shikaku Nara and Inoichi Yamanaka from their rightful punishment. "Back off."_

_"Naruto, please stop this madness!" Ino pleaded. "You're destroying your own home!"_

_"Team 10, I demand you step aside," Kazama ordered with an imperious tone. "If you do, I'll let you get away. If you don't, then you'll join your parents in death."_

_"Naruto…" Chouji trailed off. "Can you… can you really __be telling the truth__? This must be some kind of genjutsu or-"_

_"Why do you keep calling me Naruto?" Kazama asked with a low voice. "I told Sakura he was gone. Why do you keep clinging to a ghost?"_

_"This is a sad thing to say, but I agree." Asuma frowned, completely serious and focused for once. "Team 10, Naruto Uzumaki died in the line of duty. The man in front of you is an S-rank criminal. Stand your ground!"_

"Shut up…" Kazama growled, holding his head.

_"Where is he?" Kazama hissed, as Neji and Hinata stood in the way of his Shadow Clones, "Where is Hiashi?"_

_"N-Naruto-kun…" Hinata trailed off. "Please stop-"_

_"Where. Is. He?" Kazama punctuated, before deciding to focus on Neji instead. "__Neji, the man __enslaved your father and sent him to his death. All I want is his head on a __platter__. No one will blame you if you bring it. I've nothing against either of you. In fact, I will be happy to free the Branch House from its servitude."_

_"Naruto-san… my relationship with Hiashi-sama may be difficult…" Neji's face twisted into an expression of pure anger. "But you have assaulted my home, sacked my city, and bombed my house. You lost the respect I had for you when you started hurting innocent people."_

_"Innocent?" Kazama had troubles understanding. "Neji, this city supported your enslavement for no reason! The Uchiha had no seal to protect their bloodline and yet they went farther than the Hyuuga ever did! You can't tell me you will fight for this man, this land?"_

_"I put my trust in Hinata-sama, as heir of the clan, to change the Hyuuga's ways. And whatever its faults, the Leaf is the place I grew up inside. This is where my friends, my family, live. I will not let you defile it any longer."_

_Kazama growled. "You wish to be a slave? Very well. __Then I will put you down like the dog that you see yourself as__."_

_"Naruto-kun… in spite of the admiration… I have for you…" Hinata's eyes were filled with tears. "I won't let you reach my father… prepare yourself!"_

"Shut up!" Kazama shouted, as the images of his Clones being defeated one by one overloaded his mind. Too many deaths, too many words in such a short span of time. It was painful. Over and over again he saw himself beaten, burned, crippled by ninjas proudly defending their home, their homeland. "Stop talking!"

The flux of information stopped abruptly, and Kazama panted heavily. He glared at Konoha's outer wall, focused, and opened his palm. According to the chaotic, fragmented memories he had gathered, his primary targets had managed to escape the city.

They could run, but they couldn't evade him forever.

"Marebito…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Neji Hyuuga<strong>_

Outside Konoha's walls, in the forests south of the city, a group of ninja had stopped under dark trees to rest a little. They had lost many friends in their escape, and the survivors of Konoha had scattered through the woods, fleeing dispersed.

Neji Hyuuga examined the survivors he had managed to gather. Chouji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka, Hinata Hyuuga, Tenten, Rock Lee, Shikamaru Nara, Shikaku Nara, Hiashi Hyuuga, and Inoichi Yamanaka had escaped outside the city, while the teams' Jounin teachers had returned to the city, trying to further help the evacuation.

As he glanced at the smoke coming from the Village, Hiashi frowned. "Hanabi…" He whispered in horror.

"K-Kurenai-sensei has taken her somewhere safe, father," Hinata tried to console him.

"Too bad my mother didn't have such luck," Shikamaru whispered coldly, before glaring at his father. "So? I want your explanations. You obviously know something about this."

The older Nara glanced at his former city with sadness. "We fucked up. Big time."

"So this situation is your fault?" Neji glared at the adults of the group. "What happened? What did you do?"

"We… we did what was necessary," Inoichi whispered, his will crushed. His wife had been murdered by a Shadow Clone trying to reach her husband when she refused to step aside. "But… how could it end like this? We tried to stop this from possibly happening…"

Neji would have pushed the interrogation further, if Konoha hadn't been blown up.

The outer wall exploded, blasted away by a powerful shockwave. Its debris fell in all directions as a good chunk of the construct crumbled. Smoke and ashes filled the air, preventing the shocked ninjas from estimating the level of damage.

Then they emerged from the smoke.

Two dozen Shadow Clones, propelling themselves above the ground with fire techniques. They were flying toward Neji's group, obviously intending to attack them.

"Konoha-nins, prepare to fight!" Shikaku shouted, "Lee, Neji, Chouji, you will serve as frontline fighters. Hinata-"

It was at this instant Neji's Byakugan noticed an unsettling fact about these clones.

Each of them was covered with explosive tags.

"Kamikaze!" Neji shouted. "They're Kamikaze-"

He didn't have the time to finish his sentence, the first suicide clone exploding against the tree above him. Then the others followed him, and Neji's world became an endless symphony of explosions, blasts and blinding light.

The Hyuuga was knocked out for long minutes when a Kamikaze exploded a few meters away from him.

When Neji opened his eyes again, his body covered with dust and ashes, his ears temporary deafened, he glanced, confused, at his surroundings.

The forest had been turned into a wasteland. Remnants of broken trees, burned grass, craters were everywhere. Neji had never seen a true battlefield, but he guessed it must look like this ruin.

Across this wasteland, Neji's friends didn't look so good. Tenten and Shino been hit by a blast at short range and killed instantly. The rest of the Hyuuga's classmates were either unconscious or in the middle of waking up, more shocked than hurt. As for the adults…

When Neji's ears started working again, the first sound he picked up was the dying rattle of Inoichi Yamanaka. The corpse was tossed near the Hyuuga, a gaping hole in the chest. Neji glanced slowly at the responsible.

Naruto Uzumaki was in the middle of slowly shoving a long blade through Hiashi's chest, over the scarred corpse of Shikaku Nara. Neji quickly guessed the Nara had been killed by a particularly powerful explosion.

"Hiashi Hyuuga… at my mercy at last," Naruto Uzumaki trailed off with malice, his expression one of serene triumph. "Do you have any idea how much I _hate _you?"

The Hyuuga was too shocked and weakened by the blood loss to say anything.

"That's for ruining my childhood," Naruto hissed, drawing back his blade before stabbing Hiashi's ribcage with it, "That's for enslaving half your family." He stabbed him again, this time through the throat. "And this is for all I missed. For these crimes, the sentence is _death_."

And on these words, he impaled Hiashi's heart, silencing him forever.

To Neji and his comrades, it was as if time had stopped. Naruto kept staring at the corpse of his defeated foes, as if in the middle of a trance. Tossing them aside, he inhaled sharply.

"I… I finally did it… I killed all of them." Naruto smiled calmly, raising his arms in triumph. "I did it! They're all dead!"

He glared at corpses, and lowered his arms, his voice turning into a low pitch laugh.

"Now everything is ashes… all Tsunade has left… is ruins… if she didn't die in the chaos that is." Naruto chuckled. "My revenge… is fulfilled at last. I've won." He glanced at Shikaku's corpse, and kicked it. "You must have laughed, as your kid progressed while putting me down over the years, right? Well, who's laughing now? WHO?"

By the time he started his monologue, Neji had risen up, imitated by Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, Hinata, Lee, Kiba and Akamaru. They looked both tired and confused. Shikamaru, Ino, and Hinata were glancing at their dead parents with either cold horror or tears in the eyes.

Naruto suddenly noticed his former comrades, and glanced at them. Never before had Neji realized just how transformed his old comrade was.

Having lost his helmet, the blonde's face was revealed for all to see. His armor was covered with blood, and ashes had covered his cheeks and hair, coloring them gray. His cold blue eyes were devoid of compassion or warmth. He could have been considered handsome if he wasn't seething with malice.

Wiping the blood from his sword, the blonde snorted. "What are you doing there?" he asked, his callous tone chilling his old friends to the bone. "Don't you see it's over? I've won."

"Why?"

Naruto glanced at Kiba. "Why what?"

"Why did you try to kill us all, Naruto?" Kiba snarled, his dog barking at his side. "Why the fucking hell?"

"The name is Kazama Arashi. Don't you get it? I am Naruto Uzumaki no longer." The madman shrugged. "I have undergone a… metamorphosis. As for my reasons, they are simple: I had a grudge against Konoha. Especially its main leaders. I simply settled the score."

"So what's next?" Ino asked dangerously, glancing at the corpse of her father in a mix of fear and anger. "You're going to kill us all now?"

"Now? Now is just the beginning. What you have seen is simply the first step toward the creation of a new world. Konoha has fallen, but the other Hidden Ninjas will follow as I pass my judgment upon them. At last, the world will purged from its corruption and impurities."

"Who are you to pass judgment?" Shikamaru snapped, pissed beyond words. Seeing his father killed before his eyes must have had a big effect on his psyche. "You are no god!"

"No… I'm still working my way up," Kazama replied softly, as if he truly believed in his superiority. "But I've seen a true god, and he taught me the truth about the world."

Neji frowned. He was now deeply convinced Naruto had gone completely insane.

"This world has no destiny, no purpose. It is a failed construct full of design flaws, where people wander in the dark, chained by illusions like pleasure, nations, and traditions. The only way to bring an end to this chaos, to create a better world, is to enforce order." Kazama tightened his fist and raised it triumphantly. "Flaws must be terminated. The peoples' will must be tamed, because they can't be trusted with the future. When all of mankind will be united under a single banner and follow one vision, then my work will be achieved."

"I won't stand by this, Nar- Kazama-san!" Lee vowed, after correcting himself. "I refuse to let you guide our future!"

"Are you blind?" The armored man snorted dismissively. "Look around you. Thousands crashed against Konoha's walls, yet I conquered them. I brought thousands on their knees, burned an entire city. I walked worlds beyond your understanding. I've seen things none of you will ever see. I've fought the greatest ninjas of all time and survived, I faced death and lived! I am greater than the Leaf, greater than all of you!"

The madman glared at the group. "Whether or not you agree with me does not matter. You will bow or you will die. Face it: Konoha is as dead as your future."

"Kazama Arashi…" Neji spat to the ground. "You are a fool."

His confidence brought everyone's attention upon him. "Konoha is more than walls," Neji started, "It's an ideal. It's a nation, a community, ideas binding us. You may have destroyed Konoha, but we shall rebuild it elsewhere. You have changed nothing."

The blonde ninja glared at the Hyuuga for long seconds.

Then pain raced through Neji's chest.

Kazama's sword had gone through the Hyuuga's heart, the edge of the blade reappearing on the other side of the body.

"An ideal?" Naruto's eyes narrowed menacingly, as his sword regained a normal length, causing Neji to fall to the ground. "Let me show you how you _kill _an ideal!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sasuke<strong>_

When they finally reached Konoha, it could only be described as a 'smoking crater'.

Konoha was ablaze, and a good chunk of the outer wall had been vaporized. Naruko paled deathly. "The Marebito…"

Sasuke nodded grimly. If Kazama's jutsu had razed the city, then it meant his old friend had truly gone off the deep end. _There is still hope, _he thought, joining his palms, _I need to find him._

Karin had been a good teacher, as annoying as she was. Truth to be told, Sasuke wasn't an especially competent sensor. He couldn't guess an individual's emotions and intents through a mere chakra signature. At best, he could guess a genetic affiliation, or pinpoint a person he had worked with for days. Karin had managed to locate Itachi on a vague description of the Uchiha genius.

Sasuke had truly been saddened when Deidara had murdered her.

Locating Kazama was easy. He was currently outside the ruins of the city, fighting what appeared to their old Genin class. _Naruto… _Sasuke then picked up a special signature, one who could perhaps give them details.

The hawk landed near a group of ninja. They probably thought it was a surprise attack, _especially _when they saw Naruko. The person Sasuke was looking for, however, recognized the Uchiha and raised her hands. "Stop!" She pleaded, her allies reluctantly obeying. She then faced her old teammate. "Sasuke…"

"Sakura…" Sasuke descended from his summon, followed by Naruko. "What happened?"

"It's…"

"It's him!" A ninja pointed a finger at Naruko. "It's the devil in disguise!"

"W-wait, I'm not-"

"She's Naruto's sister," Sasuke said hurriedly, the admission astonishing the group. "We've been looking for him." He frowned. "He sacked the city, didn't he?"

"Yes…" Sakura narrowed her eyes with sadness. "I wanted to speak with him, but the ANBU convinced me to help with the evacuation of Tsunade-sama instead. Naruto… razed Konoha."

"Impossible!" Naruko shouted angrily. Sasuke understood she couldn't accept her role model had gone so far. "Sensei would never… he couldn't…"

"Naruko…" Sasuke trailed words, trying to find something to say.

"It's Madara!" She insisted. "He must have brainwashed him! It's _always _Madara's fault when everything goes wrong!"

"I… met someone pretending to be Madara Uchiha," Sakura admitted. "He denied controlling Naruto. He might have been lying, but…"

"I would have noticed a change in Naruto's chakra signature if he was under control," Sasuke noted darkly. "What he did, as sad as it is… was out of his own free will."

Naruko ground her teeth, looking in denial. "Where is he?"

"From what I got, in the forest outside Konoha," Sakura muttered. "Kakashi-sensei… when I met him, he asked for the direction, and jumped after him without a word."

"We need to hurry," Sasuke stated. "He's going to get killed."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kazama<strong>_

"NEJI-KUN!" Someone shouted. _Lee, _Kazama decided, _It's Lee._

**"Kill them all. Pile body upon body. Let the fire cleanse this place."**

"Your home, your family, your loved ones, your life… I will destroy them all. Turn them to ashes, until there is nothing left. I'll destroy _everything you ever knew_." Shadows prevented the blonde from moving, Shikamaru having reacted first. He might have planned for it ever since Kazama killed his dad and had his shadow turn into spikes. They crashed against the former Jinchuuriki's armor, unable to get past it. "There won't be anything left for you to will for!"

Kazama mentally invoked his chakra chains, which attempted to whip Shikamaru. The Nara was taken by surprise and yet managed to dodge… but he had to release his binding technique to do so.

The world wanderer was no fool. He knew Shikamaru was without a doubt the most dangerous member of his group and if left alone, he would probably find a strategy to beat the Amekage. So Kazama used his Jet Fire to propel himself without technically moving his body and smashed a rasengan against the Nara's ribs.

The sheer power of the attack knocked Shikamaru out instantly, propelling him meters away. Instantly spinning on himself to fight the Nara's teammates, Kazama found himself facing Ino. The Yamanaka had recovered from the attack quickly, and activated her mindswitch technique. "This is for my dad, asshole," she spat, as it was too late for Kazama to dodge, "Your head is mine!"

_"My head is not a nice place where to be."_

Ino found herself nailed to a cross in Kazama's mindscape, her limbs impaled by kunai. Darkness surrounded her, hungering for her soul.

_"I defeated Orochimaru himself in here, destroyed his soul. I've got a ravenous deity in my head and nothing you can do will ever come close to equaling its malice. In a battle of will, you are no match for me. Here is the proof."_

Ino Yamanaka suddenly experienced a particularly realistic and painful hallucination of her brutal death . In the real world, she screamed as loudly as her lungs allowed her to while holding her head before finally falling into a catatonic state.

"Ino! Shikamaru!" Chouji's blood boiled with rage, and he glared at Kazama, all his previous kindness replaced by sheer anger. "I'll kill you for this!"

"You don't look half tough enough to do it." With a mental command, Kazama had his chakra chain swirl around Chouji's neck and psychically ordered them to choke him. The Akimichi did the one thing he had been trained to do since infancy, grow in size… which was a poor choice. Not only did he fail at breaking the chains, but the pressure on his neck increased. The young teen coughed for several seconds, his face turning purple.

**"Breaking his neck would be faster."**

"Teamwork! Always teamwork!" Kazama taunted the Akimichi, as he stepped back to dodge a sneak punch from Lee. "Having partners cover your weakness is not the same as being strong! Together you are everything, but separated, you are _nothing_!"

When Chouji fell unconscious, Kazama had his chains release him and focus on Lee, who moved too fast for the restrains to catch. Noticing Kiba and Akamaru spinning on themselves and flying upward, the Amekage summoned four clones to act as decoys, occupying Lee for a time. He didn't have much chakra left, having spent most of it on the Marebito. He had to economize himself, and fighting his enemies one at the time would be wiser.

"Naruto-kun…on my father's name… and in honor of the lessons you taught me once…" Hinata charged toward the Amekage, tears in the eyes. "I will stop you here!"

Kazama easily dodged her hands and punched her chest with the power of a sledgehammer, shattering a few ribs. The young woman coughed in surprise and pain, doubly so when the blonde seized her by the shoulders and threw her at Kiba and Akamaru.

"Hinata!" The Inuzuka shouted in horror, interrupting his technique not to hurt the Hyuuga. He barely caught his teammate, landing with her on his knees.

When he rose back up, Hinata laying at his feet, Kazama was already at his throat, preparing the shatter his skull with a rasengan. The Inuzuka instinctively protected himself with his arms.

Both of them broke upon contact.

Propelled to his back with a groan, Kiba simply wasn't fast enough to dodge what was coming next, especially with his arms broken. Chakra chains whipped the Inuzuka as if he was a wild animal, drawing blood with each strike. A dozen times he was whipped into submission, until he stopped moving, his back and face red with his body fluids.

"That's where you belong," Kazama sneered, upon having his chains vanish, "At my feet."

**"Break their bones and spirit."**

Akamaru barked, spun again, and attempted to ram the Amekage. The armored ninja prepared another rasengan and smashed it against the living projectile, matching it strength for strength for three seconds, before the spiraling orb won out. The dog was propelled away, knocked out.

Meanwhile, Lee had trashed the Shadow Clones and raced toward Kazama. "Fifth Gate, open!" The ninja's skin reddened, and his opponent started having trouble seeing the green fighter's punch coming. Kazama seized the Kusanagi with both hands and used the edge to parry.

Lee's fist met the blade, the metal cutting the flesh and perhaps the bone. Yet Kazama struggled to keep his balance.

"Sixth Gate, OPEN!"

The pressure increased. Lee raised his other fist and punched the Kusanagi once more.

This time, the metal bent, before breaking like glass. Kazama's eyes widened in dread, as the blow's mere shockwave sent the Amekage to fly thirty meters in the distance. The blonde activated his Jet Fire and avoided a deadly crash, just in time to see Lee charging again.

"Seventh Gate!" the ninja roared, chakra swirling around his body. "OPEN!"

For the first time in the entire invasion of Konoha, Kazama was truly terrified.

Putting all his power in his flight, the Amekage propelled himself upward as fast as he could, toward the clouds. Lee attempted to jump at his pursuit, the ground shattering under his feet. His hand nearly caught the Uzumaki's ankle, yet thankfully, the green beast of Konoha had leapt too late. He fell to the ground, and glanced at his opponent. He probably expected the armored man to launch a bombardment.

Kazama simply put himself out of Lee's enhanced reach, and waited.

Lee's lack of distance attack meant he couldn't hit his adversary. The Amekage simply had to stay out of reach until the deadly side effects of opening the eight gates brought the green teen to his knees.

Lee quickly guessed Kazama's strategy and attempted to jump once more, failing, as Kazama's altitude was too great for the Taijutsu expert to reach. The green ninja then repeated the move, except mid-flight he moved his arms so fast he unleashed a powerful gale at his enemy. The destroyer of cities simply flew to his left, dodging the unnatural wind.

Lee crashed on the ground, his muscles having been paralyzed.

Once certain his opponents weren't playing possum, Kazama landed peacefully, victorious, and tired. His chakra reserves had fallen so low, he doubted he could use his most powerful techniques in quick succession anymore.

**"I can help you with that."**

"No," Kazama replied out loud, struggling against a headache. He glanced at his defeated foes, making hand seals. "Say hi to your dead comrades in the afterlife from me, would you?"

He opened his mouth and unleashed a fireball at the unconscious Konoha-nin.

For an instant, the flames progressed, coming within an inch of Shikamaru's face… then they twisted, swallowed by a gaping hole in space. It reminded him of-

He heard the familiar cackling of a thousand birds behind him.

Dodging a Chidori was nearly impossible, since the Sharingan allowed its user to predict the target's every move. However, it had a major weakness: the user had to run in a straight line.

Quickly producing a Heat Wave, Kazama used it to jump in the air, his would-be-killer missing his sneak attack and continuing to run forward. As the Amekage landed gracefully behind his newest opponent, he felt his blood freezing in his veins. "You?"

"Me," Kakashi Hatake confirmed, his tone echoing with sadness, "I knew it would end like this. I…hoped it wouldn't, but…"

Kazama kept glaring at his newest foe, his heart beating faster than ever. "How… how can you stand against me? You _died _for me! Why do you rise from the grave to fight me? Why do you betray me too?" He massaged his temples, struggling against a headache. "You're not the real one!"

Kakashi blinked in confusion, before frowning. "I am sorry… if I had been a better teacher I…" His Sharingan's tomoe spun. "I understand what the Sandaime went through now. Master and student… let's end it all now."

"Shut up!" Kazama gathered his remaining chakra and unleashed the most powerful wall of fire he could muster. A tsunami of flames rushed toward the legendary ninja, who unleashed his own version. Both techniques canceled each other, the heat increasing on the battlefield.

"You think you can beat me?" Kazama snarled, his technique winning out and swallowing Kakashi whole. "All you can do is copy, like a monkey!"

The earth under his feet opened, and another Kakashi leapt through it, a kunai in hands. Understanding the one he destroyed was a Shadow Clone, Kazama dodged the sneak attack and retaliated with a roundhouse kick.

Kakashi lowered himself. The kick missed, and while Kazama was occupied trying to regain his momentum the copy-nin had prepared a second Chidori. The Amekage swiftly deflected Kakashi's arm with a push of his palm, the sphere of lightning barely missing his face.

Before Kakashi could retaliate, Kazama headbutted his teacher's nose. This briefly stunned both ninjas, but the much more enraged blonde quickly recovered and used an uppercut on Kakashi's jaw. The cracking sound indicated it might have been dislocated, encouraging the Amekage to continue his assault.

Kakashi dodged a punch, and then the next. "Why don't you _die_?" Kazama snarled wrathfully, his fighting style degenerating into a wild series of blows. Kakashi's Sharingan and superior taijutsu skill easily allowed him to counter the strikes, before retaliating with punches. His left fist broke Kazama's nose, the right nearly knocked him out.

As Kakashi prepared to punch his student again, Kazama summoned his chakra chains. They caught Kakashi's arm by surprise, and without releasing him, tossed him on the ground like a ragdoll. New chains swirled around the jounin's limbs, pinning him to the ground.

"Storm… flail…" Kazama hissed, as he prepared his jutsu. "This will take my remaining reserves, but I assure you… not even _dust _will be left of you!"

"Sensei, no!"

Kazama's heart briefly stopped beating. How could she… how could she be here? Why was she here, of all people?

Naruko Uzumaki wasn't alone, as she descended from a giant hawk. Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno were there too.

_I guess they followed me, _Kazama thought, although Sakura's presence was a surprise. Had she decided to join them? Regaining his composure, the Amekage coughed. "My, my… it's such a nice family reunion," he said, "Team 7 is back together again." He would have found it funny, if he wasn't so enraged.

"Naruto…" Sakura noticed her defeated classmates and the rest of the mass murderer's victims. "What… what happened?"

"It's pretty obvious," Sasuke replied dryly, before glancing at Kakashi, "Kazama, don't do that. Your sister doesn't have to watch you like this."

"Like this? I'm perfectly fine." Kazama glanced at Naruko. "This is fortunate you happened to come by. This way you'll learn what needs to be done."

"What… needs to be done?" Naruko paled. "Sensei, you… it's Madara who's controlling you right? You aren't yourself…"

"I'm myself. In fact I've never felt better." Kazama clenched his fists. He could see the tears in Naruko's eyes, in the disappointment and sadness in Sasuke's Sharingan. "Why do you look at me like that? Stop doing that!"

"Kazama…" Sasuke implored, as Sakura put her hands over her mouth in dread. "Please… release Kakashi. He might have hurt you, but killing him might be a little disproportionate."

"Disproportionate? Have you gone insane?"

**"I told you they would betray you," **the voice pointed out. **"They are on Konoha's payroll. Kill them. I am the only one you can trust."**

"You suggest we let them go? Sasuke, Konoha took everything from us! Our past and our future! They sacrificed us, used us as tools, and now you want to let them go! This is the only way to fix the world!"

"Why would killing them all fix anything?" Sasuke snapped.

"Don't you get it? As long as they live, the Hidden Village will return and nothing will change?!" Kazama ground his teeth. "Have you forgotten your family? Or what happened to Itachi? The happiness of Konoha was built on your misery, on the bones of everyone you ever loved? Why don't you hate them as much as I do?"

"But I do hate them."

Kazama blinked.

"When I learned the truth… I raged. I imagined them laughing over the graves of my family, ignorant of Itachi's sacrifice… of the suffering Konoha had brought." Sasuke took his breath, ignoring Sakura's troubles eyes. "I imagined myself turning their laughter into screams of terror. I wanted to. To make them suffer as I suffered, to turn their hope into despair."

"Then why?" Kazama frowned, his headache worsening. "I don't get it."

Sasuke locked eyes with his old rival. "Then I realized, if I did that… I would be no better than freaks like Orochimaru. I would sully the Uchiha's name with atrocities, instead of cleansing it. I… would lower myself to Danzo's level. When I realized I had lost you, the last person to consider me a brother, I vowed to become a good person. I didn't want to blacken my soul again."

"And for that, you would just… walk away?" The Amekage glared at the Uchiha. "Have you lost all sanity?"

"Revenge comes at a price… it only spreads more pain and suffering, and the innocents you harm in your wake become warped themselves. It's not justice, it's a poison. It is not worth the cost of the happiness you have to sacrifice for it. It's not worth the bitterness and the guilt you have to live with once the blood debt is settled."

Sasuke chuckled sadly. "I guess in another world, our roles would have been reversed. But… there has to be another way. Please…" He offered his hand in a peaceful offer. "Stop this madness."

The blonde watched him in silence, then he focused on Kakashi. The man who had lied to him, betrayed him. The man who he should have ripped the Sharingan out of his eye, for he had not honored Obito's sacrifice enough.

"I have come so far already," Kazama finally replied, with a sense of finality, "One more kill won't hurt."

"Sensei… I still remember the lessons you taught us, Kitsune and I." Naruko cleared her throat, crying. "That we… we could become better person if we tried hard enough. The Kazama I knew and love… would try to. If you stay on this path… Madara will win."

She put herself on her hands and knees. "Please, I beg you… don't let him win."

Kazama lowered his head, troubled. Why? Why did he suddenly feel that strange? Could it be… shame?

Remorse?

Freeing his captive teacher, the Uzumaki watched the ruins of Konohagakure. He suddenly wondered if inside, children who didn't even know who he was had been killed in the fire. _Did… did I go too far?_

**"You did what was necessary," **the voice argued. **"It felt good, to get even. Do not deny it. They are just trying to manipulate you, they work for Konoha, they are your enemies."**

Yes, he had many enemies, but… Kazama glanced at his old classmates. Hinata, the one person who had believed in him during the Chuunin Exams… Neji, Shikamaru, Kiba and Chouji, who nearly gave his life so he could bring Sasuke back… and so many others who had done nothing personally to him.

He had hurt them all, and he had no excuse for that.

Kazama raised his hands and observed them. They were still red with blood. Did they all deserve death? The answer was painfully obvious.

_What have I done?_

"I… I fucked up." He laughed bitterly. "I… I'm insane. That's… that's so fucked up I don't have words for it…"

"Sensei…"

"Whenever I go… whenever I go… I bring misery. Maybe… it would be better if I were gone." He observed Naruko. "Tell Izanami, and the others, that… I'm sorry. For everything."

"Wait-"

And like that, he was gone.

He vanished and rematerialized in a corner of the multiverse. It was a beach, under a shining moon. Ignoring the moonlight, he approached from the sea with only a crazed voice and his own guilt for company.

**"I do not understand. I do not. Why? Why **did you not kill** them all? I saw it, time and time again, so why? All this preparation, all this planning for the desired result, wasted for why? Why didn't you kill them? Why didn't you give your heart to me? Why? This is not logical! Why? Why?! Why?! Why?! Explain! WHY?! WHY?!"**

Kazama ignored the voice, and focused on cleansing his hands. Yet, when he stared into the water, it wasn't his face which was reflected on the water.

It was Madara's.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I've got mixed feelings about this chapter. First because it wasn't done in the best conditions, mentally-wise (see important comment at the chapter's beginning), and because writing someone in the middle of a psychotic break/power-thrill induced rampage and being talked out of it is hard to do. The fallout from this event will be heavy. Very heavy.

Anyway, next chapter will detail the Deidara battle. Would you kindly leave a review?


	50. Chapter 47: Hokage

It has been a while, is it not? Well, I did warn you updates were going to be erratic. Between the start of my mom's chemotherapy and other events I didn't have much free time. I would like to thank all the people who wished me good luck and showed concern. It was really heartwarming, boys and girls.

Thanks ABitterPill and ThirdFang for betaing.

**Previously in the story: **while Kazama is occupied rampaging, in another Konoha, his friends are fighting for their life against an alternate Deidara, who revealed himself as a pseudo-Jinchuuriki, and his accomplices. They have the help of Danzo, but is it possible to stop destruction embodied?

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 47:<strong>_

_**Hokage**_

Karasu Uchiha was used to getting beaten up.

He was never immune to pain unlike many ninja of Iwa who could take blows without flinching. In close combat his one advantage was the Sharingan, and that was it. His fighting style focused on either trapping the opponent within paralyzing illusions or launching fire techniques from distance.

So when his opponent was both invulnerable to genjutsu and fast enough to prevent the Uchiha from putting some distance between them, he would get his ass kicked nine times out of ten. This battle was no exception.

"Still standing kid?" The Sound-nin's fist hit the Susanoo's torso with the might of a sledgehammer. The mere aftershock almost brought the Uchiha to his knees. "It's alright to call it quits now. To be honest, it would make my life easier."

"Go fuck yourself," Karasu replied with a growl, his Susanoo failing to punch the lightning-fast monster. The power of this enhanced cursed seal was truly terrifying.

"You know, I laughed really hard when your girlfriend died," the Oto-nin gloated. "Oh… too soon? Don't worry you'll be reunited with her in no time flat!"

It was an obvious ploy to make the Uchiha slip up, so Karasu did his best to ignore the taunt. He prepared to use Amaterasu when his bleeding eye noticed a red ball bouncing in his direction.

The projectile hit the Susanoo's torso and bounced off it, making Karasu lose his footing. "After the bouncing ball," the Jester joked, his shape changing from spherical to humanoid, "The birds and the bees! Well, mostly the bees!"

Joining his hands, the maniac spat a cloud of small bees. They landed on the Susanoo and started devouring its chakra, dissolving it before Karasu's horrified eyes.

"That was disgusting, even by the Aburame techniques' standards!" The Sound-nin complained as his partner landed at his left. "And man, that joke wasn't funny!"

"That was no joke," the Jester cracked, "This kid _is _the joke!"

"Point made!" The Sound-nin laughed, vanishing and reappearing in front of Karasu, who, without the Susanoo as protection got his face punched for his trouble. His body staggered, and his Amaterasu missed its target, burning one of the buildings nearby.

Without wasting any time, the Sound-nin grabbed Karasu's skull and smashed it on the ground, breaking his nose and blurring his sight. He prepared for a repeat performance when a chain of bullets of wind hit his vitals and arm, forcing him to release his prey followed by a powerful gale that blasted him away.

Karasu's savior, a Naruto Uzumaki wearing a mask, jumped at his side and helped him get back to his feet.

"We need to separate them," the Dragon ANBU suggested, the Sound-nin's wounds already closing up. "Their teamwork is superior to ours."

"Hey, you hear that?" The Jester mocked, raising his mace and attempted to smash the ANBU's head with it. "Dead-Guy-Walking wants a solo performance! Don't you know jokes need someone to tell them, and someone else to listen?"

"Yours aren't funny," the ANBU replied evenly, hitting the mace with his palm that was surrounded with wind. The metal was cut in half, and the Jester's head would have suffered the same fate had his partner not pushed him out of range in the nick of time.

"Skullkisser!" The Jester ground his teeth. "You broke my mace asshole!"

"I'll buy you a new one, but only if you would kindly focus on _killing these annoyances_," the Sound-nin snapped as he attempted a horizontal strike at the ANBU. The masked teen, obviously quite slow, simply caught his counterpart's arm and twisted it. The psychopath roared in surprise and pain while the masked soldier prepared to behead him with his wind-palm.

The Jester exploited the opening, smashing the back of the attacker's head with a brick. The object exploded upon contact, much to the clown's astonishment. "I knew I should have grabbed the crowbar," he muttered, tackling the ANBU with his shoulder. "Hey, dude, what's your name? Hit Girl? 'Cause you hit like a girl!"

"The name… is Masayoshi," the ANBU snapped, kicking the clown between the legs. "I am justice."

"That's lame! I don't know, you would better call yourself Kick-Ass or something!" The Jester growled. His eyes turned red, his whiskers grew in size, and his nails turned into claws. "No, that's not right… you should just call yourself _Ass-Kicked_!"

Faster than ever, the Jester started beating up the ANBU, quickly joined by his partner. The masked man managed to land a few hits, but at one against two he was badly outmatched. A kunai in hand, Karasu attempted to discreetly sneak behind the Jester and slit his throat.

"Behind you!" The Sound-nin warned, causing his partner to jerk his head as the last moment. The clown dodged the knife and punched the Uchiha on the ribs, propelling the guy to the ground.

"Did no-one ever tell you that you should never bring a knife to a kick fight?" The Jester mocked his opponent, kicking his chest repeatedly. The Sound-nin was meanwhile giving the ANBU the beating of his life. "I thought your bad day would have taught you that, one-eye!"

Karasu groaned, unable to move. The ANBU was thrown on top of the Uchiha, while their would-be killers hand checked. "Nice pun with the kicks," the Sound-nin commented.

"Yeah, yeah, and thanks for saving my skin." The Jester glanced down at his defeated opponents. "You wanna rip the Sharingan out of this guy's face? Again?"

"Last time I spared him he escaped and caused trouble. Let's just finish them off and go help the boss."

"You heard my partner," the clown mocked, taking a kunai and preparing to gut Karasu. "Why so serious? Come on, now's your chance to get the last laugh-"

An iron hand punched the clown's face at the speed of sound, propelling him through a building's wall.

The three remaining Naruto glanced at the one responsible, a human puppet which had probably been flying toward their location as fast as he could. His body was covered with red chakra, and he radiated killing intent.

"I'm taking care of insect-man," Chibaku stated, grabbing the Sound-nin and flying with him toward the Hokage Monument. "Would you kindly take down the clown without fashion-sense?"

Karasu and the Masayoshi exchanged a glance. "With pleasure," the first said, launching a fireball toward the building the Jester had crashed into. The ANBU increased its potency with a Wind technique, causing the entire area to be set ablaze.

The Jester walked out of the flames… with four tails.

**"Man, I'm so hot," **the psycho laughed, his skin getting quickly replaced by a mix of blood and chakra. **"Admit it girls, you all wanted to bang mister fox one day or another!"**

_This is bad, _Karasu thought as the Jester began to resemble what Inari became during his fight with the resurrected Kazekage, just before the Jinchuuriki raced toward the duo and attempted to rip them apart with his claws. Both of the Narutos dodged, with the ANBU retaliating by cladding his fingers in wind and attempting to impale the Jester's heart with them. The thick chakra cloak nullified the attack without any trouble.

**"You're out of your league, Robocop." **One of the chakra tails smashed the Root ninja, propelling him three meters backward.** "I'm ****airtight****!"**

"You don't know half of what I can do," the ANBU replied, as he regained his footing and prepared a new jutsu.

**"Oh yeah? Well, I'm gonna tear you **_**in **_**half." **The mini-Kyuubi raised his fingers, small drops of blood swirling around them. Suddenly, they flew in the ANBU's direction, like bullets. **"Chakra Gatling!"**

Summoning his Susanoo again, Karasu put himself in the way, shielding his unlikely ally. **"I just needed a look at you to learn everything there is to know about you two," **the Jester taunted, increasing his firing speed. **"You both had one bad day. Someone, anyone, hurt you really bad, and you went crazy. Why else would you dress up as a crazy assassin, or stay carefree when the world is crashing down around you?"**

He opened his mouth, and unleashed a small albeit still very powerful beam of focused chakra at the Susanoo. Karasu struggled to resist, as the mini-Kyuubi kept firing blast after blast.

**"I was like you, ya know?" **the clown ranted. **"I disguised myself as that asshole Sasuke to get close to my crush… and she told me I was lucky not to have a family, and that was why I was so annoying. So I smashed her head in… just like THIS!"**

He suddenly charged at them and attempted to behead them with his claws. The ANBU leapt above the ground, enhanced his limb with chakra, and kicked the mini-Kyuubi's fangs. His skin burned a little, yet it stunned the beast long enough for Karasu to remake his Susanoo and hammered the beast into the ground.

The ANBU started moving incredibly fast, nearly too much for the Sharingan to follow. Karasu quickly realized he was using his wind powers to nullify the air resistance, increasing his mobility.

**"Yeah, that's the spirit!" **The Jester's tails moved in a chaotic frenzy, trying to hit the two Uzumaki at random. **"When I killed Sakura, it all became clear! All that talk about morality, how good guys always win, ****is**** bullshit! Civilization was but a big joke! Deep down, everyone just wants to do whatever the hell they want!"**

"That's why you're destroying thousands of lives? Because you _can_?" Karasu frowned darkly, retaliating with a volley of fireballs aiming for his enemy's eyes.

**"Meh, what's the point in being born with power if you can't lord over those who don't have it?" **The mini-Kyuubi taunted, shielding his eyes with his arms. **"Look at your pal, why else do you think he went ANBU for Danzo? He just wants the power!"**

"No," the masked man replied, launching the clown above the ground with a powerful uppercut, his human flesh melting upon contact. "I went ANBU to kill people like you."

The Susanoo grabbed the Jinchuuriki's tails mid-air and swung him to the ground like a rag doll, repeatedly.

"I went ANBU not for Danzo, or for the Leaf. I went ANBU to kill Sasuke. And now that you took my revenge away from me, I will settle on killing you and your gang." The ANBU and the Susanoo ganged up on the mini-Kyuubi, hitting him twenty times within the span of twenty seconds. "Ninjas like you and Sasuke disgust me. You use your suffering as an excuse to inflict _more _suffering!"

"Normal people don't react to misfortune by blowing up buildings!" Karasu added, his ethereal armor shattering two of the beast's fangs. "You're just a bully with an oversized ego! I suffered too, yeah, but it only hardened my resolve not to become like my tormentors! Deep down, you're just a coward who didn't have the strength to persevere!"

**"SHUT UP!" **The Jester snapped angrily, raising his claws.** "SHUT THE HELL UP!"**

His hands caught both the ANBU and the Uchiha's armor, lifted them above the soil, and pinned them to the ground. The mini-Kyuubi opened his mouth, preparing to blast his opponents at pointblank range. **"Any last word, Sharingoon?!"**

"Yeah…" Karasu was grateful the beast was finally both close _and _within his entire field of vision. "I've got one."

"Amaterasu!"

The fire spread over the surprised Jinchuuriki's face, neck, torso, and shoulders. He roared in pain, unwillingly releasing his captives, and staggered away, vainly trying to extinguish the flames by rolling to the ground. Both Karasu and Masayoshi watched the horrifying spectacle, as the psycho's flesh and bones melted.

**"Senpai!" **The Jester cried in anguish. **"Senpai, help! Save me! Save… me…"**

Karasu's eyes turned away from the spectacle, as the fire finished off the madman.

When the screaming was over, the remaining Narutos exchanged a glance, and rose back to their feet.

They had a city to save.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chibaku<strong>_

His armor radiated with crimson chakra. He doubted he would last long in this state, yet he had no choice if he wanted to keep up with the Sound-nin.

It would be victory or death.

"Let me go you metal freak!" The mutant freak complained, trying to bite Chibaku's face off. The human puppet instead flew toward the Hokage Monument, grabbed the villain's head, and smashed it against the Shodai Hokage's face. The aftershock turned the stone carving into a crater.

Yet the fight was far from over.

The Sound-nin opened his mouth, releasing a sonic blast powerful enough to stun Chibaku. The mutant freed himself from his rival's grip, grabbed the human puppet's leg, and tossed him below. The cyborg managed to regain his momentum and control, hovering just an inch above the ground.

A shadow grew above him, and a cracking sound made Chibaku's eyes rise up.

The Sound-nin had separated Danzo's face from the rest of the Hokage Monument, and had pushed it toward Chibaku.

"Oh _fuck_!" The puppeteer cursed, flying away as the gigantic rock crashed into the ground, destroying entire streets. The Sound-nin pursued his opponent with the advantage of being faster.

"I've no idea how you managed to track us down weakling, but this time I'm going to obliterate you into _scraps_!" The Sound-nin used a shunshin to appear right in front of Chibaku and punched him in the torso, bending the metal that it was made of and sending the teen to crash into a training ground below. Chibaku barely had the time to rise up before the Sound-nin was already at his throat.

Dodging proved to be very difficult, to the point Chibaku was constantly on the defensive. In the end, he wasn't able to avoid a kick between the legs, then a small series of palm strikes which destroyed a good chunk of his arsenal. He was propelled backward and his head hit the grass.

The Sound-nin was literally wiping the floor with the puppeteer's face.

_I'm going to get slaughtered if this continues, _the puppeteer thought grimly. _He's so fast… I need to keep up with his speed._

**"You can't," **the Kyuubi shot back. **"His body is genetically geared to be faster than anything. Even with my chakra you can't match his speed."**

_There has to be a solution._

**"He's so fast you can't both dodge and retaliate. But you forget: I'm here."**

Chibaku grinned inwardly, guessing the fox's plan. _While I can't match him in speed, if I put all my concentration in dodging while you attack, we may have a chance._

**"Just focus on dodging while I'll hit him," **the Kyuubi declared.

Chibaku rose back up, a one-tailed chakra cloak surrounding him. "Bring it you giant Beetle."

The mutant charged with a mighty roar.

This time, Chibaku entirely focused on dodging, ignoring openings and being entirely on the defensive. A punch missed, then a kick, then a palm strike.

The chakra tail successfully hit the Sound-nin's head, however. "You little…" Orochimaru's student snapped. "I'm gonna hurt you so bad your own mom won't recognize you! Ah, sorry, I forgot, you don't have one!"

"I don't need a mother when I've got the best partner watching my back," Chibaku replied, the chakra cloak's arms pummeling the Sound-nin's face repeatedly. _He's not that good in close combat now I negated his speed advantage. _The puppeteer had an eureka moment_. Oh hell, that's his weakness! He has focused on his speed and strength at the expense of everything else! He's overspecialized!_

To be fair, it was a pretty valid tactic. With his nature as a trained Jinchuuriki the Sound-nin was invulnerable to all but the most powerful Genjutsu, and with his speed being on par with the Yellow Flash's he was simply unbeatable in close combat if his opponent couldn't keep up. He simply moved too quickly for the reflexes of most ninjas to manage. So he traded skill for increased agility.

Considering Orochimaru had always felt overshadowed by the Yellow Flash, it made sense he learned the lesson and taught his apprentice his old rival's fighting style.

Now his main advantage was negated, probably for the first time in his life, he simply had no back-up tactic to fall back on.

"The Kyuubi, a partner? Don't make me laugh! It's just a walking chakra battery!" The Oto-nin flew away and started unleashing a series of sonic blasts, probably his only long-range Jutsu. "If you're forced to _ask _for its chakra instead of _taking _it, then you don't deserve to be Naruto Uzumaki!"

"If you're that powerful, then why are you running away?" Chibaku asked, dodging the attacks and trying to close the gap. Unfortunately, the Sound-nin had realized he was outmatched in close-combat and kept his distance, spamming his sonic blasts. He probably hoped it would hit one time, or that Chibaku's armor wouldn't stand the Kyuubi's chakra for long… and he was right.

"Pff… why can you ever comprehend anything about partnership? You're a tamed animal yourself." Chibaku chuckled, trying to taunt his opponent into slipping up. "Orochimaru trained his pet well."

"You know nothing," the mutant snapped, "I'm the best pupil Orochimaru-sama ever had!"

"That's what he told you? Right… as if Orochimaru ever cared about you. You're just a tool to him." The puppeteer laughed. "Let me guess, he found you when you were at your lowest point, telling you how much _'potential' _you had? That's he was _'proud of you'_? Do you think you're the first person in the world Snaky said that to?"

"Don't you dare insult my master you walking failure!" Obviously, the puppeteer had hit a nerve. "He's greater than you! Than anyone! He made me who I am! A conqueror! A winner! You? You're just a freak trapped in a metal shell 'cause you were too weak to defend yourself!"

"Oh, so you're a winner? Then why didn't Orochimaru teach you how to win against someone like me?" Chibaku mocked. "Maybe he wanted you not to be _too _strong… in case he had to get rid of you."

"Are you done talking?!"

Suddenly, the Sound-nin stopped firing sonic blasts and tackled Chibaku to the ground, resisting the chakra cloak's attempts at freeing its ally. "He was the only one who believed in me!" The Sound-nin snapped viciously. "I failed as a genin of Konoha, but he still took me in! He gave me power! If that's not love, I don't know what it is!"

He raised his claw. "See that? That's the perfect body and claws that can rip metal! Orochimaru-sama's power!" The Sound-nin sneered. "What have _you _got, metalboy?"

Chibaku pointed his palm at the Sound-nin's torso.

"I've got a mining laser."

Then, he fired.

His world was swallowed by light, and when it was over, the Sound-nin had a gigantic hole in the chest where the heart and lungs should have been. The mutant glanced at it in shock before collapsing onto his back, dead.

"Gotta hand it to Inari. Out of all the crazy versions of me out there, he's at least the one of the few that seems to know what he's talking about: lasers rule!" Chibaku chuckled before attempting to rise up, and failing.

**"I think the internal damage was a little too much," **the Kyuubi said, its chakra cloak receding. **"You'll live, but you won't be able to walk until you repair yourself."**

_At least, we got him. _Chibaku smiled inwardly. _Thanks. I wouldn't have done it without you._

**"Hey, you're my sidekick. Of course I'm gonna take care of you."**

_Great, now I've got to call you boss Kyuubi?_

**"Kurama."**

Chibaku stayed silent an instant. "Kurama?" He asked out loud.

**"The name is Kurama, not Kyuubi." **The fox snorted. **"You better remember it, sidekick."**

The puppeteer laughed so hard he didn't notice two people sneaking up on him.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tobirama Senju,<strong>_

_**The Hokage**_

Ablaze. The entire area had been set ablaze. It was a field of ashes.

"What's wrong, Nidaime-san?" Deidara mocked as he slowly walked towards him, taking Suiton techniques to the face without flinching. "No one-liners? Is my awesomeness making you speechless?"

"Suiton: Water Dragon!" Tobirama shouted, Kakuzu and Haku imitating him. Three projectiles of focused liquid hit the pseudo-Jinchuuriki, backed up by Danzo's bullets of wind. _Hopefully, we can solidify his magma armor and paralyze him, _Tobirama thought.

"Water and wind? What part of _'fucking walking volcano' _did you miss?" The heat around Deidara increased to the point air itself seemed affected. The Water Dragons evaporated upon coming in contact with the bomber, while the wind bullets were helpless at penetrating his armor.

_Things just got a little more complicated, _Tobirama thought as Deidara radiated with light. The ground underneath them shook a little, chakra gathering under the ninjas' feet. Pillars of fire sprung from the earth forcing Tobirama, Danzo, Kakuzu and Haku to race around the arena. "Does anyone have anything that can get past his armor?" The bounty asked. "Because without at least Fire, Wind and Lightning aligned hearts, which I'm currently lacking, I've nothing that can take him down."

"We do not need to get past the armor," Danzo said. "We can bury him alive."

Tobirama nodded. "The Sealing of the Blind?" His old student nodded, not having forgotten this formation.

Danzo joined his palms, and unleashed a blast of air at the ashes underneath Deidara's feet. The bomber was surrounded with a cloud of them, unable to see clearly. "Swamp of the Underworld!" Tobirama shouted, exploiting his target's temporary blindness.

An artificial swamp materialized underneath Deidara, swallowing him whole. Most of the water evaporated, but as the ground became soft, the bomber started sinking through it.

"He's gonna get out," Kakuzu said evenly as if talking about a story or a play he was watching in real time. "I just know it."

Two seconds later, a fist of magma smashed Danzo's face, melting the skull and brain. Tobirama's reflexes saved him from a similar fate, but he could still feel the intense heat from the close proximity.

Walking out of a portal of light, his ring lit up, the bomber cracked his knuckles. "One down, many more to go."

"The ring… that's how he can travel across dimensions," Tobirama realized. _He opened a portal underneath his feet in order to escape my trap. _He felt briefly sad at the death of his old student, yet focused back on the battle. "Target the ring! We can't trap him if he keeps it."

"Easier said than done," Kakuzu noted.

Then Danzo shoved an explosive kunai in Deidara's right eye.

Everyone blinked, doubly so when Deidara roared, more out of surprise than pain, once the weapon exploded. His eyes weren't as protected as the rest of his body, it seemed. Danzo melted due to the close contact to the bomber, yet rematerialized away, with minor clothing damage. Upon glancing at his arm, Tobirama guessed what his student had done. "Izanagi…"

"Ah yes, Sharinghax. The eye with the power to screw with the laws of reality at random. How wonderfully lame." The bomber's wounded eye had already started regenerating. "I hope for you you've got a large supply, 'cause when you don't have any left I'm gonna blow up your ass so hard you won't be able to sit down in your afterlife." The bomber paused and shuddered. "I really need to work on my one-liners."

Deidara joined his palms, shaping a dozen of bird sculptures out of his magma armor. They flew above the ground and dive-bombed Danzo, focusing exclusively on him. Tobirama exploited the opportunity to analyze the situation.

Kakuzu put a hand over his and Haku's shoulder. "Let's get away."

Both Water users glanced at him in incomprehension. "Let them kill each other," Kakuzu said. "Your techniques are powerless against this guy, and in my case, I'm not in top shape. He's not even taking us seriously. We can regroup elsewhere and prepare a _real _plan then."

"Deidara will destroy the city if we do that!" Haku replied, infuriated. "Thousands will die!"

Kakuzu shrugged his shoulders. "What would be the problem? They imprisoned us remember? And you were never there for Konoha. You were there to rescue your friend and destroy the guy's super weapon."

"True…" Tobirama trailed off, before frowning. "But I was Hokage. Even if I don't like what Konoha has become, I am bound to protect it to the best of my abilities."

"Well, if you've got suicidal tendencies, it's not my problem," Kakuzu replied, "I'm not fighting battles I'm not sure I can win. See you around."

And like that, he vanished with a shunshin.

"That ungrateful son of a-" Tobirama ground his teeth, before deciding to focus on the real threat. "No matter. We've got a pseudo-Jinchuuriki to defeat."

The aforementioned criminal was currently exchanging taunts with Danzo, who was desperately trying his best to stay alive. Tobirama blinked when the Godaime was incinerated by a ball of magma, only to materialize a few feet away.

"Even if you defeat me, Konoha will survive," the Godaime boasted, "It will endure and it will prevail."

"Please, don't use that Will of Fire bullshit. I'm fed up with it." Deidara laughed, unleashing a series of magma sculptures at his opponent. "And before you start, don't feed me that _'everything I do is for the greater good' _excuse. All you ever wanted was to prove you were right and everybody else was in the wrong. That's just how you dictators work. You delude yourself into thinking you have higher goals than your own power, but trust me, you aren't the first self-righteous autocrat that I've offed."

"Suiton: One Thousand Water Dragons!" Tobirama shouted, unleashing multiple projectiles of water at the pseudo-Jinchuuriki, backed up by spears of ice. Deidara's body radiated with light, his flames turning white. The water evaporated before it even entered in contact with the man. _Damn it, his body temperature is increasing. At this rate he'll simply have to get close to kill us._

"Everyone needs stability," Danzo replied, breathing bullets of air at Deidara's eyes, "People can't rule themselves and wish for all conflict to end. Konoha needed me. I am the strength of the Leaf."

"I beg to differ." Ignoring the assault, Deidara suddenly raced toward the Godaime with surprising speed. Danzo attempted to step back, only to have his arm caught by the pseudo-Jinchuuriki's hand. The Godaime grunted, as his flesh melted upon contact.

"People want to beat up those who insult them. People want to bang the cute girl next door. People want to do whatever the hell they feel like doing. You are not necessary… you are _un_necessary."

Then he severed Danzo's arm, burning it whole, and brutally tossed the Root leader into the ruins of his city.

"You and your beliefs are outdated. They're the remnants of an old age that just won't die, an illness that keeps poisoning us. The next century is mine, you old fart. Your traditions, your ideas, everything… I shall blast it all to ashes!" Deidara turned to face Tobirama. "And now, it's your turn to learn a lesson."

Tobirama barely had the time to blink as Deidara closed the gap between them in a flash. His mere proximity was nearly deadly, and the Second Hokage prepared to dodge his burning punch…

… Only for Deidara to get his face kicked by a foot of ice, making him stagger.

He wasn't the only one surprised. Haku herself seemed astonished that her maneuver worked. Her entire body had turned into ice. "The hell?" Deidara asked, regaining his footing. "Why didn't you melt?"

"I turned myself into the coldest, hardest ice on earth, reinforced by my chakra," Haku replied, hitting Deidara with an open palm strike. The man resisted the attack, and retaliated with a lightning-fast backhand movement. Yet, even he couldn't match the snow woman's incredible agility. "It is strong enough to resist direct contact with you."

"For now, cutie… you'll start to melt, sooner or later."

"Keep your distance, sensei," Haku said, "I'll keep him in place for as long as I can."

Grunting, Tobirama was forced to obey when he realized he was…

_Unnecessary._

Why? Why was he outmatched? Why… why Haku could keep up with Deidara, while he couldn't?

Because… because the younger generation would always surpass the previous. This was his core belief, and he had the proof right in front of him.

_There has to be a way, _Tobirama thought, trying to analyze the battle in hopes of finding Deidara's weakness. The man was pretty fast, but he obviously wasn't an expert at hand-to-hand combat, his magma armor being his main means of attack and defense. Haku was faster, dodging and hitting with the utmost grace.

"Milady, it seems my charm is leaving you cold," Deidara joked, preparing a bigger statue of magma, "Allow me to _warm _you up a bit. Boy, I feel sorry for this bad pu-"

A punch of ethereal chakra shut him up, sending him to roll a few feet away.

"Yeah, what a way to make an entrance," Chibaku commented, carried by the Dragon ANBU. Clad in his Susanoo, Karasu was at their side, as they leapt next to Tobirama. "Sorry, heroes are always late to the party."

"Oh man, what an ugly picture… half dead teens and useless old men all arrayed against the poor me." Deidara cracked his neck, as he got back to his feet. "Chibaku-kun… I see you refused my generous offer."

"Sorry, I'm on the winning team." The puppeteer shrugged. "Surrender. Your allies are either dead or in disarray. You are outnumbered five-to-one."

Deidara glanced at Karasu, taking his survival as the sign his own henchmen failed. Tobirama interpreted his brief silence for sadness, which was quickly replaced with calm, controlled anger.

"I don't need any army, because I am an army of one!" the bomber boasted confidently, "Since my protegees are dead, I don't have to care about collateral damage, do I?" He raised his hands and smashed the ground with them. "Doton: Nature's Power!"

With these words, he caused an earthquake.

Deidara's chakra awakened the power sleeping under the earth, which trembled. Buildings crumbled, ninjas were all thrown off their feet by the shockwave, and the entire region trembled. The pseudo-Jinchuuriki then opened his mouth, gathering Chakra into a sphere of pure power.

"Nobody kills my followers under my watch and gets away with it, _ever_..." The bomber exhaled, preparing the sphere in Tobirama's direction. "Deidara's C5!"

He would have probably vaporized Konoha, if a half-dead Danzo Shimura hadn't thrown himself at his face. His body burned, yet, he found the strength to activate a seal on his torso. "For the sake of the Leaf…" Danzo whispered, "I'll drag you in hell!"

"Get back you walking tumor!"

The seal ignored the warning, taking the form of a black sphere consuming anything in the vicinity. Tobirama recognized it as a suicide technique, which would seal everything nearby into the void. Deidara attempted to escape its grasp, but the blackness reached his arms, devouring them and the unfinished Bijudama. When it receded, Danzo's corpse was surrounded by a crater, falling to the ground.

"My arms!" The bomber cursed. "That old cow took my arms!"

"Without your ring, you've got no way out of this one, and without your arms, you've lost nearly all your jutsu," Chibaku pointed out. "It's over. Surrender and we'll let you live for interrogation."

The bomber grunted. "I may be armless… but I'm far from _harmless_." Deidara's eyes lit up, like twin suns. "If I go down, you _all _go down!"

The pressure around him increased.

"He's gathering his chakra in his heart and preparing to implode!" Kuebiko panicked. "He's going to blow himself up!"

"Stop that, Deidara-san!" Haku shouted. "You're going to kill yourself!"

"As long as I drag you to the underworld, I win. Soon, every single one of us is gonna vanish in a _big _nuclear mushroom." Deidara laughed darkly, his body already turning into light. "Do you see now? I'm gonna become the ultimate masterpiece!"

"We've got to stop him!" Karasu shouted, although he was aware it was too late to prevent the explosion.

_No… _Tobirama thought, as he raced toward his target as fast as he could, _it's never too late._

"Cower in awe!" Deidara gloated. "Fear my art! For this is the C0, this is death itself! I die as I lived… _with a blast_!"

Tobirama ignored him. He ignored Haku's shouts, the infernal heat burning his skin. He focused on making hand seals, and next grabbing Deidara's face, his hands melting upon contact.

A second later, the scenery vanished. Both Tobirama and his enemy left Konoha for the limbo between worlds, a place without escape.

_To think this jutsu once saved me… now it's taking me to my grave. _Tobirama smirked, as Deidara's body started imploding. He was strangely serene. He had already lived far too long anyway.

Tobirama was slightly regretful in his last moments. While he was proud that at least a few of his students turned out alright, the Hokage truly thought he hadn't done enough. He should have mentored Danzo better, or helped the world more.

In the end Deidara was perhaps right. He and the Will of Fire might have been too old, the remnant of an era long gone. They hadn't adapted to new circumstances. It was the belief it was time to go that gave the Nidaime some measure of closure.

That, and the belief Haku and so many youngsters would survive and surpass their predecessors.

_That's the Hokage's true path… to give your life so thousands may live... Brothers, father… sorry it took me so long… to see you again..._

These were Tobirama Senju's last thoughts, before atomic fire wiped him from the face of the universe.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chibaku<strong>_

After Tobirama's sacrifice and Deidara's demise, the remnants of the bomber's gang were either killed or subdued. Many had died in the conflict, and Konoha was in ruins, yet there was hope for the future. Buildings could be rebuild, and life would flourish again.

With Danzo's death, his student was promoted to Rokudaime Hokage. As the ANBU Commander and one of the heroes of the city, he had the legitimacy needed. And here he was, glancing at Chibaku with a hat too heavy for him to fill. "Once, I wanted this post with all my heart, before my… accident," the ANBU stated. "I gave up on it when I realized I didn't have the skills needed. It's ironic I inherited it anyway."

"Trust me, life loves to mess with us." Chibaku crossed his arms. "You didn't make me come to monologue, am I right, or am I right?"

The new Hokage stayed silent. "I wish to thank you. For saving my life and for helping defend this city."

"That's Tobirama you should thank more… what are you going to do now? Continue Danzo's work?"

"As I told your friend, I followed Danzo, not his ideals. With his death, I… I don't know what to do." He lowered his head. "Sasuke is gone, as is my revenge. The responsibilities of Hokage fall on me. I… I am lost."

"At least you've got a pretty assistant," Chibaku mused, "You and Shizune seem… awfully close."

"She's like a sister to me," the Hokage replied, although he seemed briefly embarrassed. "We should have switched places. She's more experienced, and I was made to take orders, not to give them."

The puppeteer stayed silent, choosing his next words carefully.

"You know, I never believed in this Will of Fire bullshit, and I honestly thought Tobirama was an old man with outdated ideals… but he was right on one point. In the end, we youngsters surpass our elders. We do not have their experience or their firepower, true, but we have the ability to learn from our predecessors' mistakes and not to repeat them."

He pointed a finger at the former ANBU's heart. "You've got to follow your own path. Not Danzo's, or Tobirama's. They both have their flaws, flaws they refused to acknowledge because it was their life's work. You can learn from their mistakes, and create a new solution to improve both yourself and the world around you."

"A solution… beyond the Will of Fire?" The Hokage betrayed a hint of excitement in his otherwise stoic voice. Chibaku took it as the sign somewhere in this cold individual, Naruto Uzumaki remained in some form. "It sounds promising."

"You could start by reforming the Academy. Brainwashing and traumatizing the young is never a good idea." Chibaku shuddered upon remembering Sasori's personal take on the _'birds and bees' _talk. "And end this personality cult around the Hokage. A good friend of mine taught me people should try taking matters in their hands instead of waiting for a leader to solve issues for them."

"You have a point. It is difficult to look toward the future, when you are taught to idealize the past." The Hokage inhaled sharply. "This Teikoku will come back."

"Not if we turn the table around. They've been rampaging for too long… it's time to counter-attack." Chibaku extended his hand. "Will you fight with us?"

The former ANBU glanced at the hand, then shook it. "I will do my best to repay your help."

Chibaku noticed his counterpart had put something in the puppeteer's hand: a ring. "That's-"

"We opened Danzo's seal. The Bijudama had long disintegrated, but we managed to salvage Deidara's arms. Since you have lost your way back home, I thought you might find this useful. Should you need any help, my door is always open." The ANBU stayed silent an instant. "Goodbye. I have the feeling we shall meet again in the near future."

After leaving the new Hokage, Chibaku went on to find Haku. She had just finished placing flowers before Konoha's memorial. Tobirama's name had been graved on it. "First Zabuza, now Kuebiko… why do my mentors always die while I live?"

"I've got no answer to that Haku. It happened, whether we like it or not." He put a hand over her shoulder. "I understand how you feel. Sasori, Zabuza… our mentors were such an important element in our lives their deaths left a hole in our heart we can never fill again."

"I guess we are alike in this regard." She smiled and examined him. "You look much better."

"Repairs, my friend. That, and I've found a new way to fight: I focus on the movements, while my partner's chakra operates the weapons."

Haku briefly raised an eyebrow at the 'partner' comment, but quickly corrected her expression. "I see… I am glad to reached understanding with the Bijuu. It is a living being too, with feelings. I'm sad it took me so long to understand that."

**"Meh, she's been around Jinchuuriki for months and she got it already, while you lived at my doorstep for more than a decade and you only got it now. Geez, you're slow."**

_I knew you had feelings… it's just I didn't appreciate you back then. _"I guess it's time to work side by side instead of in spite of each other." Chibaku snorted. "Where's Karasu? We've got to do something."

"He was trying to locate Kakuzu. The bastard fled mid-battle."

"I don't blame him. Honestly, if we weren't friends, I would have done the same. This Deidara was crazy powerful. I mean almost nothing we had could harm him, and he was _that_ close of killing us all on his own. If all the leaders of Teikoku are as strong as him then we are beyond screwed." He chuckled at Haku's astonished face. "What?"

"It's…" She scratched the back of her head and smirked. "It was pretty noble of you to come back for us. I'm… not used to trusting someone to watch my back. I used to focus on watching Zabuza-sama's, but... it feels like it was years ago."

_My, that came out wrong. _"It's a new experience for me too, but I guess things can change for the better."

They found Karasu in the hospital center, occupied watching at the Sound-nin's corpse. He barely acknowledged his friends' presence. "Sorry," Chibaku said. "I robbed you of your revenge."

"I follow the _'first chance, first killed' _policy. As long as he paid for his crimes, I don't care if it was by my hand or someone else. I would have hated you if you had let him get away, but I'm glad my girlfriend and so many can finally rest in peace."

Chibaku shook his head. "It's pretty sad, actually. I could easily have turned into him had Orochimaru been the one to find me. Or I could have become the psycho clown if it had been Deidara. They were products of their environment."

"I am not certain," Karasu replied, "I don't think our mentor conditions who we are. In the end, whether or not we follow their ideals, is our choice. They made their own, but they could have easily chosen the opposite path."

"Too true. A reason behind a bad behavior, does not excuse it." Chibaku put a hand over the Uchiha's shoulder. "It's time to go."

"Where?"

"I'll explain on the way."

It took Chibaku a few hours to reach the Relay. Carrying both Karasu and Haku at the same time was more difficult than predicted. When they landed in front of the structure, the Uchiha's eye changed shape.

"Are you certain?" Karasu asked. "This might be our best chance to see our friends again."

"The risk is too great," Haku pointed out, "The longer this thing stands, the greater the chances of it opening and allowing Teikoku to invade this world. I doubt it can survive a second invasion this time."

"If so… Amaterasu!"

Black flames quickly spread over the structure, melting it, and ending its threat forever. The trio observed the inferno in silence, which was quickly broken by Karasu. "What do we do now?"

"We could find Kakuzu," Haku suggested. "As much as I loathe him, the information he has on Teikoku are invaluable."

"Point taken." Chibaku put Deidara's ring on his finger. "In the meantime, I'll try finding a way to make it work. Deidara could open portals by raising his hand and channeling his chakra through it. Maybe I could do the same and bring us back home. At worst, Kazama will probably teleport to our location when he realizes we aren't coming back."

"The ring might be a receptor," Karasu pointed out. "Yamanaka, in war, can form a network of minds relaying information at high speed. Maybe it works the same way?"

"I can't be sure." Chibaku raised his hand. "Maybe…"

A portal of light opened in front of them.

"Wow, you mastered it quickly." Karasu raised an eyebrow, when Chibaku put himself on guard. "What?"

"I didn't do anything," he said, his voice betraying his fear, "This is not _my _portal."

Five seconds later, two individuals walked out of the light, both clad in black robes. Chibaku could feel their tremendous power simply by glancing at them.

"My, my, so the unstoppable living volcano was... stopped?" Chibaku instantly recognized Kabuto Yakushi's voice, yet the man in front of him simply couldn't be him. His skin had been replaced with thick white scales, his eyes were golden, and his tongue was that of a snake. "I guess it explains why Deidara-kun didn't answer to my previous messages."

"This is a shame. He was such a lovely fellow to hang around with." The second man licked his lips, his Mangekyo Sharingan shining with malevolence. His face was awfully familiar. "These youngsters are pretty cute, Kabuto-san. With a few enhancements, we could make them so beautiful…"

"S-Sasuke?" Karasu paled, recognizing his brother.

"I am sorry… Sasuke-kun doesn't live here anymore." He grinned sadistically. "I am Orochimaru of the Sannin, the immortal warrior, and the greatest ninja there ever was."

The trio instantly prepared to fight for their life.

"So…" Orochimaru cracked his neck, unimpressed. "Would you kindly tell me where my student is?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Omake:<strong>_

_**Why Kazama should NEVER visit Warhammer 40K**_

"M-Madara!" Kazama shouted, as four deities were trying to take him with them, each in a different direction. "Help!"

"Sorry, you put yourself in this situation on your own," the old man replied, enjoying the show. "Welcome to Team Evil."

"He destroyed a city in blind anger!" Khorne, god of rage, argued, almost ripping Kazama's arm from the rest of the body in his fury. "Which means his soul belongs to the SKULL THRONE!"

"Oh come on, he's a cosmic pawn with great ambitions!" Tzeentch, god of schemes, replied, grabbing Kazama's ankles with tentacles. "He's totally mine!"

"He joined evil out of despair, remember?" Nurgle, god of despair and pestilence, gently petted Kazama's hair, flies instantly installing themselves there. "Come with me. Papa Nurgle will take good care of you."

"Have you _seen _his girlfriend?" Complained Slaanesh, god (or goddess; it worked both ways) of unrestrained pleasure. "This couple's sheer depravity earned them an eternal spot among my followers!"

"Who would have thought joining the dark side was so complicated," Madara muttered. "I guess they shouldn't call themselves Chaos Undivided, but Chaos _Divided_."

"Join Chaos, this is a growing industry! We're always hiring!" A Daemon shouted. "We've got cookies! EVIL cookies! And fruit juice made of fruits… SINFUL fruits! And you've got free vacations… IN HELL! FOR LIFE!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **if you're not happy with the chapter, well, I share the feeling. One of my weakest, in that it doesn't have the emotional/character development of the previous. To be honest, it's mostly preparation for the final arc.

For Root!Naruto's lack of personality... he was trained by Danzo. Of course his emotional responses are a bit off.

Next chapter will be the Pain battle and should be MUCH more badass. I've got a few surprises in store for you guys. Then a chapter that will close up all loose ends, and then we start the final arc.

However, I can't predict when the next update will come, or when exactly I'm going to update my other stories. Sorry.

Best regards.

PS: was I the only one who thought Team 8 was abandoned?


	51. Chapter 48: Divine Wrath

Hey guys, I'm still alive. But honestly? My gosh my lack of free time is killing me.

Anyway, since it has been a while since I didn't update, it's recap time!

**Previously in Echoes:**

The group is dispersed. While Chibaku, Haku and Karasu have been captured by dangerous enemies, Naruko and Sasuke barely put an end to Kazama's mindless rampage, leading their former leader to exile himself out of guilt. But what about Konan, the Dark Wolf, Yugito, Mei, and Izanami? They are still on the turtle island, fighting for their life against a Pain gone mad.

They have defeated men before... but can they defeat a god?

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 48: Divine Wrath<strong>_

The battle started with a shockwave.

The forest covering the turtle island was reduced to rubble, trees broke in half under the pressure like toothpicks and the hills that made its unique landscape were blown away like dust. The entire island shook, and Zetsu's artificial manor was reduced to nothing but splintered ruins.

Yugito was worried for Izanami, and prayed the plant man had protected her. In her state, it wouldn't be wise for her to participate. The fact the Dark Wolf emerged alone from the rubble only increased the Jinchuuriki's worries.

She briefly analyzed the battle's odds. The Dark Wolf, Mei, Konan, and herself against what appeared to be a set of six Rinnegan Paths. This was pretty bad, considering how tough Susanoo had been to subdue-

One of the Paths of Pain, the one with long hair, was suddenly bisected vertically. Without wasting any time, the Dark Wolf proceeded to behead another, one with its hair in a high ponytail, with her twin blades.

Suddenly freed from self-doubts, Yugito quickly focused on the nearest Path, which had started firing missiles toward the former Kumo-nin. Quickly dodging them, she retaliated by a series of fire blasts. The animated corpse flew away, but the much faster Jinchuuriki caught up with him. Turning her nails into claws, the Kunoichi slashed the Path's neck, tearing the head apart from the body.

Meanwhile, the Dark Wolf was dismembering her third victim, and Mei was easily incinerating another Path with her Boil Release. The only Path left was the leader, and Konan was currently exchanging gravity-propelled rocks with him.

"Nagato!" Konan shouted to the Deva Path. "You dare desecrate Yahiko's body? Have you gone mad?"

"Silence!" He snarled. "You are not Konan! Konan is dead! You have no right to speak with her mouth, with her voice! Die!"

"I think not…" Paper tags swirled around the Deva Path the instant its latest shockwave passed them and exploiting the five second window, lifting him above the ground. "Shikigami Dance!"

A spear of paper flew from heavens at the speed of sound, impaling the Deva Path's head and killing him instantly. The four ladies remained as the victors.

All in all, the battle had lasted two minutes.

"Wow… ladies, that was… anticlimactic," Mei whispered. "I expected more from the wielder of the Rinnegan."

"As did I." Konan narrowed her eyes. "This was far too easy. Even with the surprise effect, they should have put up a better fight. Something is not right."

"Their reaction time was too slow, their movements too sluggish," the Dark Wolf added. "It was as if something was disturbing their control."

_**"Kitten, above you!"**_

Hearing the Nibi's warning, Yugito raised her eyes to the skies and gasped as she noticed a giant blue fireball being launched in her direction. The group dispersed, while the Jinchuuriki protected herself by breathing flames of her own as an improvised shield. _Does he have other Paths? _Yugito wondered as the blast was stopped by her technique. _Or did he-_

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she started flying, a powerful force lifting her off the ground. When she was around one hundred meters above the soil, her ascension was interrupted.

Instead, Pain chose to descend to her level.

The person in front of her could hardly be called a man. It was a humanoid creature, with scales instead of skin, and a reptilian tail. It had a human face, red hair, and his eyes were the Rinnegan. It was wearing white and black monk robes. The man glanced down at Yugito, and started speaking with an inhuman, cold voice. "Yugito Nii… you should be… dead."

"Pain, I presume?" She hissed.

"I have many names… but today… you can call me… _**God**_." He raised his right hand. "It does not matter how you came back from the dead… Yugito Nii… for I shall send you back to your grave… this very instant."

With these last words, Yugito felt her ribs starting being crushed by an invisible force. She resisted the temptation of screaming in pain, unwilling to give this madman any satisfaction.

A spear flew through the air aimed for Pain's head. In response, the man raised his left hand stopping the projectile midair. Yugito quickly realized this weapon was made of paper.

Explosive tags to be precise.

The powerful blast did not touch Pain, the fire being mysteriously repelled within an inch of his skin. However, the shock made him lose his focus, and Yugito fell. Not even three seconds into her decent, a winged Konan grabbed her and flew away from the enraged Akatsuki leader.

"Thanks..." Yugito coughed in pain, glancing at their opponent. "What the hell... happened to him?"

"I don't know!" Konan replied, dropping her friend to the ground and launching a new volley of spears at her former friend. "This never happened in my universe!"

It took a mere movement of his hand for Pain to redirect the spears away. "You are not… Konan…" He trailed off, glaring down at the group. "Konan is dead… they're all dead…"

The Dark Wolf seized the opportunity to gain as much momentum as possible, and leapt toward Nagato intending to slice him in half. Pain absentmindedly stopped her midair, lifting her with the sheer force of his mind.

"Gravity… is one of the four fundamental forces of reality…" Nagato explained, as he raised his index toward the skies. "Here you shall feel… its power."

The samurai was instantly sent flying up… and up… and up, going through the clouds without slowing down in the slightest.

"He's going to send her into orbit!" Konan paled, before flying in pursuit of the Dark Wolf, leaving Yugito and Mei to fight together… except the latter had vanished from the Jinchuuriki's sight. _Where is she?_

"Now…" Nagato raised his fist, and the ground trembled. Yugito's eyes widened in horror, upon realizing the madman was lifting _the entire turtle island _above the sea. Her feelings were mirrored by the massive creature itself roaring in protest as it moved its massive limbs everywhere in an attempt to get back to its habitat. "You'll join them… all of you…"

Unwilling to be sent in orbit and unable to understand how _anyone _could wield such a terrifying power, Yugito tapped into the Nibi's chakra and fired a blast of fire at Nagato...

Only for a cloud of sand to swirl around Pain, shielding him completely. The madman, while still pulling the turtle island out of water, pointed a finger at Yugito, releasing a stream of blue fire in her direction.

_**"Oh, shit, I know what's happening," **_the Nibi whispered. _**"He sealed the Bijuu inside himself. All of them, except the Kyuubi."**_

_The Ten-Tails? _Yugito blinked, as she was nearly torched to ashes by the inferno, surviving only thanks to her amazing speed. _He's the Jinchuuriki of the __**Ten-Tails**__?_

_**"Kitten… without the Kyuubi's chakra to complete the transformation, the Ten-Tails can't be reborn. Pain didn't fuse the Bijuu: he sealed the eight of them inside **__**himself. **_**Individually**_**. The reason he can barely talk is that the Tailed Beasts are probably struggling to take him over from the inside as we speak. It must take everything he has to keep them suppressed while he channels their power."**_

_That's why we killed the Paths so easily, _Yugito realized. _He couldn't properly focus on __controlling__ them._

Tapping into the full power of the Nibi, Yugito adopted her Tailed Beast form and roared, firing a gigantic fireball at Pain. This time the sand barely held it back, and Nagato lost his focus, the island trembling as it fell back on the water. _I'll take him in one hit with the Plasma-_

The Jinchuuriki was snapped out of her thoughts, as a giant rock hit her in the jaw, making her lose her focus and nearly knocking her out. Dozens of rocks and trees hovered over the ground, swirling around Pain like a tornado.

Then, he threw them all at Yugito.

The giant cat attempted to dodge, but she was quickly overwhelmed by the barrage of projectiles. One rock hit her legs, another her face, a third one her torso, until she was pummeled to the ground by an avalanche of broken trees, forcing her to retake her human shape. Then a shadow recovered her, as Pain prepared to crush her under a gigantic, hill sized boulder. _No… _she thought. _It can't end… like __this__._

_**"YUGITO!"**_

Darkness overcame her.

"Not so fast."

The voice caused Yugito to awaken again, facing a familiar, tired face. "Iz… Izanami?"

"Yes," the woman said, helping the Jinchuuriki back to her feet. "Zetsu got away, I'm afraid…" She glared at the skies. Pain wasn't looking in their direction, instead focusing on a giant pile of rocks.

The Uchiha had teleported Yugito behind Pain's back, and he was too focused on what he had just done to notice.

"Can you fight?" Yugito asked, as the god wannabe slowly turned around, noticing them.

"Honestly? I'm so weakened simply teleporting with you almost made me pass out." The woman frowned. "Let's use everything we have before I fall asleep, alright?"

The blonde nodded, and together the two women made a long series of hand seals, each firing the strongest fireball they could muster. The projectiles flew in the air, turned Pain's sand shield to glass, melted it, and reached the madman.

And it was all for naught.

A powerful, invisible wave of pure power pushed back the fire, and tossed the two ninjas to their back. The pressure doubled, tripled, until Yugito could feel her bones slowly crack under Pain's enhanced gravity. The ground itself sank underneath her.

"I am… incomplete…" Pain rasped. "I have eight parts within me, but I lack one… I can hardly control myself… but when I shall rip the Kyuubi from this girl… then a creator god I shall become… one able to bring peace to the world… and you shall not stop me… no one will."

He descended to the ground, glaring down at Yugito.

"Where… is the Kyuubi?" He raised his hand, and Yugito coughed as a bone in her leg was shattered by the pressure. "Where… answer!"

A powerful Water Dragon Bullet hit Pain's face faster than his sand protection could activate, tossing him a few meters backward. The madman glared at the source of the attack, only to blown away by a huge body of water.

Water surrounded Yugito and Izanami, but instead of drowning them, the liquid simply dragged them out of range.

"Sorry for the delay," Mei Terumi's voice stated, as she appeared, standing over a flying platform of water. "I had to bring as much seawater inland as I could."

Raising her head with a good deal of effort, Yugito simply smirked and watched the fight unfold.

Mei hadn't been kidding. The entire battlefield had been flooded, forcing Pain to stand over water. "You face… the master of reality itself…" he hissed, raising his palm. "You can't-"

The water underneath his feet turned into spikes and impaled his legs, making him scream in pain and surprise.

"Your sheer power is amazing, but you need to focus to control it," Mei replied, starting a long chain of hand seal after hand seal. "It's not something you're doing instinctively. You need all your concentration to push back attacks, and I'm not going to leave you any break."

Pain roared, freeing himself with the Nibi's blue fire and summoning another cloud of sand. Mei's water collided with it, reducing it into inert mud, before turning into another Water Dragon Bullet and hitting Nagato's torso.

Yugito watched in amazement, as Mei unleashed dozens of differently shaped water projectiles at her target. With so much liquid nearby, she had near unlimited resources to tap into. Nagato floated above the ground to dodge the onslaught, before firing a blast of wind at Mei. The kunoichi absentmindedly created a shield of water around herself, which stopped the attack, and joined her palms again.

Four Water Dragons swirled around Nagato and hit him from all directions, immobilizing him. Meanwhile, Mei gathered the rest of her seawater above Pain, making it adopt the shape of a giant sphere.

"Water Release!" Mei snarled, "Poseidon Force!"

The sphere collapsed onto Pain like a hammer.

He crashed to the ground, and the water body kept pressuring him, making the ground tremble. His snarls were silenced, and his resistance failed to stop the inevitable. Mei however kept focusing, intending to drown her opponent.

The water sphere suddenly imploded, turning inert.

Yugito had no idea how he managed to free himself, but Pain did, rising up back to his healing feet. Mei frowned, and sent a tidal wave in his direction. The man raised his hand, stopping it. His eyes drifted at Mei.

Except it wasn't the Rinnegan any longer. His eyes had been replaced with a green glow, and chakra of the same color exuded from Pain's skin. "Disappear, weakling," Nagato whispered with a faint, nearly cordial tone.

_**"Oh shit," **_the Nibi whispered, _**"I think Isobu took over…"**_

With a snap of the fingers, the possessed Nagato sent the water back at Mei, tossing her to her back. Seawater swirled around her limbs like shackles, and Yugito and Izanami quickly suffered the same faint. The chains were strong, and controlled directly by the Sanbi's will. _Nibi, we've got to do something! _Yugito mentally panicked.

_**"Your body is too damaged…" **_The cat inhaled. _**"We need a miracle here."**_

"Now, poor humans," the Sanbi-possessed Nagato whispered calmly, shaping drills of water and making them float above his captives' head, "Time to sleep… _forever_."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Konan<strong>_

Konan had never seen space.

Truth to be told, she had never used the Deva Path to fly above the clouds before. She had always stopped below them. Beyond, it was the unknown, the coldness, the nothing. As she kept pursuing the Dark Wolf, the paper woman started struggling to breath, and ice began covering her body.

Using her tags to cover her unprotected skin from possible frost burns, Konan used others to catch the Dark Wolf, stopping her ascent before she exited the atmosphere and forming a cocoon of paper around the blonde. The warrior's armor was covered with ice, and she had been knocked out by the extreme experience.

Bringing the two of them down, Konan examined her options. The samurai was helpless, Kazama had gone to Konoha, followed by Sasuke and Naruko, and Yugito and Mei were alone against Nagato. A plan forming in her mind, the woman mentally directed her paper cocoon in Konoha's rough direction, hoping seeing the samurai in such a state would convince Kazama to come back to the turtle island as fast as he could.

Konan then flew back to her target, thinking about what she should do. It was Nagato she was about to confront. The man who had sacrificed his life for Ame.

_My Nagato is dead, _she told herself. _My Nagato was a loyal friend, who gave his life for others, and who gifted me with these eyes so I could bring his dream of peace to reality. This man may have the same face, but he used Yahiko's body as puppet, and attacked us without a care. For the honor of Nagato and Yahiko to stay unsullied… I will stop him._

When Pain was in sight once more, Konan realized he was about to kill Yugito, Mei, and the apparently still alive Izanami, all at the same time.

Thinking quickly, Konan used the Deva Path's power to toss Pain to his back, releasing his hold on his captives. Only Mei managed to regain her footing, her companions too weakened to even stand. The Kiri-nin prepared to fight, only for Konan to land in front of her. "No," she said, "Take the others to safety. I will handle him. I _must _handle him."

"Another human?" Pain wondered with a voice that wasn't his own, as he regained his footing. In fact, Konan identified it instantly.

How could she forget the voice of the creature that nearly brought her city to ruin?

"Be careful," Mei warned, "He's possessed by-"

"The Sanbi," Konan narrowed her eyes, "How wonderful. There's something I've wanted to do to it for a very long time…"

Pain raised an eyebrow, only to be blasted away two seconds later by a powerful Shinra Tensei. Konan glanced at Mei. "I'll drag him farther inland, away from water," she said, quickly flying after the god wannabe, "It's going to get pretty dangerous around here."

She quickly caught up to Pain. The man was hissing, surrounded by a red aura. Konan felt the temperature distinctively increase, as her opponent adopted a simian like pose.

"You had your chance Isobu," Pain told himself, his voice distinctively deepening, "Now it's my turn." He raised his left hand, and unleashed a powerful stream of fire at Konan. The woman easily pushed the attack back to the sender with a Shinra Tensei, causing the possessed Pain to angrily launch fireball after fireball in impotent rage. The paper woman easily dodged them, and upon finding an opening, threw razor-sharp sheet of reinforced paper at Pain's throat, slicing it open.

_Without a Shinobi's intelligence behind these attacks, all this power is worthless, _Konan thought, before paling as Pain's wounds regenerated nearly instantly. _I'm pretty sure I cut the arteries with this one. If he can regenerate from a fatal wound so easily… _She slammed her palms together. _I will need to end it all with one blow._

"You despicable simian!" Pain roared, another Bijuu taking the body over. A golden aura surrounded the man, and the earth underneath his feet turned into uncontrolled desert sand.

Unfortunately for him, Konan was faster.

"Origami Jutsu!" Konan shouted, as she summoned thousands of paper sheets around her opponent. "Fiery Dance!"

At this moment, the possessed Uzumaki realized the sheets were all explosive tags.

The blast shook the entire island, and Konan struggled to keep her footing. Pain screamed, as his body was consumed by fire faster for his advanced healing factor to keep up. Although her friend's wail shook the paper woman to the core, she forced herself to stand tall. _I'm sorry Nagato, _she thought grimly, as she watched the inferno. _You brought it upon yourself._

Pain's chakra suddenly skyrocketed, and a powerful, oppressive feeling snapped Konan out of her trance.

Where Pain used to stand, a shadowy form started growing, quickly reaching the size of a hill. It was impossible to clearly describe the thing Konan was facing. It was a formless mass of mismatched tentacles, scales, claws, eyes and mouth, a grotesque, ever changing fusion of the Tailed Beasts themselves.

_Pain and the Bijuu lost control, _Konan realized in horror, as the monstrous beast in front of her kept growing, _Now none of them is dominant, Pain's body itself has turned unstable-_

**"DIE!" **The creature roared at Konan, as it tried to crush her with a tentacle as thick as a tree. The kunoichi dodged on pure instinct, and regained enough composure to order her flying explosive tags to swarm the monster. Unfortunately, its body resisted the explosions without flinching.

_If explosions can't harm it, then maybe I could use the Rinnegan to throw it into orbit, like Nagato tried with the Dark Wolf? _Konan wondered, flying away as the creature attempted to crush her repeatedly. _But I don't have his sheer power and this thing is much heavier than a human…_

The monster's roars intensified, as it gathered chakra in front of one of its mouths. Multiple colored chakra fused into a single sphere, which was launched at Konan at extreme speed.

"Shinra Tensei!" The invisible push redirected the Bijuudama to the skies, where it exploded above the clouds and blasted them away with such force that the sky was clear once the remains of the attack faded away. _I can't stay on the defensive forever and this monster won't let me focus long enough to send it in orbit, _Konan thought, formulating another plan, _I've no choice._

Taking the beast by surprise, Konan flew close to one of its tentacles. When the creature predictably attempted to smash her with it, the kunoichi dodged, then grabbed the limb and focused.

Activating the Preta Path's power, Konan started absorbing the creature's chakra.

This was a very strange experience. Konan was not very experienced in this area of the Rinnegan's powers, and her perception of the creature's chakra could be summed up as 'complete chaos'. The eight Bijuu's chakra were fighting one another, with Pain's chakra as the anchor keeping them all together, like a nexus.

Barely.

_My body is too weak to absorb everything, _Konan thought, _But… if I destroy the anchor, then this creature will disappear._

The moment she latched onto her target's chakra, the creature's seized up as if undergoing a full body cramp. Konan focused on Pain's remaining chakra, filtrating it from the Bijuu's, and started consuming it. Unlike the Tailed Beast's chaotic, malevolent aura, Pain's chakra felt both warm and cold, conflicted.

As Konan absorbed Nagato's chakra, his memories dripped into her mind like a river.

Konan watched, as Nagato smiled when he mastered his first Jutsu.

Konan watched, as Nagato smirked when he tricked Yahiko into going on a date with Konan herself.

Konan watched, as Nagato screamed when Yahiko killed himself.

A discord of voices echoed in the back of her mind, as Pain's chakra was slowly drained.

_"Someone stop her! She's killing our host! If he dies, he will drag us all to the grave!"_

_"Who cares? I have enough of this prison of flesh… death shall free us from our chains at last."_

_"Are you insane? I will not die here! I _**refuse**_ to die here!"_

_"You want a piece of my chakra, miserable worm? Then get this one!"_

The Ichibi's memories flooded Konan's mind like a tsunami.

Nagato was replaced with a sterile desert. His first jutsu was replaced with the violent death of a Suna-nin, as sand crushed his limbs to a bloody pulp. Happy memories were replaced with the souvenirs of the gruesome murders the Ichibi had forced his containers to commit.

_"If I can't break your body, then I will break __your pathetic mind__!"_

The Ichibi's insanity infected Konan's mind like a poison, as it tried to drive the kunoichi mad. It was difficult to resist such a vicious mental assault, yet the paper woman refused to break.

Nagato was still there. Nagato was her goal. Nagato had grown up with her. Nagato had been her friend. Nagato had given her this chance. Nagato had given her his eyes.

Nagato had to die.

_"I will make you beg and die and suffer and scream and bleed and kill!" _Shukaku's crazed rant grew in intensity. _"Do you hear me? Rivers of blood, mountains of flesh! I will make you watch your world **die**! I will destroy everything you ever knew! __**Everything**__! And then I will slaughter the afterlife and murder you all over again! And again and again and ag-"_

"All your hatred can't destroy me, Bijuu," Konan replied calmly, as she focused on expelling the Ichibi's presence from her mind. "Disappear."

Shukaku screamed, but its voice was quickly silenced by Konan's iron will. She continued to focus on Pain's chakra, drawing more and more of it and ignoring the chains of screams and rants that accompanied the action.

After a time, her world was replaced by a blank. She found herself standing in front of Nagato. Not Pain, but the Nagato she had known and loved.

"Am I… dead?" He asked, glancing around himself. "Could this be hell?"

"No," Konan replied, "You're not dead." She sighed sadly. "But you will be soon enough."

He glanced at the kunoichi. "You are not Konan," Nagato said. "Konan is dead. She sacrificed herself so we could gather all the Bijuu. So who are you? An angel?"

"I am Konan, and yet not the one you knew," the woman replied, "It's… complicated."

Nagato kept his mouth shut for a moment, trapped in his thoughts. "Where are we?"

"I think this is the void between life and death," Konan said. "Your body is possessed by the eight Tailed Beasts. I have been trying to…" She struggled to find her words.

"Kill me?" Nagato guessed, Konan nodding her head in confirmation. "So I failed to control them. I hoped it wouldn't come to this."

"Why?" Konan asked in anger. "Why did you seal them inside you? You knew one man couldn't possibly control them!"

Nagato's gaze turned sad and regretful. "I had come too far to let all the sacrifices we made go to waste."

Konan shut her mouth and listened.

"Yahiko wanted to change the world, to bring peace… when he died, I felt this duty fell upon me." The Uzumaki inhaled sharply. "But the ninja world is rotten. The strong kill the weak, and the system won't reform. I thought something drastic was needed to change the status quo. I allied myself with Madara to create this change. But when he and the Kyuubi disappeared, it was all for naught. The nine Tailed Beasts must be brought together for their true power to be revealed. My hopes had been crushed from the very beginning… I just didn't realize it until it was too late."

Nagato massaged his temples in shame. "Konan, everyone… they sacrificed themselves so I could gather the remaining Bijuu. I refused these deaths to be in vain. So I thought… maybe I could become this world's savior. The sage with the power to build a new, better world, to bring peace to all corners of the earth. I was mistaken. In the end… I was just a deluded fool." He locked eyes with the kunoichi. "Finish me off."

"Nagato, it's not too late!" Konan panicked, still clinging to her last hope of seeing her friend alive again. "You can fight the Tailed Beasts and regain control!"

"That would be only temporary. In the end, they will overwhelm me again and spread destruction." Nagato closed his eyes. "I brought this fate upon myself. I have no idea what punishment awaits me in the afterlife, but I deserve it."

"This is not too late for you to redeem yourself!" Konan supplicated.

"What I've done… you would need thousands of lifetimes to make up for it. And in the end, it wasn't worth it." Nagato smiled. "May I ask you a favor? Please… succeed where I failed. Will you build a better world than this one?"

"I… I promise," Konan trailed off, "I will build a world… where another Pain will never arise."

Nagato chuckled sadly, and then vanished in light.

"I'm sorry, Konan."

When Konan returned to reality, the last ounce of Pain's chakra vanished, killing him.

The Tailed Beasts wailed in unison as their host's death spelled their own. The chaotic mass of flesh quickly crumbled into dust, its chakra evaporating without an anchor to keep it all in one body. When the wind started blowing, Konan stood alone in a field of ashes.

She had prevailed.

The kunoichi tried to maintain her usual stoic expression, but failed. A tear rained down on her cheek, and then another, until she found herself crying.

Why was this world so cruel? Was she doomed to watch the people she loved die again and again, forever?

The sound of hand clapping behind herself snapped her out of her thoughts. Konan slowly turned around.

"I am impressed," the newcomer commented, as he cheered Konan, "You have fought so wonderfully. It was amazing. As amazing as my own battle with Pain, to be honest. I almost regret we can't work together. Such a shame you guys wouldn't agree with my plans."

Konan paled upon recognizing him.

"I apologize for ruining your mourning moment, but you know what they say," he commented, his blue eyes turning red, "When you can't join them, _beat them_."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yugito<strong>_

When Yugito opened her eyes again, the first thing she noticed was the chains.

Red chains of pure chakra where holding her above the ground, restraining her arms and legs. Yugito, regaining her composure, glanced around herself.

The room she was trapped in looked like the inside of a temple, a place made of white stone and pillars. Statues of the Bijuu surrounded her, with Ichibi and Nibi of stone holding the chains holding her up. Not so far away, statues of the Hachibi and Kyuubi were restraining Izanami, trapped in a similar situation. She appeared to be unconscious.

Yugito grunted and attempted to draw into the Nibi's chakra in order to free herself… and found her connection to the Bijuu nonexistent.

Not damaged.

_Nonexistent_.

She couldn't even feel it anymore.

Angered and confused, Yugito attempted to use her own chakra and strength to free herself, but not only did the chains hold on, they also suppressed her chakra and tightened their grip, causing the Jinchuuriki to gasp in pain.

"I wouldn't try if I were you," a familiar voice told her, "They can hold a Bijuu. I know, I checked."

Yugito glanced at the source of the warning. Mei Terumi was standing in front of her, free, but looking as cold as ice. "Mei?" The Kumo-nin asked in disbelief. "They got you too?"

Mei frowned sadly. "They got me a long time ago."

Suddenly, Yugito understood the situation, and glared at her former ally. "You traitor!" she snarled, genuinely hurt. "I… we all trusted you!"

"Don't take it personally," a new voice interrupted the argument, "She was never on your team to begin with. It's your fault for having been fooled, not Mei-san's."

Yugito glanced at the newcomer, and instantly recognized him. This Naruto Uzumaki was older than usual, looking taller and more regal. His red clothes were somewhat unusual, and the Kumo-nin instantly picked up the scent of fresh blood on them. However, what interested her the most was the ring on his finger.

It looked a lot like Mei's.

"Ladies," the Naruto smirked, "Welcome to Teikoku."

Yugito frowned, and glared at Mei. "You were working for them all along, am I right?" she guessed.

"No," she replied. "I… I am not the Mei you befriended. I never was."

"She fooled you completely, didn't she?" the Naruto commented, his voice affable and friendly. "When I killed _your _Mei Terumi after you fought Madara and replaced her with another, I admit I had doubts it would work. But hey, Mei-san's a fantastic actress."

Yugito paled in horror. "You… _what_?"

"It was pretty easy," the Naruto Uzumaki gloated, "I've been trailing your little gang for a while, and when I realized you had a Mei Terumi in your team, I seized the opportunity. She was too tired and isolated after you beat up Susanoo to last more than five seconds."

The false Mei narrowed her eyes in obvious displeasure. "If my presence is not needed, I shall take my leave," she said. "I've got to people to look after."

"Yeah, do what you want," the Naruto replied without a care in the world, as Mei vanished with a Shunshin. He rolled his eyes, and glanced at Yugito. "Ah, wannabe saviors. They think their actions are for the greater good, when they mean shit. Pretty naive, don't you agree?"

His eyes drifted to Izanami next. "Don't insult my intelligent, Mikoto-san," he announced, "You aren't fooling anyone here."

The woman growled and stopped faking unconsciousness. She seemed a bit angry the man knew her identity; "Sorry, Yugi-san," she told her partner. "I don't know what these chains are made of, but they prevent me from accessing my powers. I can't even activate my Sharingan."

"These chains are made of my chakra," the Naruto explained calmly, "Don't even try to break out. You would need a Kyuubi or two to break them."

Yugito glared at him. "Who are you?"

"You already know who I am… as for _what _I am?" He made a mock reverence. "I am the Warlord, the founder of Teikoku, and the Master of all there is. I am pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Great, another megalomaniac," Izanami deadpanned.

"You're married to one, so I thought you would be used to them." The Warlord raised an eyebrow at Izanami's amused face. "Oh, you two aren't wed? My apologies, I thought you were. To be honest I kinda skipped most of the reports on you ladies, since you didn't interest me all that much."

Yugito didn't know if she should be grateful for it or not. "Why did you capture us?" the Kumo-nin asked. "What the hell do you want from us? Where are we? What happened to Konan and-"

"Calm down," he cut in. "Since you aren't going to leave anytime, you've got all the time in the world. For the where, you are in Orochimaru's territory, among the ruins of an old temple dedicated to the Tailed Beasts. He turned the place into his HQ, or as I call it, a _'giant laboratory of mad science'_. I don't know why the guy chose this place, and to be honest I don't care, but he volunteered to keep you under scrutiny."

_So at least one Orochimaru is working with these guys… _Yugito thought, before the Warlord continued his explanations. "As for the _why _you're here," he said, "Well, it's just you're both pretty close to Kazama-san, as lover and second-in-command respectively, and as such, too valuable to be wasted."

Before Yugito could press the issue further, the Warlord switched subject. "As for your lady friends, I've no idea where the samurai is, but after the beating I gave her, I doubt you will have to worry about the paper woman. Ever again."

The scary part wasn't the callous confession of murder, it was the tone the man used. There was no sadism in it, nor regret. There was only callous indifference. It was the tone used to discuss the weather, not people.

To this man, murder wasn't something to enjoy or a necessary evil.

It was _natural_.

"You little…" Yugito growled, only to be cut by Izanami.

"What do you want from Kazama?" she asked. "You used the _san _suffix, meaning you probably talked to him when we weren't looking. Are we hostages, something to be exchanged?"

The Warlord smirked. "If you really think I will tell you my plans, then you are less intelligent than I gave you credit for," he stated. "You have done the impossible before, so there's no way I'm taking any risk. Let's just say you're going to be part of something amazing, no, _daring_!"

Yugito rolled her eyes. "So you've been spying on us all along," she whispered, "Does it mean-"

"Don't worry about your other friends," the Warlord cut in. "Deidara will take care of them. Mei didn't give me all the information I needed. So I need them to explain to me a few things."

Izanami frowned. "Why?" she asked. "You won't tell us your plans for our group, but can you at least tell us what it is all about? What do you hope to achieve by conquering the multiverse? Is it to feed your ego? Do you just want to rebuild the world in your image?"

"Oh no," the Uzumaki shook his head, "That would be my… _comrades_." The tone clearly showed the word was empty of meaning. "My motive is far simpler: why not?"

Yugito paled. "Why… not?"

"You hold the Nibi within you. Have you never wanted to see what you could do with it? Have you never wanted to achieve your fullest potential? To see how far you can go?" The man shrugged his shoulders. "I just want to see what I can do with the power I possess. Before the multiverse opened its door to me I had already conquered all I could see. Now I wish for a new challenge. A new way to make adrenaline rush in my veins once again."

"So you're basically destroying millions of lives… out of _boredom_?" Yugito gasped in disgust. "How can you do this?"

He smiled widely. "Let me tell you the story, of a boy who wanted to be a hero."

The man crossed his arms and narrated his tale with an affable, friendly tone. "This is the story of a boy born cursed. For years he was shunned, and he convinced himself that to gain the respect he craved, he needed to become Hokage. And so, he worked relentlessly to achieve this status. In time, after a long struggle, he prevailed over the terrifying threat of Akatsuki, and was admired by all."

He walked around his captives, like a predator circling its prey. "Everything seemed like a dream come true. His best friend turned renegade had finally acknowledged his valor. He married a woman who loved him for who he was, and as the heiress of the Hyuuga clan, she brought him the political influence he needed to gain the title he had been lusting after all his life. In time, the boy was elected Rokudaime Hokage, and the entire ninja world looked up to his wisdom. And so, he thought he had achieved his happy ending."

He stopped in front of the Kyuubi's statue, and sighed.

"But that's not the end, only the beginning. It took him only a year to realize he had grossly idealized his new position. The boy, while a fantastic warrior, was no diplomat or politician. His policies became widely unpopular, and the respect he had struggled so hard to earn… faded and withered, not without reason mind you, but faded none the less. The boy grew very, very frustrated, and yet he refused to give up, believing in the better nature of mankind.

"Despite his efforts, the world peace that had been born in Akatsuki's wake disappeared, with ninjas returning to their old ways. The boy, still holding to his idealism, tried diplomacy, to appeal to the better nature of his rivals, equals, and allies, and failed. The boy grew bitter, as accusations of his incompetence became more frequent and outspoken. The last straw came when his former best friend conspired for the role of Hokage, and with popular support, forced the boy out of the Hokage office."

The Warlord chuckled. "And the boy snapped."

He locked eyes with Yugito. "With most of the military still loyal to him, he staged a coup and took over Konoha by force, punishing his old friend as traitors deserve. Then he changed things. He exterminated those who opposed him, and became a tyrant with an iron fist. His reasoning was since people wouldn't embrace peace willingly, then he would _force _them to. And so, he began to conquer foreign nations one by one, and he was soon given a title that would strike fear in the hearts of all: as Naruto Uzumaki fell, the Warlord rose, mightier, stronger, better in every single way."

The man laughed cheerfully. "The boy crafted a new peace out of the blood and thousands, and yet it didn't satisfy him. He was feared, but also frustrated and bored. Even as former friends and even his wife rose and tried to defeat him, he couldn't feel anything. When he killed them, all the boy could feel was utter indifference. Yet, the boy was still convinced his rule was for the better, that the peace he forged was worth the sacrifices. He clung to this illusion, until he discovered a breach in space itself. A gate, to another universe."

He smirked at Izanami. "You can thank your beloved for that.

"When the Warlord stared into the abyss of the cosmos, he manipulated petty dictators and conquerors into gathering information on the multiverse for him, until he learned a horrifying truth: that all choices lead to a different reality. And do you know what he realized?"

The tone suddenly changed from affable to cold and emotionless.

"That we are _nothing_. Free will, is a _lie_. That he was dirt, because in some universe, another Uzumaki made an _opposite choice_. That the sacrifices I have accumulated meant _shit_. Because somewhere else, my best friend did _not _betray me. Because somewhere else, people _listened_. Because somewhere else, our ancestors weren't brave enough to crawl out of the mud and we were _never born_."

The Warlord's eyes color went from blue to red. Upon gazing into them, Yugito could only see madness.

"And he came to the conclusion, that free will, in its purest form," he whispered, "Is true annihilation. And so, I shall make this choice. The _only _real choice."

He calmed himself and smiled.

"Trust me," he said, before vanishing with a shunshin, "You won't believe your eyes."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Fallen One<strong>_

"Naruto, why did you kill me?"

Kazama glared at Jiraiya, who was standing on the lake's surface. "Shut up," he replied, holding his head with his hands, "Leave me alone."

"Why did you kill us?" Neji asked, glaring at Naruto. "We trusted you."

"You disappoint me, Naruto," Minato trailed off. "Then again, you always disappointed me."

"Shut up, you're not real!" Kazama snarled angrily. "None of you are! You're just in my head!"

"Why?" Kakashi asked. "Why?"

"Why?" A dozen voices asked in unison. "Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?"

"I said shut up!"

Kazama launched a fireball at the lake, producing tons of steam, and then tried to burn the hallucinations around him. All he managed to do was to set the nearby grass on fire, although the ghosts vanished.

_I'm going mad, _he thought grimly,_ Now I'm seeing dead people… maybe I should be dead too… maybe…_

As if to answer his prayer, a ghostly chill filled the air around Kazama. The lake itself froze into ice, as a shadowy form manifested above the solidified water. Upon glancing at it, the insane wanderer paled in despair.

**"You were foolish to come here," **the Shinigami warned, as it hovered over the water. **"Have you no idea where you are? Maybe have you chosen peaceful death over your parody of a life?"**

Kazama could only stare in disbelief at the deity.

**"You are within a sacred burial, a place where the dead are laid to rest in peace," **the Shinigami explained calmly, before glaring in disgust at the fires Kazama had started,**"And your first act upon landing here is to defile it. Truly, your cold disregard for the world around you is only matched by your boundless arrogance."**

The Shinigami raised his hand, and the fires died out instantly. Then he grabbed his ghostly blade and prepared it.

**"Your life ends now."**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **thanks ABitterPill and Third Fang for betaing.

I'm so sorry for the the cliffhanger, but don't be sad: in the next chapter, you'll discover what happened to Konan and Kazama. Oh, and remember, don't take everything the Warlord said as the truth. He lies. A lot.

I mostly based the Warlord on a historical figure called Zhang Xianzhong, nicknamed the Yellow Tiger. Long short story, it was an extremely violent Chinese wannabe warlord from the seventeenth century, who was responsible for a lot of violent massacres in the Sichuan province. While the extent of his killing is disputed by historians, his disastrous rule depopulated the province. This should tell you everything about the guy.

Anyway, next chapter will conclude the current arc and open the final arc of the story (which should last around twelve-fifteen chapters I think). Thanks for all those who have been following this story. The finale is approaching, and it shall be epic.

I can't say when I'll be able to update again, but with my schedule I can mostly advance during holidays... so don't expect a new update until December.

And please do not forget to tell me what you thought of the chapter in a review or PM, if you please.

Best regards,

Kagaseo.


	52. Chapter 49: Brand New Day

No, this fic isn't abandoned. Yes, I'm still alive. No, I can't say when I update again.

Here we go. The final chapter of the arc... and the beginning of the last one. Prepare for a major change in status quo.

Thanks Third Fang and ABitterPill for betaing, and all readers for reading.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 49:<strong>_

_**Brand New Day**_

When he saw Death itself float in front of his face with its sword drawn, Kazama Arashi lowered his head in defeat. "Just end it quickly," he rasped.

The Shinigami raised his weapon, but before delivering the final blow, hesitated. The blonde young man locked eyes with the deity, whose emotions - if it had emotions - were unreadable. **"Is this a trap?" **Death asked, suspicious.

"No."

"**Then why do you submit so willingly now?"**

Kazama grabbed his hair with his hand. "I'm… I'm a monster. Everywhere I go, I bring death and destruction. I thought I could… help the world, but in the end… all I do is corrupt it. I've burned and killed people by the thousands, and for nothing. All for nothing."

He laughed bitterly. "I should have died back when I first got your power," he said before glaring at the god, "So what are you waiting for? Kill me! At last I shall be free!"

**"You are in no position to ask for anything," **the deity of death rasped. **"You are different from before. Have you finally seen the errors in your way?"**

"Your power brought me and the world nothing but misery!" Kazama snarled. "Take it back! Take my life too! Just undo everything!"

_**"NO!"**_

The voice in Kazama's head, for the first time since it began to talk with its host, was panicking.

_**"Do not!" **_Mikaboshi almost begged. _**"Do you not understand? You are abandoning ultimate power! You are dropping the possibility of seeing your friends again!"**_

"No!" Kazama shrieked. "My friends are better off without me! I don't want your power, and I don't want to hear you!"

_**"I command you to-"**_

"Shut up!" The blonde snarled. Had he been less focused on the god inside his mind, he would have wondered how the god about to kill him knew he was not talking to it. "Leave me alone!"

The Shinigami narrowed its hollow eyes. **"Very well," **it rasped, sheathing his sword. It pointed its index at Kazama and touched his forehead. **"I will take back what is mine and repair the damage you have done. Pray we do not meet each other again."**

Kazama's world was suddenly swallowed by light.

And then…

Nothing.

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Warlord<strong>_

"So, let me get this straight," Tobi's shade asked, "First, Deidara is dead. Which sucks, since I kinda liked him. Second, we captured five of them. Which is good. So that's a… semi-victory?"

"This sums up the current situation, yes," Kabuto's hologram replied. "We managed to recover Deidara's ring… but the bounty hunter that helped in his demise is still at large. I have sent some of my creations after him, so it wouldn't take long for us to capture him as well."

The Warlord cracked his fingers. These meetings served their purpose, but they were terribly boring. "Orochimaru-san will take care of our prisoners," he declared, glancing at the Sannin's shade, "I assume you may wish to pay them back for killing your student."

The snake shrugged. "I am more interested in studying them. They are very peculiar, especially the human puppet. I have yet to figure out how his body works."

"I expected a little more emotion from your part," the holder of the steel ring pointed out, "Didn't you care about your subordinate?"

"Naruto-kun shall always have a special place in my heart, but people can be replaced," the Sannin replied callously, "It's not as if he was my only apprentice."

The woman snorted in disgust, much to Orochimaru's amusement. "Did I go down in your esteem, Kazekage-san? Then again, you could never truly abide by my presence."

"As much as I enjoy good banter, let's return to the most important matter at hand," the Warlord noted. "Konan managed to get away-"

"Get away?" Mei narrowed her eyes. "Or did you let her go?"

"Konan got away," the Warlord retorted.

"Mei-san, I honestly do not see what we could gain from letting such a loose cannon go around unsupervised," Orochimaru noted.

"Then why did he lie to our prisoners about killing her?" the kunoichi shot back.

"Because breaking their spirits makes them easier to handle," the Warlord replied, before smirking. "Mei-san, are you implying I may be lying to you all? You hurt my feelings."

"You don't have feelings," the Kazekage shot back.

"No. But I'm the most trustworthy man in the world," the Warlord mocked her. "As I was saying, Konan got away, and we captured those who splintered from the main group. Which leaves… what? three, four of them? This is a golden opportunity to finish off the rest."

**"I will take care of them," **Zetsu noted, with its deep, cold voice. **"I'm going to pay them a beating."**

"Great idea." The Warlord crossed his arms. "Zetsu-san, you will take care of the survivors. Spare Kazama-san if possible, for his powers could be useful. Orochimaru-san, I want you to interrogate our captives. I wish to know what techniques and technology they used to travel from world to world. Afterward… do whatever you wish with them. However, Yugito-san and Mikoto-san are not to be harmed. They are more valuable alive than dead. The rest of you stay focus on the original plan. Build as many Relays as you can."

Nobody objected to the order. Nobody had any doubt who was calling the shots among their group.

It didn't mean they were _loyal_, however.

"Of course," Tobi lied through his teeth. "You can count on me."

The Warlord smirked. He knew the masked man's servility was a cover for his rebellious, treacherous nature. The man would backstab his boss the second he could get away with it.

"Then dismissed," the Warlord ordered, banishing the ring's holograms. He was now alone with his thoughts and schemes.

In truth, Mei had been right. The Warlord did let the paper woman go.

Of course, most people would think, like Orochimaru, that there would be no logical reason to do this and therefore the Warlord hadn't planned this all along. Keeping his enemies confused and surprised was Naruto Uzumaki's main strength.

Playing pawns against each other was almost an art for him.

The Warlord was in a peculiar situation. He needed his fellow Teikoku members to use their vast resources to build as many Relays as possible, but on the other hand, they needed to be too busy to actually investigate their true purpose. Mei and Kabuto were already suspecting them to be more than they seemed, and Zetsu and Tobi were bidding their time, waiting for an opportunity to take over. If they were to learn the Warlord's real plan, they would without doubt launch a desperate coup or sabotage the Relays. It would be a matter of survival.

And hence why the Warlord gave Teikoku's enemies the opportunity to fight back. As long as Teikoku felt threatened by outsiders, it would be too busy to focus on the Warlord's plans. And when they realize what was really going on, it would be too late for them to do anything.

All these worthless fools would die, along with their worlds.

_I do hope Kazama kills some of them, however,_the Warlord thought, _When all his friends are dead, he will probably go on a crusade against these idiots. And the conflict will further my plans. At worst, Teikoku will be too busy with him to focus on me. At best, he will save me the trouble of killing them myself._

Then, when Kazama wouldn't be useful or amusing any longer, the Warlord would kill him.

It was as simple as that.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Naruko<strong>_

When they had left Konoha, it was with heavy hearts and bitter thoughts.

"It's my fault," Naruko said, trying to stay attached to the giant hawk's feathers. "It's all my fault."

"Don't say stupid things," Sasuke replied, guiding his summon above the Land of Fire's forests. "You couldn't have done anything."

"If I had been a better student, Kazama would never have gone crazy. Worse, if we had killed Madara-"

"Look, Naruko," Sasuke cut in, "I know what you're feeling. You feel if you had done things differently, none of this would have happened. This is a stupid game we humans like to play when we face loss. I know because I played it for years. If I had been less of an ass, I wouldn't have almost killed Naruto, if I had been more observant, I would have thwarted Itachi's suicidal plan, if I had been… the list goes on."

He glanced at the young girl. "What's done is done," he said, "You can't return to the past and change things. You have to accept things the way they, and focus on the future. We need to help the others against Pain, and then we will find Kazama. I give you my word we will find him. But promise me you will not start brooding in a corner."

Naruko frowned, but nodded. _He's right, _she thought, _I must stay optimistic. The others are in __danger. We__ have to reach them first. _"So, you and Sakura…" she began. "You were friends or something?"

Sasuke tensed briefly. "She's one of the many people I left behind," he whispered, before suddenly directing his summon down toward the ground.

Naruko was about to ask why he did that, when she noticed a newcomer advancing toward them. "Dark Wolf? What are you doing there?"

The samurai was in a terrible shape, with her armor either covered in ice or damaged. "Long story short," she explained, "Pain almost killed me, and Konan used her paper technique to transport me as far away from the fight as she could. We _need _to return to the island, now."

"Jump," Sasuke ordered, the Dark Wolf joining them on the giant hawk summon. The creature opened its wings, and flew upward. "You're lucky I'm a good enough sensor to have picked your chakra signature, or else-"

"What happened in Konoha?" The Dark Wolf cut in, blatantly ignoring Sasuke.

"Kazama-sensei… burned it to the ground," Naruko admitted.

According to her expression, the Dark Wolf either didn't listen or didn't care. "What happened to him?"

"He vanished… he teleported elsewhere." Naruko suddenly realized they were already above the ocean. "Can you see the Turtle Island?"

"No, but I do sense it," Sasuke replied, "It has retreated underwater. Considering what happened on its back, hard to blame it."

"Are you kidding?" Naruko asked. "Where are the others then?"

Sasuke didn't answer. Instead, he joined his palms, and focused. "Mind's Eye of Kagura, open," he whispered, Naruko briefly seeing him enveloped with bluish chakra. "They're… they're gone. I can't sense their chakra signature."

"They can't have vanished!" The Dark Wolf ground her teeth. "Can't you try harder?"

"I am nowhere near as good as Karin was at sensing," Sasuke replied, briefly creasing his eyebrows. "Wait. I think I have picked up Konan's chakra signature, but it's really weak…" He glanced at his hawk summon. "Head toward the coast."

After a few minutes of travel, the beast landed on a beach, and his riders dismounted. Sasuke gave a light tap to the bird, which vanished in a puff of smoke, before guiding his small group to its target.

When Naruko noticed Konan lying on the sand, she couldn't help but shudder at the spectacle.

The woman seemed to have been beaten within an inch of her life. Her formerly perfect skin was covered with bruises and open wounds, and from what Naruko could see, someone had broken up her left arm and jaw. The kunoichi seemed unconscious, with paper sheets covering her larger wounds. "Konan!" the young girl shouted, rushing to her help.

"It appears she has fallen comatose," Sasuke said, still using his sensor techniques to analyze her, "And she managed to use her paper as an improvised bandage before passing out. Did Pain do that to her?

"I doubt he would have left her alive," the Dark Wolf replied. "Who could have done this?"

**"I am afraid to say it must have been our dear leader. Bah, at least **_**I **_**didn't lose my touch when it comes to homicide."**

Naruko turned at the source of the sound. A creature was emerging from the sand, a few feet from the group.

The creature was vaguely humanoid, but completely monstrous. Its hairless skin was crimson red, and covered with bloated, purple mushrooms which appeared to be a sort of natural armor. The monster's arms were so long they nearly reached its feet. As for its head, it had the jaw and mouth of a human beings, but crimson petals instead of eyes and hair. The monster was easily twice the size of an average human body, and easily overshadowed the group.

"What the-" Sasuke jaw-dropped. "How the hell did you neutralize my sensing technique?"

**"I am kinda stealthy," **the creature hissed with an inhuman voice, pointing one of its thick fingers at the group, the ring on it shining, **"Allow me to invite you to a party."**

Sasuke and the Dark Wolf unsheathed their blades, but not fast enough. A red light swallowed them all.

When it died down, the group was no longer on the beach, but on a desolate, arid wasteland. The temperature had drastically increased, and all Naruko could see was an endless wasteland of rocks and dirt. "Where are-"

She couldn't finish her sentence. The Dark Wolf had already gone on the offensive, trying to execute a scissor motion with her blades on the monster. The creature easily dodged with a leap, showing impressive speed and agility for his size. **"Ah, yes, always the forceful one. I almost missed you. Almost."**

"Zetsu!" the samurai snapped. "You dare to show your face in front of me?"

**"Why so angry?" **The monster chuckled happily. **"You should thank me, to have brought you back home. Plus, you aren't very polite. You didn't introduce me to my new victims." **He glanced at Naruko. **"What's your name?"**

Naruko couldn't answer, since she realized the beast's teeth were all sharpened fangs.

**"Oh, great, a mute one. Well, considering your age, you probably taste like chicken. My kids are going to enjoy eating you… but you should ask the Uchiha here for the details." **He started merging with the ground, vanishing entirely. **"See you later, young wolf."**

"No, wait you coward!" the Dark Wolf cursed. "Come back and fight!"

Naruko ignored her. Instead, she focused on Sasuke, who was staring at the horizon with a blank expression. She quickly understood why.

White men.

Thousands of white men were rushing at them, an entire flood of them. They looked like humanoids, but their lack of hair and sexual organs immediately told Naruko these were monsters.

And they looked hungry.

"Damn!" Sasuke cursed, before attempting to summon a hawk… and failing.

"Summoning doesn't work outside your-"

"I noticed!" Sasuke snapped at Naruko, his eyes starting to bleed. A large ring of black fire appeared around the team, forming a protective barrier. "This should protect us for a moment."

"No, it's not even going to slow them down." The Dark Wolf glanced at the ground. "They're coming."

One second later, two, then a dozen Zetsu clones emerged from the soil. They were promptly cut down by one of sweep of the samurai's blade, but were quickly replaced with a dozen of their brethren.

Sasuke was instantly surrounded by ethereal, purple arms, which quickly pushed back the invaders against the wall of black fire. "Alright…" The Uchiha's eyes started bleeding profusely. "Susanoo… I need your power!" A demonic giant of purple chakra appeared around Sasuke. It gained a head, a thorax…

And then, it gained legs.

A few seconds later, Naruko gasped in awe, as the giant rose inside the circle of fire. A quick look told the young girl that she barely reached the height of the thing's foot. Sasuke was floating inside the Susanoo, as the heart of the colossus. He lowered his hand, the giant imitating him. "Jump!"

Naruko nodded, grabbing Konan and bringing her along. When the Dark Wolf jumped right afterward, the Susanoo raised his hand near his heart. "Grab my fingers," Sasuke ordered, as he mentally dispelled the wall of black fire, "This is gonna be a little rough."

When Naruko obeyed, the Susanoo started running.

The giant's mere footsteps caused small earthquakes, wiping out a dozen Zetsu clones every step. But all Naruko could see around them, was a white sea of hostility. "Where do we go? They're everywhere!"

"Head east!" Dark Wolf ordered. "He teleported us into the Land of Grass, so if you keep going east we could follow the coast and later reach Kumo's mountains! They won't be able to follow us there!"

"Alright!" Sasuke clenched his teeth. "Here we go!"

And the giant accelerated, chased by one thousand enemies.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kazama<strong>_

When the young man opened his eyes, he briefly wondered if he was in the afterlife.

Hell looked like a hospital room illuminated by poorly lit lamps, with only one window. A medic nin was observing him, accompanied by…

_Shizune? _Kazama frowned. He didn't remember the frail kunoichi being so… busty. _And I don't remember killing her either. Am I truly in hell?_

"He's finally awake, Kenta-san," the woman pointed out, "You truly did wonders."

"You're welcome, Shizune-san," the man said, smiling at Kazama, "Menma-san, how do you feel? Your wounds were pretty severe. You were lucky one of our patrols found you. It appeared as if something had trapped you into a temporary death state. Do you remember what happened?"

"Menma?" Was he… was he still alive? He massaged his forehead. "My name… is Kazama. I don't know any Menma."

The two medics exchanged a glance. "As I feared, he might suffer from memory loss," Kenta spoke. "Or maybe he is under the effects of brainwashing. Considering the gear we found him with, it is painfully clear he had fought a battle to the death a few hours before he was discovered."

"But who would try killing our Jinchuuriki?" Shizune wondered.

Kazama grunted. He had no idea why the Shinigami had spared his life, but the longer he stayed in Konoha, _any Konoha_, the more uneasy he felt. Getting out of the bed, much to the medics' displeasure, he glanced at the room's door. "I'll take my leave," he said.

"This would be unwise," Kenta stated, as the door opened, "Especially since your parents dropped their current mission to see you."

Kazama glanced at the door, and blanched deathly.

Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, wearing jounin uniforms, glanced at their son, with a mix of sadness and joy. Then they approached.

"No, don't touch me!" Kazama panicked and tried to take a kunai in his pockets, only to realize the medics had taken his weapons. When Kushina and Minato reached him, he was completely helpless.

Doubly so when they hugged him.

Kazama had no idea how to react when his parents hugged him to the point of making breathing difficult. "I'm so glad you're still alive!" Kushina said. "We thought we had lost you forever!"

"Menma, I promise you, nobody will ever separate us again," Minato whispered kindly. "I wouldn't forgive myself if it happened again."

Their concern touched Kazama. It was obvious these two loved their child dearly… but it was a case of mistaken identity. "I'm sorry," he said, pushing them back, albeit gently. "The name is Kazama Arashi… I have no idea who this Menma is."

"What? You don't recognize us?" Kushina frowned sadly. "How can it be?"

"It appears Menma-san is suffering from partial amnesia, or maybe even the aftereffects of brainwashing," Shizune explained, "It is very possible his mind forged a fake identity to fill the holes in his memories. It will take time for him to recover, but with a prolonged treatment…"

"I'm not doing anything," Kazama explained, "I must go."

"Where?" Minato frowned. "Son, you aren't getting anywhere. There's no way I'm letting you go after you vanished for months!"

Understanding he wouldn't be able to leave peacefully, Kazama mentally tried to teleport away.

It failed.

The young man frowned, and attempted to open a portal. When it didn't work, he entered his mindscape.

Where the seal used to be, he found nothing.

Literally. The web of mirrors that had started this entire mess was nowhere to be seen. All there was left were darkness.

His power had been taken away.

Kazama didn't know how to feel. It meant people wouldn't pursue him for it, wouldn't threaten innocents to get their hands on him…

But it meant he was trapped in this world.

**"Why did you do that?"**

Kazama blinked, as the darkness surrounding him grew thicker. Amatsu-Mikaboshi's anger was a cold one, but its emotionless tone chilled the young man to the bone. **"Why did you do something so ****foolish****?" **It asked. **"You had the power of a god, and you ****gave it up.**** You could have risen higher than the sun itself, and now you will be nothing but a shadow."**

"You are still there?" The young man ground his teeth. "I gave it up, because it was the right thing to do."

The darkness hissed. The former politeness and affability had been replaced with cold fury and contempt. **"And you threw away any hope of seeing your friends again. Because you wanted to protect them from yourself."**

Kazama felt as if he had been punched in the face. He glanced away, as he had no way of denying that. The deity stayed silent a few minutes, before dropping a bomb.

**"I should have sent Pain earlier, wiping them out right after you left them for the first time."**

The wanderer's eyes glanced at the living void. "Come again?"

**"Who do you think enlightened him in the first place?" **The darkness replied. **"Do you truly think linking oneself to the Demonic Statue, a device meant to contain the Ten-Tails, would not allow me to influence the user? When the Sage divided the Ten-Tails' chakra and body, where do you think he sealed its **_**mind**_**?"**

"The… what?" Kazama stammered.

**"All those who use the Statue open their mind to madness." **Mikaboshi let out a sound, and Kazama realized it was a deep, joyless laugh. **"When they tap its power, they also tap into its ****mind****, allowing me to influence them. ****It**** is subtle, but the more they rely on it, the ****more their will becomes mine****. I bet the Sage did not foresee that. Nagato was a wounded man. All I had to do was... to let his mental wounds fester."**

"You… but why?" Kazama blanched, horrified.

**"At first, he would have been my back-up plan at remaking your world as I saw fit, had Madara failed. But when you returned to your homeworld, he became the perfect tool to kill your friends. I slowly exploited his sadness at the death of his companions, until he became obsessed with extracting the Kyuubi, so none of these sacrifices would have been in vain. After that, it was simply a matter of time until he tracked your friends down and wiped them out."**

Kazama, at this point, could only glare at the deity in rage.

**"I foresaw that in your sadness and bitterness, you would let your anger of the world grow beyond control. You would have turned to me, and you would have done what I wanted you to do. But my plan is ruined. If the timing had been a little better…"**

The wanderer reddened, having troubles controlling his anger. "Just leave me the fuck alone!" he snapped. "You have ruined my life and a thousand others! I don't have the power you craved any longer! So why don't you leave me alone?"

**"I did not force you to do anything. You ruined your life on your own. I simply gave you a gentle push."**

The darkness grew even thicker. **"I was old when the world was young. One hundred years is but a second in my endless existence. I can nurse a grudge for centuries. And every single day of your life, I shall be there. From the moment Madara marked you to your death, you belong to me. You are my **_**property**_**. From now on, I am withdrawing all the blessings I gave you, until you beg for my forgiveness. You _will_ submit to me****."**

Kazama glared at the darkness defiantly.

"You're welcome to try."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sasuke<strong>_

Sasuke briefly looked behind himself. "I think we lost them."

"No we didn't," the Dark Wolf countered. "Zetsu is the land itself. As long as you have one foot on the ground, he knows your location. He's simply not as fast as us, so it will take him time before he catches up." She glanced at Sasuke. "How long can you maintain the Susanoo?"

_I already should have dispelled it. _"A few minutes." The pain in his chest was growing, as was the bleeding in his eyes. _I must keep going. Since Naruto is gone, it my duty to protect them. _"Afterward, I'll be out of chakra."

"Considering the distance, it will take a few hours for Zetsu's legions to catch up to us," the samurai judged.

"We need to find a healer," Naruko pointed out, as she started bandaging the unconscious Konan. "Her state is critical."

"There are a few settlements in the mountains," the Dark Wolf explained, "I know some medics that could treat her. If we walk fast enough, we will reach one within three days."

"Could you give us more details?" Sasuke asked. "I have guessed this is your world, so all information you can give us is worth telling. At least explain why I am unable to sense them."

The samurai stayed silent a few seconds, considered her words, and started explaining the situation. "First thing, Zetsu controls the entire world, except the mountains. His kind was created from both Senju cells and tropical plants, so it can't stand cooler temperatures."

"Senju cells?" Sasuke frowned. "These things are clones of Hashirama Senju?"

"Yes. They all can produce a bastard form of the Mokuton, while the Red Zetsu is skilled enough with it to neutralize a Bijuu. Due to their special abilities, it is impossible for sensors to locate them if they wish to be undetected."

"But who could make these things?" Naruko asked, before remembering where she had seen another Zetsu. "Madara…"

"Possibly." The Dark Wolf shrugged. "Beside the corpses of Zetsu clones, nobody had any decent information on them. We only figured out the Red Zetsu was the leader when we realized he was a unique specimen and the only one with high intelligence. The clones are simply cannon fodder, so they need him to coordinate their assaults. And he won't stop chasing us until we are dead."

"So if we kill the red one, the rest won't be a threat any longer?"

"He won't confront us directly," the swordswoman replied. "He will send his so-called children after us while observing from afar. As much as he cares about his spawns, he understands he can spare sacrificing a few hundreds of them to better study us. When he has a perfect strategy, he will attack."

"How are you so sure he will do that?" Naruko asked. "He could simply attack us with all his forces, as he did a few minutes ago."

"The Red Zetsu won't confront us head on because he fears me." The Dark Wolf shrugged. "He never picks a fight he has a chance to lose. So he will throw wave after wave of his spawn, prevent us from resting, and then he will finish us off when we are exhausted."

"From what you're saying, the two of you know each other personally," Sasuke stated. "What the hell happened between you?"

"That is none of your business."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "That's _our _business since a monster with an obvious personal grudge on you is currently hunting us, and the more we know, the better we can plan a counterattack. I understand your past may hurt, but all of us have suffered, and we have all failed someone we cared about. So speak."

The Dark Wolf tensed. "I used to have a master," she admitted, with shame in her voice. "My mentor. General Mifune."

"He killed him, right?" Naruko guessed, biting her lower lips.

"Yes," she replied sadly. "In return, I have sworn to wipe out all Zetsu from the face of this planet. I have crossed paths multiple times with their leader, and, well, after I slaughtered so many of his 'children', the grudge has become mutual."

"Dark Wolf," Sasuke began, remembering what happened with Naruto, "I understand your desire for revenge, but… this mindset has destroyed someone I care about. So, please, don't let it go out of hand. I wouldn't stand seeing another of my comrades go off the deep end."

The samurai raised an eyebrow, but didn't say a word.

Sasuke sighed. _This is going to be a long, long journey…_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kazama<strong>_

"Did… did Kiba just _kick _Akamaru?"

Where _the hell _had he landed?

"Kiba never liked dogs, he prefers cats," Shino replied, before spraying himself with insecticide, much to the blonde's amazement. "How could you forget that?"

"Baka!" Hinata snapped, before slapping her teammate. "Can't you remember Menma has lost his damn memory!?" She smiled at the blonde. "Ne, Menma, you do remember me, right? I'm sure you wouldn't forget someone important…"

"Did… did she just imply I wasn't important?" Shino asked loudly.

At this point, Kazama was more concerned by Hinata's outrageously revealing outfit than the ambient insanity.

"You _do _remember me right?" Hinata repeated, her jaw clenching visibly through her smile. "'Cause if you don't…"

Kazama wondered if she was going to kill him if he were to say no. At least, she looked like she would. "Look, guys, I… I just want to stay alone right now. I need to think in peace."

"I swear Menma, if you don't say you recognize me I'm going to castrate you!" Hinata snarled, raising her fingers and preparing to beat up the ninja with her not so Gentle Fist.

Kazama simply used a shunshin, and fled through the streets of Konoha. _Seriously, where the hell am I? _He thought. He had only been out of the hospital for two hours and this world was disturbing him already.

After his parents, he had received a visit from Team 10. Not only had Ino turned into a submissive, gentle girl, but Shikamaru and Choji had apparently switched personalities. After he had left the hospital, without the doctors' consent, Kazama had accidentally crossed path with Team 8.

_I swear, this must be a joke from the Shinigami. That, or my personal hell is to be haunted by disturbing parodies of my former friends._

When he was certain he had lost Team 8, Kazama stopped fleeing and considered what to do next. Without his power and considering Konoha seemed intent on keeping him, fleeing the city seemed out of options.

And this damn headache wasn't helping him think straight.

_I need a place where to lay low and think, _Kazama decided, with only one such place coming to his mind.

As he had expected, Ichiraku's still existed in this reality, albeit with a few differences. The first was that Teuchi had gone bald and had a beard. The second was that the customers were greeting the blonde ninja instead of ignoring him.

"Hey, the hero has come back!" Teuchi greeted him. "Nice to see you again kiddo."

"Thanks," Kazama whispered, as he sat near the bar, "Hero?"

"Don't you remember? You were sacrificed to keep the Kyuubi contained! That makes you one of Konoha's heroes. So, are you taking sushi, like always?"

"I'll take ramen, please."

Teuchi raised an eyebrow. "Ramen? I thought you disliked my ramen? Oh, well… don't bother with money, it's a free meal for you."

"Seriously, what the hell is wrong with this reality?" Kazama whispered, when Teuchi was out of sight.

"Actually, I was asking myself the same question."

Kazama tensed, as a masked man sat next to him. "Tsukiyomi?" he asked. "Is that you?"

"No, I am an alternate self with the exact same nickname." Madara chuckled. "Of course it is me. Why did you teleport away? When I sensed you open a portal, I thought you had been forced to flee a surprise foe. I was worried."

Kazama narrowed his eyes. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Why?" Madara seemed honestly confused. "You realized both of our dreams. You fulfilled both our desires for revenge. Do I need to remind you they all had it coming?"

"No." Kazama glanced at other customers. A couple was eating sushi alongside their kid. "Just look at them. How many families and kids died during my rampage?"

"You cannot win a battle without collateral damage."

"You may think killing thousands of innocents is no big deal, but… I made a mistake. A huge mistake." Kazama decided to drop the subject. "How can you walk around without being arrested?"

"Oh, don't you know?" Madara asked. "Apparently, I'm one of Konoha's greatest heroes. I learned that ten minutes ago."

Before Kazama could ask for details, Teuchi arrived and gave him a bowl of ramen. When he noticed Madara, his jaw dropped. "Madara-sama! In my establishment!"

"Yes, I was paying a visit to this boy here."

"Menma, why didn't you tell me you knew Madara-sama?"

"Because he's just some masked weirdo?"

"He's a living legend!" Teuchi shrieked. "He could have been Hokage, but he preferred to give the post to Hashirama Senju! And he's the guy who taught the Yondaime Hokage before he died."

"Died?" Kazama raised an eyebrow. "But my dad is still alive."

"Mmm… you really have lost your memory…" Teuchi shook his head. "I was talking about our Yondaime Hokage, Kizashi Haruno, the father of your teammate Sakura. The guy who sealed the Kyuubi inside you!"

"Oh… I see…"

"Anyway, Madara-sama, do you wish to order something?"

"This is very kind of you, but no," Madara replied, "I would like to talk to 'Menma'. Alone."

"Ah, alright." Teuchi seemed disappointed, but hurriedly returned to the kitchen. He gave a last friendly smile to Kazama before leaving. "It's nice to see you back kiddo."

"Is it me," Madara started, once the man was out of sight, "Or this world is… odd?"

"I think everyone's personality is altered there," Kazama explained, "Everyone loves me instead of disliking me, you are a hero instead of a villain… the list goes on."

"This is pretty disturbing." Madara glanced at Kazama. "When do you intend to leave?"

"I can't. I lost my power."

For maybe the first time since he knew the masked criminal, Kazama left Madara speechless. After several minutes of a long, tense silence, the Uchiha regained the use of his voice. "Could you… give me details?"

Kazama told him everything.

When the blonde finished his explanations, Madara sighed and glanced away. Kazama had briefly expected him to go on a rampage, but apparently the man had more self-control than he thought.

"It would be a lie if I said I was _not _extremely disappointed," the Uchiha admitted, "Yet… I encouraged you to make your own choices, and I told you I would respect them. You have made your own decision, so I cannot blame you for it."

"So, now I'm no longer useful, you're going to leave?" Kazama asked, inwardly hoping the man wouldn't.

Madara seemed genuinely disgusted by the remark. "What kind of teacher discards a student when he is no longer useful? The true question is, what do we do now?"

Kazama thought about it a moment. "If you can open the breach I left behind, then maybe we could return to our homeworld. Then…"

_Then I would make up for what I did, _he thought._ I… I don't know how, but I will make up. I just hope Izanami is going to forgive me for leaving her behind…_

Madara quickly crushed his hopes. "I could, if there was a breach left to exploit."

Kazama's heart briefly stopped beating. "What?"

"There is no longer a breach," the ancient Uchiha repeated. "A few hours after I used it to follow you, it was closed. When the Shinigami told you he was going to repair the damage you had done, he apparently wasn't lying."

"So… we are trapped there?"

"Yes."

Kazama was at loss of words for an instant. _I… I'm not going to see my friends again? _He wondered. _Maybe… maybe it's for the best they don't see me again, but… what about the Warlord? What about Teikoku? _"Long before I was born, the Second Hokage had used a technique to cross the barrier between worlds-"

"Which would have killed him, had he not been rescued," Madara pointed out. "Face it, Naruto, we are trapped in this world for the foreseeable future, and there is nothing we can do about it."

The blonde clenched his jaw, and glared at his ramen. "When the Shinigami came…" he whispered. "All I wanted was to die. So why did he leave me alive, powerless to do anything? Is it my punishment?"

"I cannot answer this question, Naruto. Whatever the Shinigami wanted does not matter. What matters is what _you _want to do."

"Don't you have a plan?" Kazama snapped. "You always have something in your sleeve!"

The Uchiha shook his head. "I wanted Konoha to burn. It did. Without your power, my plans of universal conquest are dead and buried. As for the Moon's Eye plan, I doubt it is even possible in this world. Your counterpart has vanished, or worse, there may not even be a Demonic Statue or other Bijuu to exploit. For the first time in a century, I have no back-up plan to fall back on."

"I…" Kazama ground his teeth. "All my life… I had a goal. To be Hokage, then revenge… but now… for the first time in my life, I have no idea what to do next."

"Now you understand how I feel…" Madara rose from his seat. "I will try to locate the version of myself on this world. Maybe I will find something that could take us back home."

"And what do _I _do?"

"That is something you will have to discover by yourself," Madara replied, before vanishing, "You have made your choices. Time to deal with their consequences."

Kazama glanced at his ramen. He waited there in silence, lost in his thoughts.

"Hey, Menma! You've finally returned!"

The blonde froze, as two familiar individual sat around him. "Sasuke?" he whispered. "Sakura?"

"I told you!" the Uchiha smirked at his female teammate. "I told you he would remember his team!"

These two looked exactly like the old Team 7, with a few differences. Sakura was wearing a pendant, and looked a bit more reserved than the girl Kazama was used to. As for Sasuke, he was wearing a more casual outfit, and grinning instead of brooding. "We are so glad to see you back," Sakura began with a gentle smile. "When Shizune told us you had returned, we couldn't believe it."

"Is it true your memory is faulty?" Sasuke asked. "I mean, do you even remember how you vanished? We thought you had been kidnapped or worse."

"It's complicated," Kazama explained, before deciding to tell a half-truth, "My memories do not match reality. It's confusing."

"Ah yeah, I can see why," Sasuke glanced at the ramen. "You don't want it?"

"I have lost appeti-" Kazama couldn't finish his sentence, as Sasuke grabbed the bowl and swallowed its contents whole.

"Sasuke!" Sakura complained. "That was impolite!"

"Sorry, but a mental voice kept shouting _'gotta eat them all' _in my head," the Uchiha replied, before smirking. "Plus I'm sure Menma was just there to hit on Ayame!"

"Menma is not like you, you pervert," Sakura countered, "Can't you stop thinking about girls for a minute?"

"I have tried, but I can't help it."

"Even if I call Hinata?"

The Uchiha paled instantly. "You know, I would be very grateful if you didn't bring that psycho bitch in a conversation. It kills the mood instantly."

"She can't be _that _bad," Kazama said.

"Trust me," Sasuke shuddered, "You haven't seen how scary she can be with her ax. Honestly, lock your bedroom at night, Menma."

"Anyway," Sakura gave Kazama a light tap on his shoulder, "We're going to have a training session with Kakashi-sensei. I… we would be happy if you joined us."

"I'm not sure-"

"Oh come on, we're gonna have a lot of fun," Sasuke smirked, "Remember the contests we used to stage, in order to see which of us had the longest, most polished-"

"Sasuke!"

"What? I was talking about our swords!"

Kazama smirked.

Maybe that world wasn't that bad after all…

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Traitor<strong>_

"Are you sure no one followed you?"

"I assure you this meeting is and will stay a secret," Kabuto Yakushi replied, "You should be a little more trustful, Kazekage-san."

The woman shrugged. "If the Warlord discovers we are plotting behind his back, we are all dead. And our home worlds will be next."

"Which is why these secret meetings are, well, _secret_," Kabuto deadpanned, before glancing at the third member of the cabal. "So, Terumi-san? What did you wish to talk about?"

Mei glanced at the scientist. "Did you complete your research?"

The snake sage nodded. "As we expected, the Relays have another purpose behind opening portals. This is a bit hard to explain."

"Go ahead."

"The Relays analyze the… how to call it… ID of the world they're placed in. They send the information back to the Warlord, who can then compare them."

"What would he gain from doing that?" the Kazekage asked.

"That's the interesting part," Kabuto continued, "Imagine the universe as a genealogical tree, each world giving birth to others. Yet, if we follow this logic, there has to be an original world from which the rest descends. By comparing the ID of different worlds, the Warlord will be able to track down the original one. To what end, I still have no clue…"

"His endgame doesn't matter," the Kazekage shot back, "Whatever he is planning is bad news, for everybody. We must get rid of him before he succeeds."

"Easier said than done," Kabuto shrugged. "Need I to remind you just how powerful he is?"

"So the genius mastermind has no plan?"

"I never said I had no plan to take him down. I asked you if you remembered just how ungodly powerful he was. Our chances of taking him down on our own are… slim."

"How fortunate then," Mei began, "We are not the only ones wishing to kill him."

Her accomplices glanced at her. "Oh, brilliant," Kabuto began. "But… didn't you betray them once already? Why would they trust you?"

"I can be persuasive," Mei said. "But… I will need your help."

The two exchanged a brief glance. "Please, go ahead," the Kazekage said.

"This will only be a matter of timing…"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **as I said, changes in status quo.

I'm not going to comment on everything on the chapter, so I will simply answer questions you might have.

Sasuke and the Dark Wolf are more talkative than usual, because they're, well, cornered. People in terrible situations tend to be more talkative. And the Dark Wolf didn't tell everything on her backstory.

Zetsu is pretty much the anti-Yagura in term of abilities: he isn't that strong (or rather, nowhere as strong as the top ninjas of the story), but he's very smart and has a lot of resources to throw at the heroes.

Yes, Kazama lost both the Shinigami's powers, and Mikaboshi's boons. Or rather, he lost the former, but the angry god is preventing him from accessing the latter. Shinto Gods were also known as great fans of harsh punishments (Amaterasu once blocked the sun for days simply because she was offended at a party). Mikaboshi, in spite of its inhuman behavior, is still very petty.

As for why the Shinigami left Kazama alive... you will know later.

Yes, Kazama is in the Road to Ninja universe. While this is not my favorite movie, it did give genuine character development to Naruto and was a pretty interesting setting (I just wish it had been explored a little more). Kazama and Madara will spend some time there, and as you can guess, Menma and Tobi aren't far away... this will be good character development for both our favorite anti-hero and his nasty mentor.

I hinted at the Warlord's plans, but before you compare it to the plot of Crisis on Two Earths: yes, there are similitude, but the plan is very different in effects and end goal. Hell, the Warlord's plan is even more selfish than Owlman's.

Would you kindly review after reading?


	53. Chapter 50: an Eye for an Eye

Hey, no I'm not dead. It's just, well... I got busy.

Anyway, here we go: the final story arc! An epic tale of character growth and bloody war for you to enjoy with the fate of everything on the balance!

Since it has been a time, I have made a resume of the situation.

**Previously on Echoes**: _the heroes are scattered around the multiverse once more. After suffering a mental breakdown, a brief descent into villainy, and losing most of his powers, Kazama is now trapped in the Road to Ninja universe, mistaken for his counterpart, Menma. His only true ally in this strange world is Madara Uchiha... but can they truly work together and escape?_

_Chibaku, Karasu, and Haku, after defeating the first member of Teikoku, have been defeated and captured. Orochimaru now holds them in his lair, as helpless hostages and guinea pigs. But the trio has more allies than they think._

_Naruko, Sasuke, the Dark Wolf, and a comatose Konan have been trapped in a world where Zetsu rules the land, tracked by his monstrous children. Their only hope is to reach safe bastions of humanity in Kumo's mountains. But can they truly defeat an enemy whose resources are only matched by his cruel intelligence? _

_Meanwhile, the Warlord plots destruction, while his underlings plan his demise behind his back..._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 50:<strong>_

_**An Eye for an Eye**_

Kazama couldn't believe he let himself get dragged in this mess.

"Come on, Menma," Neji shouted, "Teach us!"

"This is ridiculous," the blonde replied, "I refuse."

"You wanted to make it up for almost killing us, remember?" Sasuke pointed out. "This is your chance."

Kazama winced. Truth to be told, the last training session went almost as poorly as the blonde's last meeting with his old friends, back when he had rampaged through Konoha. Nobody had been killed this time, but Sasuke and co had gotten the beatings of their lifetimes.

_I guess I shouldn't be surprised, _Kazama thought, _They're still only at the level they had been in when I left my original world, while my ordeals made me stronger._

Unfortunately, Kazama's techniques and very instincts were oriented toward lethal damage. He had fought to kill or be killed for so long he found it harder to incapacitate an opponent rather than straight-up murdering him.

Upon seeing the boys' expecting glances, the Arashi gave up and taught them the hand seal sequence. "The Advanced Henge is a matter of control and focus, but there's a deceptively fair amount of power behind it too. You need to control the flow and-"

"Yeah, yeah, we get it," Neji said, "The real question is… does it really hold under force?"

"For the thousandth time, yes it does," Kazama snapped, "It's not Tsunade's technique, but if you do as I tell you the girls won't dispel it with the usual methods."

"The only problem is, how do we distract Hinata?" Kiba asked. "She'll notice the deception with the Byakugan the second we enter the hot spring."

"I've got a Kage Bunshin under a henge, disguised as Menma," Shino said, which surprised the dimension traveler a bit. He guessed that without their insects constantly draining their chakra, an Aburame must have a good deal of power in their bodies. Given that this warped version of the teen was constantly spraying himself with insecticide, there was a pretty good chance that the kikaichu in his body were at a record low if it wasn't zero in the first place. "It has already lured her outside Konoha. It will keep her occupied for a while, at least until she uses the Byakugan, but by then the operation will be over."

"Wonderful idea!" Sasuke grinned, before glancing at Kazama. "You sure you don't wanna come? It's like denying the gates of heaven."

"No thanks, I've no interest into using a Henge to take a woman's shape so I can enter the Kunoichi's hot spring," Kazama repeated for the thousandth time in the day .

That was more Chibaku's thing anyways.

_Beside, I'm pretty sure you're all going to die when you get caught. Even Jiraiya barely survived peeping on Tsunade. _"I've better things to do." _Like daydreaming._

"Your loss," Sasuke sighed, disappointed, before glancing at the rest of the male members of the Konoha 12. "Alright, guys, this is the moment of truth. Time to start Operation Piece of Heaven."

Kazama watched the group walk toward the women's hot spring, and couldn't suppress a sigh. This world was driving him nuts faster than Amatsu-Mikaboshi ever did. Using a shunshin to reach a nearby rooftop, the ninja observed the sprawling cityscape of Konoha. It was pretty loud and lively metropolis in the afternoon.

But where there were buildings, Kazama could only see ruins. Where there were people, he could only see skeletons. Where there were shops, he could only see the fires he started.

In short, when he glanced at Konoha, Kazama could only think of his rampage.

Glancing at the Hokage Monument, the wanderer wondered what the stone faces of the Village's former leaders were seeing. Was the Shodai enjoying watching the city he helped create, or did he see a warped vision of his ideals? If the Nidaime was alive, would he appreciate what Konoha had become, or condemn it?

Kazama approached the edge of the roof and glanced down. For a ninja like him, the fall wouldn't kill him, but he was sorely tempted to try.

After what he had done, he wondered if he could face his friends again, or if he even _should_.

His reverie was interrupted by the sound of someone teleporting nearby. "Kazama-san," Obito Uchiha whispered, "You missed your therapy, _again_."

The Amekage shrugged, glancing sideways at the one-eyed Jonin. "I was occupied."

"I cannot force you to dedicate yourself to therapy," the ninja said, "It's a two-way road. But, please, try to keep our appointments. It will be better for you in the long run."

The blonde doubted it. Obito was a fine psychologist, and at least had the decency of calling him Kazama instead of Menma, but like everyone else he couldn't believe this was all a case of mistaken identity. "I'm just not fit for therapy."

"Yet your latest session yielded good results," Obito continued, "Your attraction to older women is obviously an attempt at making up for lack of maternal attention in your youth, while your frontal conflict with male authority figures is a subtle, subconscious attempt at escaping your father's shadow. Understanding your issues is the first step toward solving them."

The Uchiha handed Kazama a missive, which the blonde absentmindedly grabbed and read. Frowning, he threw it away. "I refuse."

"You're like a hedgehog, Kazama-sama: when someone gets too close to you, your retreat into yourself out of fear of being hurt." The Uchiha crossed his arms. "You have refused to live under the same roof as your parents, and I can understand your reluctance, but team building exercises are an excellent way to rebuild a stable, fulfilling relationship with them. Beside… it's a personal demand from the Hokage. Surely, it would be wise of you to accept."

Obito gave Kazama a kind smile. "I too suffered a depression, back when I lost my eye. But I overcame it with the help of my family and friends. Now I'm married to my childhood sweetheart, and the happiest man in the world. The same can happen to you. But you have to make an effort, and you have to bury the hatchet with your family."

With these words, the man vanished.

Shrugging, Kazama decided to return to his apartment, jumping from roof to roof. Once he reached his home, he noticed someone was waiting for him at the door. Using a shunshin to manifest next to her, the ninja locked eyes with his teammate. "Sakura," he asked softly, "Is there a problem?"

The kunoichi briefly squealed, surprised by the young man's sudden appearance, but quickly corrected her expression… or rather tried to. Much to her obvious discomfort, she couldn't repress the light blush on her cheeks. "Menma, I… have something to give you," she said, handing him a letter. "Here."

Kazama tentatively grabbed the item, and quickly smelled the perfume coming from it. _Oh my god, no… _"Is this what I think it is?"

"I couldn't find the strength to say it out loud, so I thought I should write it," she admitted with an embarrassed smile, "I know it's outdated and… a little awkward… but I had to try."

Kazama did his best to keep a straight face, struggling to find the words. "Sakura, I-"

"No," the kunoichi cut in, "I don't want to hear your answer. Not now. Just… just read it okay? Afterward… whatever you decide, I will understand. But… just read it okay?"

Kazama nodded with a large amount of guilt, since he already knew his answer. "Then… have a nice day," Sakura whispered, before quickly walking away.

Once she was out of sight, Kazama sighed and put the letter in his pockets so he could read it later, even though there was only possible answer for it. The ninja turned to his apartment's door.

Which was unlocked.

Tensing, Kazama inhaled sharply and slowly opened it. Light was coming from the kitchen. Tightening his fists, the blonde closed the apartment's door behind and entered the room, ready to face any ambush.

Instead, he found his roommate reading a small red book.

"So?" Madara asked, relaxing in a chair. "Did your date go well?"

Kazama snorted, before sitting on the kitchen's table. "It wasn't a date."

"Haruno obviously wished it was one," the Uchiha pointed out, chuckling at Kazama's frown. "The Sharingan allows me to pick-up body language. I can read people like open books… or at least better than _this _book."

"Sakura mistakes me for someone else," Kazama replied sullenly, letting the man's odd comment about the book go over his head, "So does Hinata, my parents, and everyone else. This is just a deception."

"Did you lie to them?" Madara asked. "As far as I remember, you always told them the truth. They simply did not believe it. You are not deceiving anyone, they're deceiving themselves."

"Because they're happy to see Menma back?"

"Because it's easier than admitting Menma might be dead or worse. Besides, the fact you are a world traveling, alternate-dimension version of their friend sounds very deluded." The Uchiha's Sharingan glanced at his student. "Do you intend to try your chance with the girl?"

"I already have Izanami, remember? It would be cheating."

"You do realize we might finish our days here for all we know right? Maybe it is time to move on. Still, I applaud your sense of duty."

Kazama clenched his fists. He didn't particularly appreciate the thought of spending his life here. For countless reasons, chief among them the fact his family was fighting alone while they were trapped there. "The people I met in this world… I killed many of them. When I look in their eyes, it's like watching my crimes embodied."

"They are not the people you hated and killed. In fact, I doubt they are real at all."

The fallen hero raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Kazama," the Uchiha lord started, his posture becoming slightly less relaxed, "There is something wrong with this world. Very wrong."

"I noticed," Kazama replied, "It's too perfect, and too freaking odd."

"It's worse than you think," Madara whispered, handing his student his book, "Read it."

Kazama grabbed opened it. He frowned, then moved to the next page, then the next.

Blank.

Every single page of this book was blank.

"I checked half the books in Konoha. They're blank. The newspapers too. And when I ask the locals, they see nothing wrong with it."

Kazama blinked. "Is this a joke?"

"No. And that's just the tip of the iceberg." Madara joined his hands. "I visited the other villages. Or rather, I tried. I found nothing. Konoha is the only single city on the entire continent I visited after days of travels. Humanity outside the red walls around us consists of randomly placed small villages whose occupants are near identical to every other town's. Even their names were the same when I asked."

Kazama's jaw dropped. "That's insane," he replied, "I heard the others talk about Iwa, about Chuunin Exams-"

"Hence, why I thought at first the hidden villages were simply located elsewhere," Madara cut in, "So I asked people if they could locate Iwa on a map. As it turned out, although they knew what Iwa was, they were unable to locate it on a map or describe it or its Shinobi. Even old veterans that _should _know this information were puzzled."

The blonde placed the book on his apartment's table. "If this is true…"

"There are other things you must know," the Uchiha lord continued. "I asked a librarian about Konoha's history in this world. In short, nothing _ever _went wrong. Konoha won all three Shinobi wars without a single casualty. Since its opponents do not even exist, it isn't that surprising. The Uchiha founded Konoha peacefully alongside the Senju. Sakumo Hatake's choice to save his comrades turned out to be for the greater good and he died of natural causes acclaimed as a hero. Orochimaru didn't turn traitor, there never was a Suna-Oto invasion, Sarutobi died of old age in his sleep, Danzo is a kind pacifist, you graduated on your first try, there never was a Hyuuga incident nor a Uchiha Massacre, and Akatsuki are respected mercenaries instead of criminals. The crime rate approaches zero and the economy is booming. I could go on, but you get the message."

"What's your hypothesis?"

"The most likely explanation is that this world is a powerful Genjutsu. At least, it would explain the many inconstancies and why no one except us noticed them."

"No Genjutsu could replicate an entire world."

"No Genjutsu we know. It might take a Genjutsu master eons above my level, but it could be some kind of all-powerful illusion. In fact, I thought of creating a jutsu of this magnitude, the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and do I need to remind you what Shisui did to your friend Kitsune? It might be hard to believe, but my theory is possible."

Kazama cracked his fingers. "This is too much, even for a Genjutsu. The people I met all have memories and… feelings. Plus you are seeing the exact same things as I am, even with your sharingan. I can't believe they're fake."

"Be it real or fake, this world is simply wrong," Madara whispered. "I have yet to find my counterpart in this world and for all we know he might be dead, or not even exist. As for this Menma, no one has any idea what happened to him. Don't you find it strange the counterparts we have in this world just happened to be missing right when we arrived?"

"I'm getting a headache at trying to figure it out," Kazama whispered. " I've been asked to go on a routine patrol with my parents tomorrow. I'll use the opportunity to look around. Maybe I'll find something interesting."

"I finished repairing your armor, so you would be best advised to wear it," Madara whispered, "I have the feeling you might need it sooner than you-"

Someone knocked at the door. Loudly.

"Were you waiting for a friend to visit?" Madara asked wearily, exchanging a glance with his student. The blonde shook his head, rose up, and reached the apartment's door. He opened it, expecting to see Sakura, his father, or in the worst case scenario, Hinata.

He found no one. All he found was a red scroll laying on the ground. Wondering if it was another message from Sakura, Kazama carefully opened it.

_"Meet me at the top of the Hokage Monument at midnight, copycat. We've got to talk. Alone._

_See you soon,_

_Uzumaki Menma."_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chibaku<strong>_

He was sick of being detained all the time.

It would have been better if this cell hadn't been designed to drive him and his co-prisoners mad. The room was large, fifty meters square, with three white walls, a huge reinforced door of some alloy he couldn't recognize, an unbreakable mirror as the fourth wall, a chamber pot, and lamps on the ceiling constantly providing light.

And that was it. No table, no window, nothing.

Chibaku, Karasu and Haku had been trapped there for who knows how long. Their crushing defeat still in mind, they had awakened there, stripped of their weapons, their skin covered with seals suppressing their chakra, and forced to wear white, bland clothes, and left to wander in this room. They didn't even have someone bring them food: seals marked on the floor summoned their meals and drinks every so often.

In short, they were Orochimaru's lab rats.

Chibaku glanced at Karasu and Haku. The former was observing the metal door with incredible concentration, the latter meditating in a corner. Chibaku glared at the mirror. "How long will you watch us, freak?"

"You are most interesting subjects of observation," a mocking voice resonated through the room. "Especially you. The seals I put on your body, by interfering with your chakra network, prevent you from accessing your arsenal. Yet the primary functions of your artificial body, from movement to the maintenance of your vitals, have been undisturbed. I briefly considered vivisecting you to discover how you work, but mechanics never really interested me. I moved to biology, chemistry, and psychology a long time ago."

Although Chibaku had failed to break the mirror, his strength reduced by Orochimaru's seals, he had grown certain the bastard was watching them on the other side delighted in annoying his prisoners. "What do you hope to gain by keeping us prisoners?"

"I want to understand you." The scientist chuckled. "Ever since I discovered the multiverse, I have grown fascinated with it. What makes you _you_? Why are you different from my late student? Where, if not when, did you diverge from him? Do you result from the deviation of a guideline, or are you the guideline and my student a deviation? So many questions.

"I have calculated, by analyzing data gathered from my compatriots, Naruto Uzumaki had a ninety percent chance of failing his Genin graduation, with widely different results. Sometimes, one or more of his teachers attempted to kill him. In my case, I appeared before him to offer him power. With him, my alliance with Suna results in my victory over Konoha, the capture of Sasuke, and my eventual domination of the ninja world. But what made you deviate from this path? Would _you_ have accepted my offer had I appeared before you instead of my former partner? Did I even consider making an offer?"

"You're driving me mad, and not only because you wear my late brother's body like a suit," Karasu cut in, "Why don't you just kill us and get it over with?"

"What would I gain by taking such actions? I just want to learn." Orochimaru snorted. "You are my second most interesting specimen. A living Uchiha and a jinchuuriki. The possibilities are endless. The Nidaime theorized emotions affected the development of the Sharingan, but what if it was simply external stimuli? Will isolation evolve your Sharingan to a new, undiscovered stage? If I lobotomize you correctly, will your Sharingan regress due to loss of emotions?"

"You're a psycho. It's all about power for you."

"It's all about _knowledge_. I simply wish to discover the sleeping potential hiding inside mankind, to help it transcend its feeble limitations and achieve perfection." The voice fell silent for a moment. "An urgent matter needs my full attention. We will continue this conversation later."

_Or never, _Chibaku thought. He glanced at Haku. "What are you doing?"

"Meditating," Haku said, her eyes moving to Chibaku's finger. "Still no idea how it works?"

Chibaku glanced at Deidara's ring. If only he knew how to activate it, they would have escaped already. "I cannot remove it without cutting my finger," he admitted. "It fused with it. I think it did in order to gain access to my chakra network. My theory is that it's a device for opening a portal on its own once chakra is used to activate it. It's like their Relay, only smaller."

But during the fight with Orochimaru and his teammate, Chibaku had tried to open a portal of his own back to Kazama, and failed spectacularly. So there was a hole in his theory. Maybe it needed a genetic imprint, or another element?

"I have been thinking, why would they let you keep it?" Haku said. "I think it's because it allows them to know where you are. I'm pretty sure this is how they located us the first time around."

"Deidara knew about us," Chibaku told her, "They might expect our friends to attempt busting us out. What's really puzzling me is, why didn't they torture or extract info from us? They probably have a Yamanaka or two in their employ able to crack our minds open, and finish us off once they know everything they need."

"That's simple," Karasu said, drawing his teammates' attention. "We're both bargaining chips and baits."

The Uchiha glanced at the mirror. "Teikoku is a goddamn empire with limitless resources, but their understanding of the multiverse and traveling is faulty at best. Just look at their Relay: it takes weeks to build, it's expensive, and it can be destroyed pretty easily. On the other hand, Kazama can summon an army with just a thought."

It suddenly clicked in Chibaku's head. "It was never about us," he realized, "It was always about Kazama. Either they hope to ensure his cooperation by threatening to kill us, or they intend to use us as bait to trap him."

Karasu didn't answer. Instead, he kept glancing at the mirror. "Karasu?" Haku asked.

The name drew the Uchiha out of his reverie. "Sorry," he trailed off, "It's just… look at my reflection."

Chibaku did so. He had to admit the picture wasn't pretty. Although Karasu was barely fifteen, he looked worn between his lost eye and bruises. Had he not known his real age, the puppeteer would have mistaken his friend for an adult.

His teammates weren't in such a good shape either. The puppeteer's robotic body had lost its original polished edges in favor of worn-out metal. As for Haku, while undoubtedly beautiful, it was obvious a lifetime of fighting for her life had taken its toll.

"I'm not even eighteen, but I feel like I'm fifty inside," Karasu admitted, his head leaning against the mirror and his reflection. "All of my life, I have fought. First against Konoha's mistrust, then my brother, then against Iwa's enemies… then the Sound-nin, Madara, and now Teikoku. I don't believe I ever got to truly rest. Every time I had a home to enjoy, I never got to enjoy it for long."

Chibaku sighed. "You're never this moody usually."

"I'm tired of all this shit," the Uchiha admitted. "I know I'm more likely to die before I even reach adulthood, but… if I get out of this mess alive, I would like to have a nice house where I could spend the rest of my days daydreaming like Shikamaru."

"Karasu-san," Haku whispered softly, "I promise you, everything will be alright. No matter how dark the future seems, no matter how unfair life can be, you must never let hope die. When it does, it's over."

"I know, it's just I can't shake off this feeling." The Uchiha shrugged, with an obviously forced smile. "I'm an optimist at heart, but sometimes events challenge my resolve."

Chibaku was about to comfort him, when his keen senses noticed an odd event. The floor briefly shook, just a bit, but it vibrated. Then a second quake followed, this time strong enough to make the walls tremble.

"What's happening?" Haku asked, rising up to her feet.

"It's either an earthquake," Chibaku said, glancing at the metal door, "Or the cavalry arrived, at long last."

When the door was propelled to the other side of the room, he realized his second guess had been correct.

Two people entered the jail… or rather, a teen and its mount did. The first was another Naruto Uzumaki with dark clothes, looked partially transformed, and donning a childish grin revealing his slightly long canines. The latter was a small dragon whose fur was red-orange, and who carried a staff with his long tail.

Haku couldn't suppress a large smile. "Inari! Kitsune!"

"Miss us?" the Feral Gale asked, before glancing at Chibaku and Karasu. "Guys, admit it, riding a dragon is freaking awesome. Say hello to the nice people, my faithful steed."

"Technically, I'm not a dragon, I just have the shape of one," Kitsune pointed out, "It's nice to see you all once more, even under such circumstances."

"It's good to see you as well," Karasu said, before frowning. "There's only the two of you?"

"We brought reinforcements," Kitsune replied, "We'll explain what's going on later. We've got to free Izanami and Yugito before the enemy arrives."

"Wait, what?" Chibaku asked. "We aren't the only prisoners? The hell is going on? How do you even knew where were we?"

"Later," Inari warned, "I'll remove your seals on the way. Let's go!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Serpent<strong>_

"Looks like the bait worked," Kabuto noted, "But the wrong fish took it."

Orochimaru frowned. His Sharingan glanced at the countless screens surrounding the duo, each of them linked to a camera across his HQ. Outside the fortress, what appeared to be a small squad of elite ninjas had engaged his Oto-nins in battle. Among the attackers, he recognized a female version of the Jinchuuriki of the Ichibi, surrounded by a ring of sand, Minato Namikaze, striking and vanishing like thunder, that insufferable Killer B, and the treacherous Kakuzu.

Inside, his prisoners were running amok, backed up by two intruders. According to their course, they intended to free the other two captives. But their progress was far too fast for Orochimaru's liking. "They know how my HQ is layered ," he noted, "They haven't made any detour. Somehow, they gained access to my base's plans."

"You believe someone leaked information to the other side?" Kabuto asked, raising an eyebrow. "The Warlord?"

"He's insane enough for that, but my gut tells me it isn't him," the possessed Uchiha replied as he watched the group speed past another set of cameras. No matter how many they passed, the newcomers were always leading the group. Clearly one of them was far more familiar with the layout of the base than they had anticipated. "Whoever it is, it doesn't matter. We've got to push them back. Can your ace get rid of the troublemakers outside before they can damage my fortress' walls? My men just finished repainting them last week."

"Do I need to remind you my pet won the Fourth Shinobi War single-handily?" Kabuto mocked. "Of course he can deal with three ninjas, no matter how strong they are."

"I don't doubt it," Orochimaru said, before putting his Teikoku ring to his lips and muttering to it. "Wrong fish took the bait. Five to seven Shinobi to deal with. Too dangerous to take any risk. Need back-up fast."

"I do not want to sound arrogant, but this group is nothing extraordinary," Kabuto noted, "We beat half of them without any trouble. They aren't ninjas. They're a bunch of misfits."

"These _misfits_, as you call them, managed to defeat Deidara, and from what Mei said, they could fight Pain to a standstill," Orochimaru replied. "Last time I underestimated someone it cost me two arms. So no, I'm not going to give them the _slightest chance _of turning the tide around. Beside, considering how badly we ring users get along, we sorely need team-building exercises."

Kabuto glanced at the screens. The prisoners had found the jail where Yugito Nii and Mikoto Uchiha were detained. Given how much time had passed, he had to admit that this group of children was slightly faster than expected. "Who did you call, may I ask?"

The Uchiha smirked. "_Uzu's Blood Princess_."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yugito<strong>_

"I don't want to sound ungrateful," Izanami said, "But could you please hurry up? I'm pretty sure our captors aren't going to take this jailbreak attempt well."

Chibaku attempted to smash the chakra chains holding both women, without avail. "I ain't got a clue how to get rid of them," he said, glancing at Inari. "Maybe you can use a seal to destroy these restrains?"

"How are you even alive?" Yugito frowned at the newcomer. "The Shinigami had completely mulched your head the last time anyone saw you."

"Shinigami?" Several of the others blinked at the seemingly non caring Naruto as he inspected the red chains.

"Long story." Izanami shivered, recalling her fight with the monster.

"Life and death are surprisingly vague states and concepts when dealing with gods. That being said, I assure you that I do not want to go through such an experience again." Inari absently replied absently while his frown deepened and clicked his teeth in annoyance. "These things won't budge, and I'm nowhere near good enough with seals to manage something this complex quickly. If I knew how this 'Warlord' made them in the first place, I might have improvised something, but they are clearly more twisted and different than your standard chakra chain. Hell, this shit's more messed up than demonic chakra."

"Stand back," Kitsune cut in, "I think I have an idea."

The Feral Gale obeyed, and the hybrid approached the chakra chains restraining Yugito. Much to the Jinchuuriki's surprise, he grabbed them and focused. The chakra chains twisted, before turning into raw, formless power the monk quickly absorbed. The Nibi's vessel landed to the ground, nodding to her friend. "Thank you."

_**Ah… my head… **_Matatabi's voice resonated through Yugito's skull, nothing more than a weakened whisper. _**Kitten… I feel dizzy… did we have a party last night?**_

_It's a long story._

The monk nodded, before moving to Izanami's restrains. Yugito quickly glanced at the rest of the group. "Good to see you all again," she said, "But we will rejoice later. First, how did you even get here?"

"I cannot explain until we are out of the base," Inari explained with his eyes darting to several specific locations, "Orochimaru's cameras might catch our conversations and trust me, the less Teikoku learns of our resources, the better. Once we're out…"

"Yeah, I can't wait to see the sun again," Izanami noted once freed. She glanced at Kitsune. "I was never good at saying thank you, but… thank you."

The monk grunted, before being brought to his knees, holding his stomach. His animal maw twisted in a grimace of pain. "Kitsune, what's happening?" Yugito asked, worried for her friend.

"Devouring this chakra is like drinking acid." Kitsune ground his teeth, getting back to his feet as Chibaku patted his back softly to try and soothe the tension. "Samehada can't even digest it."

"What's wrong with that chakra?" Izanami asked. "It's Uzumaki chakra, you shouldn't have any trouble absorbing it."

"It's not Uzumaki chakra… or rather, not any longer." Kitsune growled. "It looks like the Kyuubi's chakra, but it's different. Poisoned."

"We'll solve that mystery later," Yugito cut in. "Let's get out of here first."

Inari frowned and his eyes darted to the side. "And with those magic words…"

"Well, well, well… we can't let you do that, can we?"

_ Fuck, _Yugito thought, as two enemies walked in sight. _Double fuck. _

"So, you've finally made it," Orochimaru hissed through Sasuke's voice, "After so much trouble, you managed to get out… only for your dashing escape attempt to be thwarted at the last second. It's almost sad, really."

"Sorry ladies and gentlemen," Kabuto Yakushi said mirthfully, his body covered by black robes, "I hoped we could have all gotten along fine, but you seem intent on being difficult."

Each of the seven members of the Arashi clan adopted a fighting stance. "Kazama-san made you the leader in his absence, Yugito-san," Haku reminded the Nibi's vessel, "What are your orders?"

Her eyes briefly moved to the rest of the room. It was extremely large and vast, but the statues of Bijuu present didn't leave much space and too much cover for a long-range battle. Focusing back on her enemies, Yugito quickly formed a plan.

_Haku, Chibaku and Karasu already fought them, so their feedback would be appreciated_, the Jinchuuriki thought. _Inari synergizes well with Chibaku and Karasu, plus he's one of our stronger fighters. The rest of us are most close to mid range specialists, and Kabuto seems the most vulnerable to close combat…_

"Karasu, Chibaku, Inari, take down Orochimaru," she commanded, "The rest of us, we engage Kabuto."

"Yeah, we're seven against two," Inari said, "We've got the advantage there."

Chibaku glared at him. "Did you have to say it?" he snarled. "You just jinxed us!"

Right afterward, the puppeteer was proven right. Space twisted into a portal behind the mad scientists, allowing not one, but _two_ people to walk out.

"On the contrary." The fox grinned without shame, a small glint flashed in his eyes. "When against people like those two, I'd much rather know what cards they are playing with before the fight starts rather than during it."

The first newcomer was a samurai, clad in a red and black armor covering almost every inch of his body. Its edges were sharp, and the horned, crimson helmet covered the man's mouth and nose, leaving his piercing black eyes exposed. Yugito could see the scars and burns surrounding them.

However, the most shocking thing about this man wasn't his armor, or the long sheathed sword he carried attached to his belt. It was the cloak going down from his shoulders to his ankles.

Much to Yugito's astonishment, this wasn't truly a cloak. It was dozens of forehead protectors sewn together. She could see the symbols of Kumo, Iwa, Konoha, and dozens of other nations among them. It was both a collection of trophies and a warning for challengers, that this man had fought across the entire world.

The second person that walked out of the portal was also clad in red, but her appearance couldn't be more opposed to the samurai's. It was a petite woman wearing an elegant, rich crimson kimono covered with orange spiral symbols. The attire was kept together by a black belt, and it was obvious the woman had carefully arranged her kimono to flaunt her voluptuous body. She was carrying a small black fan, her face hidden behind it. She wore a ring with the kanji 'fire' around her finger.

"I do hope this is important," the woman complained with a tone of absolute boredom. "I was about to enjoy my daily spa."

Yugito was certain she had heard this voice somewhere before, but couldn't put a name on it. Izanami, however, obviously recognized the newcomer and paled considerably.

"Allow me to deal with this problem, Oujo-sama," the samurai said sternly. "They will die in time for your archery session."

"I wonder if there are a few pretty boys worth sparing among them," the woman whispered, lowering her fan to glance at the group, revealing long red hair and shining, slit red eyes.

Yugito's eyes widened upon recognizing the newcomer's face, as did the rest of the group .

The woman's eyes glanced at group with disinterest, only barely pausing at the eerily similar gaze of Inari's slit eyes. Then she spotted Izanami. While the Uchiha's stoic expression crumbled into utter shock, the red princess' gaze now reflected only cold anger. "Mifune," she whispered to her samurai retainer.

"Yes, Kushina-hime?"

"Kick their asses, but spare this one. In one piece if possible."

"In one piece. Duly noted. Your will shall be done."

Before Yugito could utter orders, the swordsman was at Izanami's throat, and the first explosions resonated through the room.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Naruko<strong>_

Carrying Konan on her back, Naruko struggled to walk. She glanced at the Dark Wolf, who had no trouble carrying Sasuke herself. "Are we there yet?"

"Once we get out of this forest, the mountain's base will be in sight," the samurai replied with a cold, emotionless tone. Yet, the way she was glancing at Sasuke, Naruko could see both worry and exhaustion in her eyes.

Not that Naruko felt any better. She struggled to even stay awake, having only been able to sleep a few hours in the past couple of days. Every time the group had attempted to rest, Zetsu's goons had either launched assaults, or been close enough for Sasuke to decide they should start fleeing again.

Konan was still comatose, and although Naruko had done her best, she was no medic. She could bandage her wounds, but she couldn't wake her up.

As for Sasuke, when he had collapsed a few hours ago, his eyes bleeding profusely, she worried he had suffered internal injuries. Instead, he had simply fallen unconscious from both exhaustion and chakra loss. The group had been forced to keep traveling on foot.

"Accelerate." The Dark Wolf's words snapped Naruko out of her reverie. "If we don't reach the mountains by nightfall, we are all dead. We are in no condition to fight Zetsu's offsprings right now."

Naruko wanted to disagree, but even with her nearly limitless endurance, she knew she had reached her end. "I will try."

The Dark Wolf sent her an odd glance, before focusing her attention back on the trees surrounding them. "It's strange," she whispered. "Back when I was your age, my master often led us on long walks. It's odd to see a carbon copy of myself in the same situation."

The Dark Wolf's face briefly gave into an awkward smile, which surprised Naruko. However, the smile quickly turned back into a sullen expression. "I'm too tired," the samurai said, "Just forget what I said."

The group fell silent once more, until Naruko couldn't hold it anymore and decided to break the ice. "Your master… how was he?"

The samurai seemed to briefly consider whether answering or not. However, after a short silence, the Dark Wolf reached a decision. "He was a noble, honorable man. He believed in me. He was the only one who ever did."

Before Naruko could press further, the Dark Wolf switched subjects. "We are almost out. Stay alert."

Five minutes later, they exited the forest.

What welcomed them was a large, seemingly endless field of roses. Naruko couldn't help but gasp at the sight. After so much hardship, it was a refreshing change. In the distance, she could see the mountains.

And the smoke.

"No!" The Dark Wolf hissed, as she noticed the smokes and fires covering the mountains. "This… how? They were supposed to be a stronghold!"

Naruko paled, horrified, upon realizing they had walked for so long, all for nothing.

"This… we have been tricked." The Dark Wolf gently placed Sasuke to the ground, before unsheathing her blades. "Naruko, prepare yourself. They trapped us."

**"Wood Release," **a low-pitched voice snarled, **"Demon Roots."**

A dozen, black roots erupted from the ground, each of them the size of a fully grown oak tree trunk. Almost instantly, they swung wildly and attempted to crush the group.

Naruko, her instincts taking over, grabbed Konan and leapt away, while the Dark Wolf merrily cut the monstrous plant construct in order to shield Sasuke. Once the young girl out of the plant's range, Naruko placed her friend to the ground, and adopted a fighting stance.

Slowly, hundreds of white Zetsu emerged from the ground, surrounding the group entirely. Others emerged from the forest's trees, and Naruko realized horrified they have been observing them all along. But in spite of the overwhelming number advantage, the creatures stood there, keeping a respectful distance between the and their foes. "Why aren't they attacking?" Naruko wondered.

"Because they haven't been ordered to," the Dark Wolf replied ominously.

**"Canny as ever," **the Red Zetsu noted, as he emerged from the ground, a short distance away from both kunoichi. **"Do you enjoy the stage? Even with my Mokuton, it was hard to give birth to so many roses in only a few hours. I wanted a perfect, beautiful setting for our final battle." **

"How did you do that?" the Dark Wolf snapped, briefly glancing at the mountain. "You shouldn't be able to climb these mountains!"

**"Why do you think I allied myself with Teikoku to begin with?" **The monster shrugged. **"You never really understood the value of having friends, wolf pup. When you've got a problem, friends are there to solve it. The Warlord was most happy to help me put down my rebel cattle."**

"So we never had any chance at escaping," Naruko realized grimly. "You led us on a wild goose chase."

Zetsu glanced at her, showing its fangs. The young girl realized it was a twisted, sick grin. **"Indeed. I scheduled my attacks to prevent you from resting, while pushing your Uchiha friend to his limits. It took me only a glance at his Susanoo to realize he did not have the Eternal Sharingan. All I had to do was to press him, until he wasted his precious eyes away, robbing you of your best fighter, or at the very least his sight."**

"We'll find another refuge," the Dark Wolf snarled, "You can't possibly have destroyed every single pocket of resis-"

**"This world is mine, wolf pup. From the highest mountain, to the deepest cave. The four of you are the only humans I haven't conquered… yet. I don't own the land. **_**I am the land itself!"**_**  
><strong>

He crossed his arms. **"We both know the only reason you haven't attacked me yet is that you fear to leave your wounded unprotected… and that you're too tired to be guaranteed to win. Fighting you myself will spare my children that your blades would otherwise kill, and besides… it's personal."**

The Dark Wolf cracked her shoulders. "Your arrogance will be your undoing."

**"It's not arrogance when you can back up your claims," **Zetsu said, joining his fingers. **"Wood Release: Hidden in Petals!"**

The wind blew, and thousands of rose petals suddenly flew into a dense storm, clouding Naruko's view and hiding the Red Zetsu.

One second later, his foot impacted on the back of Naruko's head, almost knocking her out. Holding her ground, the Kunoichi stumbled around, as Zetsu prepared to hit her again with a roundhouse kick. Forming a Rasenyari , she attempted to impale Zetsu, only for him to move out of the way.

The Dark Wolf charged, swinging her blades at her enemy. The metal only cut petals, and Zetsu, now nothing more than a crimson blur, circled his enemy and attempted to punch her. Parrying the blow with her forearm, the samurai swiftly beheaded the beast, only for him to explode into roots, petals and leaves. "A plant clone," the Dark Wolf noted.

Naruko felt a powerful killing intent, coming from her left. Lowering herself, she dodged an incoming blow to her neck, and retaliated by kicking her opponent. Zetsu grunted and exploited Naruko's brief loss of momentum to grapple her shirt. Pulling Naruko closer, he proceeded to punch her under the breasts, making her cough.

Grunting in pain, the young kunoichi attempted to kick her foe, who easily dodged. The Dark Wolf rushed to help, pushing Zetsu back with a swing. "Flank him," she commanded.

Combining their efforts, both kunoichi attempted to hit Zetsu, who dodged all of their blows. Although he showed impressive agility and reflexes, Naruko could see he struggled to keep up the pace. If his foes hadn't been so tired, he would have been hit once or twice at least by now.

After a time, Zetsu kicked the Dark Wolf's face, making her lips drip blood, before exploiting the brief opening to leap backward, vanishing among petals. **"Wood Release," **he snarled, **"Red Rose Explosion!"**

Waving her katana into a circular motion, the Dark Wolf produced a powerful wind strong enough to push the petals away from her team. One second later, each of them exploded in countless bursts of crimson fire. Some of the flowers started burning as a result.

"That's all you can do?" The Dark Wolf glared at Zetsu, who stood only a dozen meters away from them. "Your cowardly strategy and pitiful mind game won't be enough for you to win!"

**"You fool. Breaking your spirit was only my secondary objective. My main goal was to lure you to this **_**exact **_**field." **Zetsu extended his arms. **"We have been fighting for years, and as much as I hate to admit it, you always had the edge. No more. For I have crafted a technique so powerful I shall prevail, once and for all."**

The monstrous humanoid roared like a feral animal.

**"Prepare for a vision of hell itself! Corrupted Sage Mode!"**

He hadn't lied. What followed was a true vision from hell.

Zetsu doubled in size, but this was by far the most harmless change. His arms turned into long, black tendrils the length of small houses. Black thorns grew all over the monster's body, shaping an armor over his skin. Yellow, sick inhuman eyes opened on his shoulders and ankles. His skin went from red to purple, and a large, green eye opened in the center of his forehead. Finally, a second mouth grew on his torso, its sharpened yellow fangs dripping with venom. The beast hissed with its twin maws, releasing a haunting screech.

Naruko was too horrified to react when one of the monster's tendrils swung at her like a whip and hit her in the chest. The sheer power behind the blow tossed her a few meters backward, and Naruko crashed back-first onto the ground, pain surging through her body.

The Dark Wolf charged, weapons raised, but the monster vanished in a purple blur. The next second, the samurai suffered the same fate as Naruko, but before she could even land, Zetsu grabbed her ankles with his tendrils and tossed her around like a rag doll.

The Genin rose to her feet, spitting blood. Feeling lucky the blow hadn't connected with any vital, she immediately prepared to fight once more, gazing at the monster. The Dark Wolf valiantly tried to strike back by cutting the monster's pseudo-arms, but it moved out of her swords' way with incredible agility and speed. Naruko realized, much to her horror, her eyes could barely keep up with its movements.

What worried her the most, however, was the flower field.

The roses were rotting.

_**Sage Mode is about using Senjutsu to power-up your attacks, **_Kurama noted with disgust. _**But instead of reaching harmony with nature and achieving balance, Zetsu is draining the area dry of life and uses it as… as fuel.**_

Grinding her teeth, Naruko formed a Rasengan and charged. Hopping the monster was too preoccupied by the Dark Wolf to notice her, she attempted to smash the spiraling orb onto its back.

The creature moved like a dancer, gracefully dodged, and hit Naruko's leg with a kick so powerful the bone shattered in a sickening cracking noise.

Naruko wanted to scream in pain, but Zetsu didn't let her. His tendril-arm swirled around her throat and turned the genin into an improvised projectile, tossing her right at the Dark Wolf's face. The surprised samurai managed to dodge, but left herself open to attack. Using this to his advantage, Zetsu's arms sprung and swirled around the samurai's hands.

Naruko, having just hit the ground, could only stare as the monster grinned at his helpless nemesis, who couldn't move her hands enough for her katana to free her.**"You're like iron, wolf pup," **Zetsu mocked. **"You would rather break than bend."**

The tendrils twisted, breaking both of the Dark Wolf's hands with a loud, sickening noise.

The samurai didn't scream, but Naruko could see her struggle against the urge to do so. The Dark Wolf's weapons slid from her helpless fingers, dropping to the ground. With ease, Zetsu then proceeded to lift her above the ground. **"You have no idea how much joy I find in this moment," **he taunted with both of his mouths,**"My greatest foe at my mercy, helpless and defeated."**

The Dark Wolf glared at him, blood still dripping from her lips and bruises covering her face.

**"You are beautiful when you're broken, do you know that?" **He mocked, glancing at Sasuke next. **"I saw the way you carried him. Did he catch your fancy? He is pretty handsome for your kind, I admit it. Such a dashing rogue, almost sacrificing himself so you could run away from my children, how could one not admire him?"**

"Shut up," the samurai snarled.

**"But you know it's not possible, don't you?" **Zetsu taunted. **"You're a lone wolf. You can't let him get close. You can't let anyone get close. Or else, when they die, you will feel pain. Just like what happened when your old master died. That's why you are so cold and wrathful, because if you begin to care, you begin to suffer. I wonder… how much will you care when I kill him?"**

Naruko noticed a glint in the Dark Wolf's eyes.

Tears. Of shame or fear the Genin couldn't say, but the samurai was struggling against the urge to cry.

Unfortunately, Zetsu noticed it too. **"Oh by Madara, you actually are crying," **he mocked, his dozen eyes all glancing at his prey. **"If I knew threatening this boy was enough to reduce you to tears, I would have killed him already. In fact, I believe I shall do that right now."**

Naruko, clenching her jaw, moved her hands and joined them, beginning a hand seal sequence. When she was almost over…

**"Catch!"**

Naruko grimaced as the Dark Wolf was tossed on her, interrupting the technique. A huge shadow covered her, as the monster towered above his defeated foes.

**"Nothing smells better than false hope," **Zetsu mocked, his arms swirling around both girls' neck, **" That's why man is my favorite animal: you're the only species in the world that can feel _true _**_**despair**_**. "**

Zetsu started choking both girls, its tendrils slowly increasing their pressure and crushing their throats. The monster's lower maw opened, revealing a growing, green sphere of pure chakra. Naruko, in her half-unconscious state, briefly mistook it for a Bijudama.

**"Farewell," **Zetsu hissed, **"Your friends are next. Carry this pain into the next world, wolf pup!"**

As the green sphere's light intensified, Naruko's sight began failing her. The call of sleep grew too strong for her, and all she managed to hear before falling into unconsciousness were two single words.

"Shinra Tensei!" someone shouted.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Jutsu List<strong>_

**Wood Release: Demon Roots, A-Rank: **by using the Mokuton, the user increase the size of underground tree roots and directs them to crush their opponents.

**Wood Release: Rose Field, C-Rank: **by using the Mokuton, the user is able to grow a field of flowers out of nowhere.

**Wood Release: Hidden in Petals, C-Rank: **the user mentally controls flower petals and organizes them into a cloud, reducing their opponent's visibility. The technique can also be used as camouflage to launch surprise strikes.

**Wood Release: Plant Clone, B-Rank: **an advanced variant of the Wood Clone. The user creates a double out of vegetal elements, from leaves to roots. The resulting clone is faster and more durable than the average clone.

**Wood Release: Red Rose Explosion, B-Rank: **the user, after using the Hidden in Petals technique, cause the petals to spontaneously explode in fire, incinerating their victims.

**Corrupted Sage Mode, Kinjutsu: **the ultimate, and most repulsive, Senjutsu technique ever devised. The Corrupted Sage Mode is a variant of the usual Sage Mode where, instead of blending natural chakra with human chakra upon staying immobile, burns out nearby Senjutsu the same way an engine does with gasoline. Instead of gaining animal traits, the user achieves a monstrous form better fit for battling, growing limbs, organs, and natural defenses like venomous fangs. The benefits of the Corrupted Sage Mode are much greater than the normal Sage Mode: the user's strength, agility, reflexes and endurance are multiplied tenfold, his ninjutsu is greatly enhanced, his chakra reserves are constantly replenished, and he gains access to Corrupted Sage Arts.

However, the downsides are what makes it a kinjutsu: by draining an area's Senjutsu to sustains itself, prolonged use of the mode results in irreversible damage to the land, making it sterile and destroying nearby lifeforms. Besides, upon draining an area dry, the user regains his original shape: the Corrupted Sage Mode burns brighter than the normal Sage Mode, but burns out faster.

**Corrupted Sage Art: Natural Sphere, kinjutsu: **by gathering natural chakra into a sphere, a Corrupted Sage creates an artificial replica of a Bijudama. The power of the sphere depends on the size.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** thanks ABitterPill and Third Fang for betaing, and you readers for supporting this story.

If anyone has watched the Road to Ninja movie, then I think you have an idea why this world is so inconsistent. The origin of the world is different in Echoes, but it's a heaven for its creator and creator alone.

Some of you will not be happy for the Feral Gale/Inari's return and I understand your reserves, but, well, this is the final arc: every single character will appear and every single lingering plot threat will be solved. Beside, how the FG managed to return at all is a pretty important matter that will be explained later.

The design of Mifune's armor was inspired by Gundam 00's Masurao.

The Corrupted Sage Mode was an idea I wanted to implement for a time. I think it kinda fits Zetsu's viral nature: instead of achieving coexistence with the world like a normal Sage, he consumes its resources and then repeat the process, like a parasite moving from host to host. The Corrupted Sage Mode's design was partly inspired from Zargon the Returner and Father Llymic from D&D's Elder Evils. Google them to see their wonderful pictures. Also, if you want to write apocalyptic stories, Elder Evils is just a must read.

As I said, the final arc will not only be kick ass battles, although every good guy is going to get awesome moments, but also huge character growth: from the Dark Wolf to Sasuke to Naruko, everyone will mature and get an emotional closure by the end of the story.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, there won't be another until some time. I think I might be able to finish the story before 2015, but I've got exams in May. Afterward, my writing speed should be sensibly increased.

Also, Property Damage is the next story going to be updated, next chapter is two thirds done.

Would you kindly review?

* * *

><p><strong>PS:<strong> some readers apparently misread: no Naruko doesn't have, and will never have, a Rinnegan. It's just someone showed up to save everybody.


	54. Chapter 51: Obito Uchiha

Hey, long time no write.

Sorry for not updating sooner, but things happened in real life. Long short story, I got jaw surgery mid-July and I'm currently in recovery. Can't eat anything solid until another week. As you can guess, I was more interested in sleeping than writing for a time. Secondly, I've started writing a professional novel, which also takes some free time.

Anyway, special thanks to Third Fang for betaing and editing the battles, and ABitterPill for his excellent work. Thanks all readers for reading.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 51: <strong>_

_**Obito Uchiha**_

Menma Uzumaki was waiting silently, sitting on the Yondaime Hokage's stone head.

As Kazama glanced at him, he realized his double seemed have an inverted color scheme compared to his counterparts. Menma's hair was black instead of golden, and his white clothes replaced by a black cloak of fox fur. An ANBU mask lay on the ground next to him. His blue eyes appraised Kazama without a word.

"Sit," Menma commanded, Kazama obeying reluctantly. "It's an impressive view, don't you think?"

Kazama observed the city below. At this hour, the lights of homes and shops alike illuminated the night, giving Konoha the appearance of a sea of stationary fireflies. "It's beautiful."

"I find it disgusting," the double replied with a smirk, "But there's a certain charm to it. The name is Menma. The real Menma. You know that already, of course. The question is, who the fuck are _you_?"

"Kazama Arashi," the blonde replied, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you who I am."

"I heard your name already, smartass," Menma replied, showing his double his hand. "Does it remind you of anything?"

Kazama glanced at the raised limb, and recognized Menma's ring. He ground his teeth. "Teikoku… I see. That explains why you vanished."

"I left the city long before joining the organization," Menma replied. "I simply didn't know what to do with my life, so when I was invited into it, I accepted. I don't care what their goals are… visiting new worlds is more of a hobby to me than a vocation."

"Destroying them as well?"

"I'm just a tag along," Menma replied, "If you want hard core genocide, call the boss. I do what I'm asked, but I didn't participate in atrocities like some of my comrades. I did some pretty terrible things, yes… but don't you dare judge me. _I _never burned a city to the ground."

Kazama clenched his fists. "How did you learn about that?"

"You can't hide anything in this place," Menma replied, "Not that I blame you. I toyed with the idea myself more than once."

Kazama glanced down at the sleeping city with sorrow. "It isn't worth it," he whispered. "It never is."

"Then why did you do it in the first place?"

"I was angry," the young man whispered. "I still am. I let my rage consume me, and it cost me not only the respect of the people who loved me… it also cost me myself. I ran across the line, and I can never undo it."

Menma observed the sky. "You know, sometimes, I wonder why the gods made humans so imperfect," he admitted, "Why give us the desire to seek pleasures and revenge, and yet guilt and shame at the same time? They're mocking us I tell you."

"I have met gods," Kazama replied angrily, "They made us imperfect because they're no better themselves. Even worse is that most don't recognize it."

"Heh, there must have been a funny story behind that statement," Menma shrugged, searching inside his robes and bringing out a pipe. Lighting it with a fire jutsu, he inhaled the smoke and smiled. "Want some?"

"No, I do not smoke."

"My parents told me once the Sandaime used to smoke these herbs, and I wonder if they're right," Menma snickered. "At least they're pretty relaxing."

Kazama observed Menma for a few seconds, trying to figure the guy out. For a Teikoku member, he seemed more like a relaxed teenage punk than an evil criminal. He couldn't underestimate him though; it could be a trick to lower his guard, but…

Menma didn't appear to that bad.

"I've got a question for you," Menma said, "Did you fuck Sakura?"

Kazama reddened indignantly. The outlandish inquiry had come from out of nowhere and caught him off guard in a way he had not been expecting. "Of course not."

"Ah good, 'cause I would have killed ya if you did," Menma snorted. "I have been observing you guys for some time, and considering she had a crush on me when I left… well…"

"I've got a girlfriend… I think." Kazama sighed. "I haven't seen her for a while, and I'm not sure I can speak to her again."

"Due to your breakdown?"

"Yeah. I'm not sure if I deserve her affection… or if she will even return mine any longer. She's… a wonderful, strong woman. She… she made me feel alive. Worth something."

Menma nodded. "She sounds like a soulmate," he said. "I think you should see her again. Even if she's no longer willing to pursue a relationship… it's better than running away, like I did with Sakura. If you don't, the doubts will never leave you."

"You knew she loved you." That wasn't a question. "Why did you leave, then? Because you did not return her affection?"

"Can a toy have affection?"

Kazama grabbed Menma's neck almost instantly by reflex, grinding his teeth in outrage. "Don't you dare say that," he hissed, "She's a person, a nice one to boot, which is a hell of a lot more than I can say about nearly everyone else I've met in my life. Don't you dare ever call somebody a toy in front of me!"

Menma shrugged, seemingly not at all uncomfortable with being manhandled, and continued to smoke his pipe. "Yet she's a toy," he said, "As I am. Everybody in this damn world is a toy, a puppet dancing to a tune. Haven't you seen the strings already?"

Kazama released Menma, who calmly rolled his shoulders to regain his previous comfort. "Explain."

"Geez, how dense can you be?" Menma growled. "Doesn't it strike you as odd that you ended up in a world where the childhood crush you spent years trying to earn the affection of just happens to love you back? That the parents you never grew up with are alive and nice people? That your friend Madara, just happened to have the respect he craved for most of his life here, where he's a hero to Konoha?"

"So Madara was right… something is very wrong with this world." Kazama narrowed his eyes. "What's going on?"

"Do you really want me to spell it out to you?" Menma shrugged at Kazama's silence, and dropped the bomb.

"I am not you. Or rather, I am not the real Naruto Uzumaki. This world's Naruto was murdered long ago."

Kazama blinked. "What-"

"Three years ago, Akatsuki succeeded in capturing all Jinchuuriki and reviving the Shinju, the primordial god of the world," Menma explained. "The leader of Akatsuki then became its Jinchuuriki and used its infinite chakra to launch the strongest ninjutsu the world has ever seen… the _Infinite Izanagi_. Reality warping on a global scale."

Kazama assembled the pieces. "You can't be implying that this entire world-"

"Is a dream turned reality," Menma said, "Sakura, my parents, this place… we're not humans. We're chakra constructs, not unlike the Bijuu. We're the children of one man's fantasies. We're worthless copies of real people, with faked emotions, fake memories, fake _everything_. We're _nothing_."

"This is… even Kushina, Minato-" Kazama choked, the horror dawning upon him. "Everyone…"

"Everyone," Menma cut in, "But the person behind the fantasy, you, and your mentor."

"The scale of this…" Kazama whispered. "An entire world replaced with an illusion. Which means the original people…"

"Have been wiped out of existence," Menma confirmed sorrowfully, "When I realized what was going on… I snapped. I didn't want to live a lie. I dyed my hair black, had my name changed from Naruto to Menma… I ended up hating Konoha, my parents, everyone, and most importantly, myself."

He sighed morosely. "You know what the worst thing is?" he asked. "I'm not even sure if my feelings are my own or just something my creator inspired to taunt me."

"Who did it?" Kazama asked angrily, ready to murder. "Who could be so utterly selfish?"

"I think you already know who did this," Menma replied, vanishing into the night, "He's the guy for whom everything turned out alright in this world."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Naruko<strong>_

Naruko opened her eyes, on a soft bed of grass. Two people were observing her, although she couldn't clearly distinguish their features yet as her vision was blurry.

"Good morning, Naruko," Konan's soft voice welcomed the girl, "Have you slept well?"

"Hello girlie!" A man with a screechy voice greeted her. "Nice to meet ya! I see Karin patched you up good!"

"Konan?" Naruko grunted, as the woman helped her get up. "You're healed? Where are we?"

"Somewhere safe," the woman said, "Friends saved and gave us extensive medical attention."

"Yeah, although I'm always crept out by Karin's methods," the man with the screechy voice said, "I mean, healing by biting? That's freaky as hell, if effective!"

"Biting?" Naruko frowned, glancing at the man. "What do you…"

Then, she recognized the screechy one.

The creature was a white Zetsu, with a spiraled form instead of a face. He waved at her cheerfully, only for Naruko to adopt a fighting stance. "Konan, behind you!"

"Hey, hey, calm down!" The strange Zetsu raised his arms in peace. "I'm on your side! I'm innocent like the newborn lamb!"

"He is on our side, Naruko," Konan confirmed, "In fact, without him and his partner, we wouldn't be having this conversation in the first place. Glance around yourself."

Naruko calmed around herself, and did as she was told.

The area looked like an endless plain, covered with emerald grass and cultivated fields. A few houses of earth had been built upon it, and dozens of people surrounded them. Some were medics treating wounded or burned people, others were working in the fields to reap fruits and vegetables.

It seemed to be a primitive, overcrowded village. "How is this possible?" Naruko wondered. "Zetsu…"

"Red," a deep voice said, as a man joined the small group. "We call him Red here."

The man was obviously an Uchiha. In his thirties, the man had short spiky black hair, a plain face, and a Rinnegan and Sharingan in place of normal eyes, protected by orange goggles. Clad in white robes, he looked more like a wandering artist than a ninja. "My name is Tobi," the man said, "And this guy there is Spiral, my best friend and partner."

"I'm the pretty one," Spiral said.

"We're the ones who rescued you from Red," Tobi continued, "This is the Ark, my pocket dimension. It's very small, but it's the only place our foes cannot access. You can say it's our last refuge."

"These people…"

"Are survivors from Red's campaign in the human world." Spiral chuckled. "You didn't think he killed _everybody_, did you? Not that he didn't try."

"Whenever we could, we transported refugees here with the Kamui," Tobi continued, "People and animals alike. The lasts of their kind."

"Did you create this entire place by yourself?" Naruko asked, amazed, before glancing at what appeared to be a star above them. "Even this sun?"

"It is no bigger than a house, but yes," Tobi chuckled. "All the previous owners of the Rinnegan focused on its abilities for war, when it can do _so _much more. It is the power of a god… the power to create, to bring life. It saddens me how much its potential was wasted on pointless battles. I could teach you Konan-san a few tricks, if you want."

"Combined with my Mokuton, we have a full self-sustaining ecosystem," Spiral said. "We could stay there forever. Well, not really. We're overcrowded, and Red might find a way to invade this place eventually."

"But at least for now, you are safe here," Tobi said, "Rest and mend your wounds, while you still can."

"How did you know we needed help?" Naruko asked, slightly suspicious.

"We were in the middle of evacuating the mountain villages when we noticed signs of battle in the valleys below," Spiral explained, "I'm the land as much as Red. I could sense it cry when Red started consuming it to power himself. We arrived right in time to grab you and get away with the Kamui."

"Fortunately, we have some good medics among us, and they treated you well," Tobi continued, "Your friends have woken up already and left to train. The Dark Wolf took her defeat badly, and wished to be prepared for the next showdown. Sasuke-san decided to give assistance."

"Thank you very much," Naruko said, bowing her head, "You saved our lives."

"It is the least I could do," Tobi admitted, "I am the one indirectly responsible for Red's existence in the first place, after all. All his atrocities are on my head."

Konan frowned. "Please explain how."

"I was once rescued from certain death by Madara, the dreaded lord of the Uchiha," Tobi explained, "He was old and weak, at death's door, and he wished for an apprentice to carry on his plans of world domination. After thanking him for saving my life, I gently told him what I thought of his offer."

"He told him _'you can suck my dick you senile old fart'_," Spiral chuckled, "You should have seen Madara's face! I laughed so hard I almost died from it."

"Yes, I was a horrible brat when I was younger," Tobi said with significantly less amusement. "After someone very close to me died, I decided to leave Madara and wander the world to help those who needed me. I didn't wish for anyone to suffer through what I did, and I didn't want to continue that old misanthrope's crazy plan. Since he lost one pawn… he decided to _breed _another."

"I'm the first Zetsu," Spiral explained, "The prototype, so to say. I was made to be an assistant with few combat abilities. Madara decided to create another Zetsu, one more adapted for combat, planning and leadership. After a recipe of mad science, tropical plants, and spliced human DNA, he created Red."

"Red was, unlike Spiral, an organism made purely for fighting, a brute with a cruel intellect that would capture the Jinchuuriki and bring back Madara after he died," Tobi continued, "But Red was too intelligent, too smart, too egotistical and, more to the point, lacked empathy for anybody, even his _'father'_."

"Red grew arrogant," Spiral whispered. "He began to consider himself superior to humans, even Madara. He didn't wish to be a stand-in for his creator. He wanted to remake the whole damn world in his image. In the end, he moved from desire to action."

"He killed Madara in his sleep, before abducting Jinchuuriki one after the other," Tobi continued. "He extracted the Bijuu with his Mokuton and used their chakra to make nearly endless clones of himself. With his shapeshifting abilities, he impersonated world leaders and sparked wars between the Shinobi Nations. When they were weakened enough, he made his move and started to conquer the land."

"Red thinks he, and by extension all his _'children'_, are the next dominant species that will assimilate, exterminate, and replace mankind," Spiral said, "I warned Tobi, and together we attempted to kill him. But Red and his spawns overwhelmed us with sheer numbers, and we had to flee with our tails between our legs. It wasn't our proudest moment."

"I searched for the Rinnegan Madara once abandoned, in order to even the field," Tobi continued, "But by the time I had found it, Red had already conquered most of the continent and started hunting down the last pockets of resistance. I decided saving what was left of mankind was the priority… so I brought them there. Red may be the land, but even he can't access my pocket dimension."

The Uchiha shook his head. "This entire situation is my fault," he said, "I should have killed Madara long ago, before he created Red. This would have saved many more people than those I rescued."

"It wasn't your fault," Konan replied, "You didn't know it would end like this."

"Yes," Naruko said, "You're a hero, Tobi-san. What Red Zetsu did was his and Madara's fault, not yours."

"Thank you, but my guilt is clear," Tobi replied. "Anyway, I would like explanations. _Who _are you exactly? I did know a Konan once, but she died, and… you little girl look awfully like you could be the Dark Wolf's daughter or sister."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yugito<strong>_

Mifune wasted no time in crushing them.

"The princess wants it quick, and so shall it be!" he exclaimed. "Ninshu: Human Containment Seal!"

Moving his hands in whirlwind motion, Mifune unleashed his attack in the form of a whirlpool of red chakra. The assault moved forward like a typhoon, annihilating all in its wake. Yugito and Izanami both dodged the technique…

Only for it to change direction midair and impact on Izanami's back. "What the-" she said, before the artificial wind swallowed the sound of her voice. The whirlwind captured her, and moved around, shifting direction once more.

Kushina lazily raised her fan, upon which the whirlwind impacted. However, neither the princess nor the fan budged as the whirlwind and its captive vanished on contact, absorbed into the item. All that remained of Izanami was her name written on the fan.

One technique.

That man had defeated Izanami with _one technique_.

"And another for my collection," Kushina said, "I wonder how long I should keep her sealed there? A few years maybe? Food for thought."

Yugito growled, as she started tapping into the Nibi's chakra and unleashed two powerful fireball at Mifune. The man stopped the first easily, without realizing he wasn't the second attack's true target. _If I destroy the fan, _Yugito thought, as the fireball reached Kushina, _It should free Iz-_

"Fuuinjutsu," the princess whispered, waving her fan, "Return to Nothingness."

The projectile vanished the second it hit, as if it had never existed. "_What_?" Yugito exclaimed, amazed. _Only a Rinnegan user could-_

"You dare attack the princess of Uzu with your filthy ninjutsu?" Mifune growled. "To make _me _slip up? I was willing to give you an honorable death, but you do not deserve my mercy!"

He inspired deeply. "Ninshuu," he whispered, slamming his foot on the ground, "Powerless Imbalance."

His foot hit the ground, and Yugito felt an invisible force phase through her.

Instantly, the Nibi fell silent. The kunoichi's body was drained of all strength, and her skull became assaulted with headaches. Yugito felt as if she had lost her sense of touch, her body numb.

"This is Ninshuu, the most primal force of spiritual energy, untainted by the corruption of Ninjutsu," Mifune declared, "I put a spiritual barrier between your physical and spiritual energy, preventing you from mixing them into chakra."

"Now, you understand why Mifune is called the _Ninja Buster_," Kushina taunted, "He lost _once _against a ninja in his entire life. None of you peasants can scratch him."

_This is bad, _Yugito thought, frantically attempting to mix her chakra to no avail. Without the Nibi and her ninjutsu, Yugito could only rely on her above average taijutsu… against an armored and obviously experienced hand-to-hand fighter.

After spending days drained and weakened by the Warlord's chains.

Refusing to admit defeat, Yugito adopted a fighting stance. If she had to go, she would go down fighting.

"At least you have a strong spirit," Mifune commented before charging. "I will make it quick."

Yugito focused and dodged the first blow, retaliating with a punch of her own. However, the swordsman caught her arm with one hand and punched her shoulder with the other, dislocating it. Yugito refrained from letting out a shriek of pain, as the warrior grabbed and tossed her against a nearby statue.

Quickly getting up, Yugito moved sideways to dodge an incoming kick. Mifune's iron heel smashed through the statue, and the kunoichi exploited the opportunity. Touching the ground with her remaining working hand, she raised both her legs and intertwined them around Mifune's neck. With a slight push, she threw the man off balance and smashed his skull against the ground.

Freeing him and getting back to her feet, she prepared to stomp on the samurai. Mifune, apparently more annoyed and surprised than hurt, quickly got back up and moved out of the way. Before he could fully rise up, Yugito attempted to hit his neck with her knee.

The samurai grabbed it with both his hands, kicked her other leg to make her slip, and smashed her knee against the rock, breaking it.

Yugito hissed and vainly attempted to rise up again, only for Mifune to pin her to the ground with his iron heel. "You were brave," the samurai commented, unsheathing his sword, whose blade was as dark as the night, "But bravery without strength is meaningless."

_I can't die here! _Yugito panicked, as the man raised his weapon to behead her. _I can't-_

The entire room shook.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Haku<strong>_

The man was toying with them.

He had to be, for the 'battle' was nothing more than a taunt. Kabuto Yakushi, clad in his dark robes, absentmindedly dodged Kitsune's blows and Haku's Ice Senbon without seemingly any effort, moving like a dancer. He didn't even fight back.

He just… dodged everything.

"Well, well, you sure are a disappointment," Kabuto commented, "I shouldn't be surprised considering how our last fight ended, Haku-san, but I wonder if I should bother using ninjutsu at all."

The kunoichi growled and slammed her palms. "Ice Release: Killing Field," she whispered, the ground underneath Kabuto turning into sharp icicles.

Moving at great speed, Kabuto slithered through the obstacles like a snake, the projectiles grazing his cloak without harming him at all. He rapidly approached Haku, who attempted to punch him.

Leaning a little, Kabuto avoided the blow entirely and stepped backward, dodging all of Haku's strikes with sickening ease. "Are we dancing or fighting?" he asked. "I cannot tell."

Kitsune came crashing in, whipping Kabuto away with his tail. The scientist gracefully landed back to his feet and engaged the dragon-man in taijutsu combat, neither of the two fighters were managing to land any blows.

Haku quickly realized something was odd. She had fought at his side long enough to realize Kitsune's blows were sluggish and careless. Why didn't he use his stronger techniques? And why didn't Kabuto bother to beat them at-

_They're staging a fight._

Suddenly, Haku understood how their allies had managed to find them and get plans of the HQ in short order. They got help. _Inside help_. She glanced at Kabuto and briefly locked eyes with him. The little glint of acknowledgment in his eyes was all the confirmation she needed.

"You bore me," Kabuto whispered, grabbing Kitsune's tail and flinging the boy away with his mere physical strength. He then charged toward Haku, who faked a counterattack.

Kabuto punched her in the chest, making her cough. She wondered if she had been mistaken… until she felt something metallic against her skin. The ninja briefly approached Haku's ears and whispered to it. "Take it and run away. You can't win against my allies, and I will have to fight you for real to keep my cover if this lasts much longer."

Haku grabbed the item and, after making sure nobody else saw it, hide it beneath her robes. Then she kicked Kabuto away, much to his amusement. "Demonic Ice Mirrors!" She shouted, turning air moistures into a dome of ice, trapping the ninja inside.

"That won't hold him for long," Haku said, playing the masquerade. She glanced at her fellows, each in precarious positions. "We've got to escape!"

Her wish got fulfilled when a beam demolished the ceiling.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chibaku<strong>_

The moment Orochimaru started moving, Chibaku realized from whom the Sound-Naruto had inherited his speed.

His movements were but a white blur to Chibaku's eyes, the fiend wearing Sasuke's face charged forward, his hands clad in lightning. Karasu reacted first thanks to his Sharingan, and unleashed a barrage of fireballs at the ninja.

Orochimaru dodged them without much trouble, but the fireballs' smoke slowed down his movements. While Inari charged to fight hand-to-hand, Chibaku flew into the air, above the fighters, and readied his kunai launcher.

Inari, his hands clad in what appeared to be swords of wind, reached the madman without any signs of hesitation. Orochimaru in turn unsheathed his sword, swirling with lightning, and parried Inari's strikes with expert care, electricity and wind clashing head-on. Unfortunately his progress was forced to a halt as he had to deal with the fact that the young ninja had two blades to his one, and seemed to be capable enough to use them well. The air between the two was soon occupied with the flashes and sounds of their weapons encountering one another at a rapid pace.

With his arms preoccupied, the attacker resorted to more unique techniques. Widening his mouth, Orochimaru turned his tongue into a white snake. Inari was forced to take a step back to avoid a possibly fatal bite at the last possible moment, and Chibaku exploited the opening to unleash a volley of kunai at their foe. Rotating on himself, Orochimaru deflected one kunai after another with the grace of a dancer.

Then, a split second later, he unleashed a lightning bolt at Chibaku, who dodged it… only to be hit by a second one and end up flying out of control.

_Damn it, the first shot was a feint so he could calculate my trajectory with the Sharingan, _Chibaku cursed his lack of foresight. _He uses his Sharingan much better than most Uchiha. _

In the split second it took for Chibaku to reach the ground, Orochimaru had already closed the gap between them, his sword readied for a fatal blow. Fortunately, Inari and Karasu stopped the man's progress. Karasu, having transformed in his crow-Sage mode, flew forward and attempted to tackle Orochimaru, while Inari attacked from another angle.

Sheathing his sword, Orochimaru dodged Karasu's attack, grabbed him by the ankle, twisted on the spot, and threw the Uchiha at Inari. Hurriedly removing his blades of wind to avoid hurting his ally by accident, Inari took the human projectile head on and crashed next to Chibaku.

"Is that all you've got?" Orochimaru mocked, as he stepped backward to dodge a volley of gunshots from Chibaku. "I expected more from three Jinchuuriki."

"Guys, I don't want to sound cynical, but we're kinda getting our asses kicked here," Karasu groaned, as he rose back to his feet alongside the Feral Gale.

"That guy has the techniques of both Orochimaru and Sasuke put in a single body," Inari sighed, sounding far more like Shikamaru than the others would like to admit. "Man, that's the last person that should have gotten a Sharingan. Beside Jiraiya of course."

"He's as fast as the Sound-nin, but he's also a taijutsu master and with the Sharingan…" Chibaku hissed. "And I thought that guy was a pain."

"Ah, yes, Naruto… I was most happy with the fighting style I taught him." Orochimaru smirked. "Especially the flaws."

Chibaku immediately understood. "You _intentionally _taught your student a flawed fighting style?"

"What kind of teacher teaches everything he knows to an apprentice?" Orochimaru confirmed, unleashing a powerful gust at the three of them. While Inari and Karasu managed to get out of the way in time, Chibaku was not so fortunate. The blast of air impacted the mechanical man heavily, launching him into the nearby wall. Even after the user had finished performing it, the jutsu seemed to persist in holding its target down. "When an apprentice learns everything from a master, then it is inevitable he shall turn treacherous and use the skills taught to him to usurp the teacher. Better keep a few aces in your hand, don't you agree? Only _I _can live forever after all."

"Tremendously faulty logic aside, I'm guessing that's how you managed to steal Sasuke's body, isn't it?" Inari guessed calmly, for the first time in the fight showing a hint of genuine anger and disgust, which quickly turned into a bitter smile. "They can't all be genius after all. I suppose that means you're the lucky one that hit the multiverse lottery."

The snake in Sasuke's body allowed his smile to drop just a hair at the insult to his genius, but kept his cool and snorted. "If my counterparts were stupid enough to teach everything they knew to a bunch of brats, then they deserved their fate."

"Grooming your apprentices while preparing to kill them anytime… that's pretty smart… and low, even from you!" Chibaku hissed, struggling against Orochimaru's wind technique. "A teacher should better a student, not sabotage them!"

Orochimaru laughed. "Is that what Sasori told you? Where is he now? Rotting in some foreign grave, while his pathetic student will fall before my might!"

Chibaku was about to respond to the snake's taunting with some colorful dialogue of his own when something behind the snake moved and caught his attention. A clone of Inari's seemed to come into focus behind the target of their ire and stab him through the chest with a wind blade…

... only for Orochimaru to transform into a fire clone moments later and explode to consume its attacker instantly.

"Humph." The real body stealer phased through the ground near the downed clown as it poofed out of existence and looked unamused at Inari. "Did you really think I didn't notice such a paltry trick?"

The wind master, who had at some point was looking at Chibaku with interest, shrugged, not at all bothered by his failed attempt. "Not really. Fire clone kinda screwed over the chain I was setting up. Plus you got rid of the other clones I hid pretty quickly."

"And yet you seem to find your comrade's condition more interesting." The scientist shrugged. "Simple-minded fool."

"Inari!" Karasu hissed. "Now isn't the time to go crazy on us! I can't hold him back alone!"

"Just checking out this jutsu he used." The eldest of the three mused almost casually as he looked at the puppet with some interest before reaching out a hand and twitched his fingers. To almost everyone's surprise, the technique dispelled instantly the moment he made contact with it. "Yeah, I think I know enough to do it now."

Orochimaru blinked a few moments before chuckling with amusement, not at all bothered with the fact that his technique was cancelled so easily. "Kukuku. Well now. That certainly is interesting. Perhaps this will not be a waste of my time after all."

"Guys, there is a way to beat him hand-to-hand: the same way I beat the Sound-nin," Chibaku grunted as he got back up, "Summon the Kyuubi's chakra and have it attack him, while you focus on moving and dodging."

"Even with the Sharingan he can't predict so many movements at once," Inari caught on, "Sounds good to me!"

The three Jinchuuriki focused, their skin quickly covered by a cloak of red chakra.

Orochimaru's Sharingan swirled and released a brief red flash.

… and the red chakra receded back into the Jinchuuriki, their connection to their Bijuu disrupted. "I guess I should have seen that coming," Karasu trailed off.

"You fool, have you any idea of my mastery of the Sharingan?" Orochimaru taunted. "I spent decades studying and mastering its powers!"

"Ranged tactics," Inari commanded, "Karasu, Chibaku, use fire techniques. I'll boost them with wind."

Chibaku readied his flamethrower, and unleashed a long stream of fire. Meanwhile, Karasu finished a long hand seal sequence. "Fire Release: Fenghuang!" he snarled, unleashing a large fireball taking the vague shape of a bird. Inari released a powerful wind, which bolstered both techniques.

Orochimaru joined his hands and mimicked Karasu's technique, while adding a few more hand seals to the sequence. "Fire Release: Fenghuang!" he snarled, unleashing a colossal bird made of blue flames at the group. The techniques collided in a big explosion that filled the room with smoke.

"Did he just copy my technique?" Karasu asked, infuriated. "Now I know how my opponents feel."

"No. He copied and improved it _at the same time_," Inari stated grimly. "Not even Madara pulled it off. Damn. I've only heard of guys that do shit like this in passing, but they're known to be complete pains in the ass to take down."

"You can say anything about him, but Orochimaru is a genius," Chibaku groaned, "We need to prevent him from using the Sharingan."

Inari grimaced as he looked at Karasu apologetically before he joined his palms. Almost instantly, the air grew thicker, warmer, and most importantly, blurry as all hell to the Sharingan users there.

"What are you doing?" Chibaku asked. While he couldn't directly feel what was going on, his chakra sensors were going haywire.

"I'm boosting the chakra I normally saturate the air with," Inari said, "Since the Sharingan and nearly all sensors detect chakra in its purest form, it will overload said senses and render them useless when in range. The Hyuuga and Sasuke back in my world hated it when I did this. Sorry Karasu, but you're kinda the reason I didn't do it earlier. Didn't want to hold you back."

"You could have warned me sooner," Karasu said, closing his eye. He would have turned it off, but he still needed the techniques that were only available when it was activated. "Still, getting rid of his eyes is more important than me keeping mine at the moment."

"Can you fight with your eyes closed?" Chibaku asked worryingly.

"With my Sage Mode, I can still roughly use Senjutsu to direct myself," Karasu stated, "But yeah, I'm deprived of most of my arsenal."

"Stay behind and use long-range techniques if you can," Inari said, his hands once more clad with wind chakra, "Chibaku, let's go."

The duo charged toward Orochimaru. The man waited for them, his eyes closed, and dodged Chibaku's first strike with infuriating ease.

"I never encountered such a technique before," Orochimaru stated, "It is simple, yet so brilliant. Saturating the air with your chakra to impair the Sharingan… no there is more to it than that. Chakra in this state should not last nearly this long without form. Fascinating. I will take notes. Unfortunately for you, like a snake, I can feel the vibrations you produce by moving and breathing."

"Yeah," Inari agreed, not at all surprised by his opponent's statement. "But can you see the length of my wind blades?"

Orochimaru laughed, as he leaned forward, avoiding Inari's wind arm. "I do not need to. I calculated the chakra wavelength you are using long ag-!"

His boasting was interrupted as he jerked his head to the side from a second slash that Inari made, and a cut appeared on his cheek that began to weep blood. Almost instantly he widened the gap between himself and his attackers. He was no longer smiling or amused.

"Come on, keep talking." Inari had long since learned how to mess with an opponent's fine tuned senses in various ways while the air held this much of his chakra in it. Fooling the snake's in this case was an easy task for him to accomplish.

Inari's grin grew to the point that he looked savage, homicidal, and at the height of joy. It was almost as if humiliating Orochimaru in that instant brought him the greatest happiness in his life. Clearly Orochimaru's possession of Sasuke's body bothered Inari more than what he had initially revealed. "It amuses me."

The scientist frowned as he wiped the blood from his wound and rubbed his fingers together as if inspecting the fluids. "Considering your exceptional skill with wind techniques, the fact Chibaku-kun is a puppeteer and Karasu-kun would never use a technique robbing him of his most prized weapon… I take it you are responsible for this peculiar chakra field."

_Which makes you my main target, _Chibaku guessed the snake's thoughts. He and Inari were nearly on top of the Sanin when their target decided on what he was going to do, and moved with horrifying precision.

Orochimaru pushed the puppeteer aside with a kick and then focused back on Inari, once again showing incredible speed. Dodging a wind arm strike, which held enough power and range to scar the floor and walls a good distance behind him, he prepared to punch the biggest threat. While the speed of the blow was incredible, the Feral Gale managed to step back and dodge with only some effort. Without the Sharingan to boost his abilities and precision, the Sanin's taijutsu was far easier to predict and follow, if only just so.

Then the fingers turned into white snakes.

Inari obviously didn't expect something like that, as the reptiles hit his chest at the speed of a bullet. "Pentagram Cursed Seal," Orochimaru whispered, as Inari went crashing against the ground.

"What the-" the young blonde hissed, as he tried getting up. Black seals started spreading across the chest, adopting the design of a five-headed snake. The thick air started vanishing almost instantly.

"This is a self-replicating, adapting seal of my design," Orochimaru taunted, "It will shut down your chakra coils one by one, until your own organs fail and kill you. It has already started neutering your skills."

Opening his eyes and revealed the Sharingan once more, Orochimaru unsheathed his blade and prepared to behead Inari. The Feral Gale managed to dodge the first swing, but his pain crippled and paralyzed him enough to render him helpless on the second.

Reacting quickly, Chibaku created chakra strings and attached them to Inari's limbs, making him dance like a doll. Orochimaru missed, and so did his two newest strikes. A fire ball finally hit the madman from behind, covering him with smoke and debris.

"I did it!" Karasu gloated, being the first to hit the madman in the entire fight. "Got him!"

"Damn it Karasu!" Chibaku yelled. "You saying that only means-!"

A colossal creature emerged from the smoke, shadowing the entire battlefield.

"My strongest technique," Orochimaru's voice resonated, "Yamata-no-Orochi!"

"Oi oi." Inari frowned. "What's with the jump to final form already? Don't tell me you're pissed just because he nailed you with that one attack."

"Amaterasu's Breath!"

The chakra construct was a version of Susanoo… one taking the shape of an eight-headed, colossal snake, with golden shields for scales and red burning lights for eyes. The eight mouths opened at the same time and unleashed black flames at the puppeteer and his unwilling puppet.

At the last moment, the black flames stopped midair, Karasu groaning as his lone Mangekyo Sharingan started bleeding. "I won't hold the Amaterasu for long," he hissed in pain.

"Guys… we can't beat him," Inari grimaced in obvious pain, "Not like this. Without this seal and on a larger battlefield we might have stood a chance but right now it's only a matter of time before he and his allies overpower us. For all we know, Teikoku might send more soldiers soon. We've got allies outside that can ship us out of this world, but we've got to _get away_."

Nodding solemnly, Chibaku glanced at Karasu. "I'm gonna destroy the ceiling," he said, "When I do, grab Inari and fly away. I'll evacuate the others."

"Roger that!" Karasu glanced briefly at his friend. "Good luck!"

Chibaku raised his arm at the ceiling and unleashed his laser on the unfortunate construct. The beam went through the concrete, piercing the floors above until it reached the blue sky. Rocks and stones started falling, burying Orochimaru's Yamata and Amaterasu underneath. Grabbing Inari, Karasu flew away toward their freedom.

Flying and dodging rocks, Chibaku quickly found Yugito at the mercy of the red samurai. Tackling the man by surprise before quickly moving once more, the puppeteer grabbed Yugito and fled, much to Kushina's obvious displeasure.

"Izanami's been sealed in that woman's fan…" Yugito hissed in pain, her shoulder and knee having been broken in the battle. "We can't leave her…"

"I'm sorry to say it, but we've got no other choice," Chibaku said grimly, "We will come back for her, I promise."

Much to his surprise, he located another flying creature moving around debris. Kitsune flew into the air with amazing grace, Haku riding him like a steed. "Kitsune, you can fly?"

"Do you think I spent the time we got separated lazing off?" Kitsune replied. "I have grown stronger, as did you."

Chibaku nodded and focused on the crumbling ceiling. He noticed the Yamata's first head starting to break free of the rocks and stones. "Alright, let's go!"

The flying duos rose above, pursuing Karasu, and finally reached the skies and clouds.

Free at last.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Naruko<strong>_

"This… is a hard story to believe," Tobi admitted, "Honestly, I would have thought you mad if I didn't have the Sharingan, but your body language shows no lies. You're either the most skilled teller of tall tales I ever met, or you're telling the truth… or, you're all just insane."

"That would explain the guys fighting with Zetsu nowadays," Spiral noted, "That's crazily exciting!"

"We know Teikoku has been using devices called Relays to transport their troops from one universe to another," Konan said, "Do you have any idea where one could be placed?"

"The only place I can think of is Zetsu's headquarters, the place which we once called Konoha," Tobi said, "If we can secure the area, and the Relay, then maybe you could join your friends. Of course this is easier said than done."

"Red Zetsu is the only member of his army with strategic abilities," Naruko pointed out, "If we kill him, it's all over, right?"

"That wouldn't solve anything," Tobi replied. "Slaying Red Zetsu would be only a temporary setback for his swarm."

"Why?" Konan asked.

"Because Red doesn't die when he is killed," Spiral explained, "We've destroyed his body multiple times, but a special technique allows him to return again and again."

"After capturing the Bijuu, and with the use of his Mokuton, Red managed to recreate the legendary World Tree, the fabled source of all chakra," Tobi explained. "As soon as he could, Red fused with it, placing his soul inside. The World Tree is the source of the countless White Zetsu, and the center of their hive mind. Only Spiral, created long before this tree, could evade its influence. Red is the tree, and the tree is Red. As long as the tree lives, so does Red."

Konan's eyes widened. "So this means-"

"The Red Zetsu you fought isn't the real Red. It is simply a special body Red inhabits and controls from a distance. The real Red Zetsu's soul lurks within the great tree, and anytime his body is destroyed, he simply creates another one to inhabit."

"However, if the tree is destroyed first, then the hive mind will crumble and the countless White Zetsu will shut down," Spiral said, "If we execute Red's current body after that, then the swarm will never recover."

"Who could destroy the tree?" Naruko asked.

"I can," Spiral explained, "If I can access the tree's core, then I could fuse with it and destroy it from the inside. Like a tree cancer."

"The problem lies in the slow fusion process, which means Red's troops will interrupt us long before we can finish," Tobi said, "And with the tree close, Red can tap into its natural chakra to power his Corrupt Sage Mode at will. Somebody needs to occupy him while Spiral takes over the tree. The rest will protect Spiral from the countless White Zetsu lurking in the area. Since Red can sense anybody walking on earth, infiltration is out of question. Only a full on assault is possible."

"We need a little more planning and preparation," Konan said, "By combining our Rinnegan, we might be able to attack the tree head on, and wipe his armies out."

"Possibly, but Red will expect us to come," Spiral pointed out, "Especially if the Relay is your only way out. And, well… you guys didn't fare well against Red himself, and somebody has to take care of him. None of you stand a chance against his Corrupt Sage Mode. He's too fast, and too strong."

"Actually…" Tobi said, glancing at Naruko, "I think the solution is right here."

"You want to teach her _that _technique?" Spiral scratched its head. "It could work yes…"

Naruko's eyes widened. "Wait, there's no way I can defeat Red Zetsu on my own. He's… above my level. _Way _above."

"I don't expect you to _win_, because honestly, there is no way you can beat this thing alone," Tobi said, "However, I might have a technique that should give you a way to keep him busy. Your job will be to stall him long enough for us to destroy his world tree. Without it, he will be unable to regenerate and we shall destroy him together."

"So you're using her as a meat shield?" Konan narrowed her eyes in disgust. "I will not support this."

"If the Dark Wolf had access to the Kyuubi's chakra, she would have been my first pick and probably could have crushed Zetsu with it," Tobi said, "Unfortunately, Konoha, after the devastation unleashed by the Kyuubi, reinforced the Yondaime's seal to the point she can't even tap into its chakra when faced with grievous circumstances."

"Red Zetsu's Mokuton can negate the Kyuubi's chakra," Konan pointed out, "Any technique using it is doomed to fail."

"I know, but you misunderstand my point," Tobi said, "Due to the Kyuubi's chakra periodically leaking in its host's chakra coils, the Jinchuuriki's natural chakra reserves are greatly increased, without taking into account the added boost provided by the Uzumaki's exceptional gifts. I estimate Naruko-chan's personal reserves, excluding the Kyuubi, are around five times your own, Konan-san. Meanwhile, the Dark Wolf's own reserves are… very low."

"How long would that technique last?" Konan asked.

Spiral and Tobi exchanged a glance. "I would say… fifteen minutes," whispered the latter. "Afterward, she will be at Red's mercy."

"But then Red Zetsu will kill her," Konan protested vehemently.

"We might be able to destroy the tree within fifteen minutes and rescue-"

"Might," Konan cut in, "I have seen far too many of my friends die on my watch to let another one!"

"I… I understand how you feel perfectly." Tobi nodded respectfully. "Maybe I have been too demanding. It is not right to discuss such things and ask of you to bear such burden right after you suffered through such an ordeal. I apologize if I hit a sour point."

"I… I'm sorry, but I've seen so many of my friends die before my eyes…" Konan whispered sadly. "I don't want to send another of my loved ones to her death."

_Konan-san… thank you, _Naruko thought silently.

"I understand your feeling perfectly," Tobi said, "I know the pain of losing a friend before our eyes… it is a thing that haunts us for the rest of our lives."

"Sorry not to have been on time," Spiral apologized, "If I had been a little faster…"

"What is done is done," Tobi cut in, "Rin is dead, and she won't come back." He glanced at Konan. "When you lost your friend… what is the first thing you promised yourself?"

"_Never again_," Konan replied.

"As did I…" Tobi sighed. "After my friend Rin died… I swore such a tragedy would never happen again on my watch. I did my best to help people who needed help. I tried to honor her memory, to create a place where she would have loved to live in… but I failed to protect these people. I… I am desperate for help. I'm sorry if I spoke rashly."

"I promise you we will defeat Red Zetsu, Tobi-san," Konan swore, "We will give you our help. But… we need a little more time to prepare and think."

"There is time," Spiral said, "Enjoy a respite… we'll deal with Red after you've rested more."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kazama<strong>_

"Kazama-san, while I enjoy the fact you're starting to take your therapy seriously, I would ask you not to knock at my door in the middle of the night," Obito sighed, inviting the young man to sit around his kitchen table. "Please take a seat."

Kazama did as he was told, and examined the house. It was a pretty small, elegant traditional house in the middle of the Uchiha compound. Nothing extraordinary… except for the photos.

The house was filled with various photography, from Obito's old team to other people and areas. It made the house populated, while in truth, only Obito and his 'family' lived there. Kazama couldn't help but find it creepy.

A smiling Rin gave both her husband and Kazama a cup of tea. "I hope you will enjoy it," she said, "I added some honey to it."

"Thank you very much, Rin-san," Kazama whispered, although he made no move to drink.

"Your tea is always delicious," Obito complimented, sitting in front of Kazama. "Return to bed. I doubt it will be long."

When the duo was left alone, the Uchiha's lone eye glanced at Kazama. When the blonde looked into the Sharingan, he couldn't help but feel a chill down his spin. _This guy is empty inside, _the ninja realized. _His emotions are just a veneer. There's nothing behind them._

"What did you wanted to discuss?" Obito asked, smelling the tea's vapors. "Is it about your past traumas?"

Kazama intertwined his fingers. "I figured it out."

"Figure out what?"

"That you are the guy behind this world," Kazama whispered, "The puppet master."

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"I only told two people in this world I burned my own Konoha," Kazama spoke coldly, "Madara, and you. You're the only one who could have told Menma… since you're partners in Teikoku, isn't that right? The doll and its maker."

"I believe you might have hallucinated," Obito replied, "You are Menma, and I assure you our professional sessions are strictly confidential."

"Of course, it was possible the puppet master, having created this entire world, could simply observe events there at will and learn of the truth through spying on me," Kazama continued, ignoring Obito's words. "But if you were omniscient, then why didn't you change the odd flaws in your creation before we stumbled upon them? It would have been much easier to keep us unaware if we had believed this world to be true. You are not omniscient in this world: you may have created it, but your control over this dream is not absolute."

"I believe you might need more than just a therapy-"

"Then something hit me: if this world was made to be perfect, then why should anybody _need _a shrink?" Kazama cut in. "That is obvious: you took this job so your creations would visit you should they gain awareness of the true nature of the world they live in. Being a shrink is the perfect way to watch over the population: people spill their dearest secrets to you and nobody realize you use the sessions to subtly manipulate them. The fact that you're the _only _one in an entire village of shinobi only further cemented the suspicion."

"This is absurd-"

"But you know what sold it?" Kazama cut in, "The dropout who earns his childhood crush's affection, marries her and becomes renowned as a hero of Konoha… that's just a teenage fantasy."

Obito fell silent, the air quickly dropping and become cold as ice. Kazama shifted uncomfortably, but kept locking eyes with the man.

Then something changed in Obito.

A mere smirk and a glint in his eyes were enough to change his entire expression, from wise adult to cruel predator. "So you figured it out," he whispered mockingly, "I guess I should tell Menma to shut up the next time I see him."

"So I was right…" Kazama trailed off in disgust. "You're the one behind everything."

"So you caught me!" Obito callously mocked. "I guess many things in people's behavior ticked you off? I never bothered with secondary characters. They were just names and faces I needed to fill the stage for the _really _important people. You are right, I am not omniscient: I did not remember every book in a library enough to copy them all, nor did I have much interest in the other villages. My utopia did not need them."

"A utopia? You call this place a utopia?" Kazama growled in disgust. "You destroyed an entire world for a childish fantasy!"

"The world?" Obito spat on his tea. "Who gives a shit about the old world? A place where you can lose your friends to some punk with a kunai is not worth living in. The one I created is much better: no war, no pain, no suffering. I don't hear anybody in this Konoha complain about his or her lot in life."

"You can't destroy an entire world just because you didn't like it!" Kazama protested angrily.

"You're the one to talk," Obito shot back, "Isn't that why you destroyed your Konoha in the first place? Because you didn't like it?"

The simple statement felt to Kazama like he was being hit by a sledgehammer. At loss of words, the young man struggled to find a coherent reply, but he couldn't deny the madman had hit a crack in the armor.

"Oh wait, that's right: you did it because it was _justice_, correct?" Obito mocked, once again the words hitting a sore point. "Don't expect me to be impressed by your attempt at moral superiority. You just hated this place and wanted it gone. That's exactly what I did with my world."

"Shut up!" Kazama snapped. "Don't you dare use my own words to justify your atrocities! We're _nothing _alike!"

"Your words are my words… you don't get it do you?" Obito smiled. "Do you know why you caught me? It's not because you're a detective. It's because we _are _alike. We think the same. You truly are the second coming of Obito Uchiha."

"Why is it that every crook I meet insists I'm just like them?" Kazama grimaced, his tone couldn't hide his stress.

"Because you are a hypocrite," Obito mocked, "You hide behind your veneer of justice and respectability when in truth you just pursue your selfish desires. You came here to 'punish' me, correct? But have you even considered what would happen if you were successful?"

Kazama frowned. "I…"

"You haven't thought about it, have you?" Obito taunted. "You kill me, you destroy this world. But what comes next? Is the old world restored? Or does everything fall back to oblivion, and you along with it? You didn't even think about it: your eyes were just clouded by your _justified _anger."

Kazama clenched his fists. "I will find a way to get out of this world," he said, "Whether you like or not."

Obito laughed. "If you truly want to go back to your friends… then why did you flee from them in the first place?"

Kazama opened his mouth, closed it, and finally found an answer. "Because I couldn't meet their gaze," he admitted.

"That's right: because you know deep down they will not accept you anymore. Not after what you pulled off in your Konoha. Only Madara is willing to tolerate your presence, because you've become no different from him. You are _alone_."

Obito smiled kindly. "If you need your friends, I can recreate them," he said, "I can turn your illusions, your memories of them, into reality." He snapped his fingers, and somebody appeared out of thin air next to him.

Much to Kazama's horror, it was a carbon copy of Naruko, down to the most precise details. However, while a smile was plastered on this copy's face, her eyes betrayed no hint of soul: it was just an empty shell.

"You don't like it?" Obito asked. "Maybe you would better like her with red hair, or green eyes? Would you like her to be like the one you grew to love as a sister, or do you wish for a different personality? I can create the perfect buddy."

"This isn't friendship!" Kazama spat in disgust. "This is just a fantasy!"

"There is no true friendship in this world, and neither is there true love," Obito replied grimly, Naruko's clone vanishing in smoke. "In the end, we're on our own. We humans are doomed to be flawed, to be disappointed. It's just how the real world works. But in my world, everything is always perfect."

Obito sighed. "In this world, there is no dropout," he said, "No traitor. No punishment. You can do anything you want! Want a vacation on a beach? I can create sand warmer than anything you've ever experienced, a sea of sapphire, and a dozen chicks in bikinis that will fawn over you! This place is heaven. And if you kill me, then this place will vanish… alongside all the people inside. You and Madara both."

Obito rose up from his seat. "You have a second chance at living the life you craved. Don't waste it."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Red<strong>_

The World Tree was a beautiful creature.

A colossal flora that would put any human tower to shame, the World Tree had started growing where the mighty Konohagakure once stood. Underneath its powerful roots laid the Relay, the gate the Zetsu race used to spread through all worlds. From the World Tree's branches, trapped in cocoons, captured humans slowly underwent their metamorphosis into Zetsu. It was beautiful.

A pity an eyesore spoiled the view, standing atop a root and not even sparing his comrade a glance.

"I am very disappointed, Zetsu," the Warlord said, "I thought you, of all people, were the most likely to defeat a group of women and children."

"Somebody interfered," the monster replied, leaping next to his ally. "Fortunately, I have another plan ready."

"Oh? Do tell."

"They are trapped in this world, on their own, with none of their friends able to track them down." Red Zetsu shrugged. "The only way for them to leave is either to take my ring or use the Relay. In both cases, they will be forced to attack this place. And I will be ready."

"Oh? So you're luring them into the beast's lair? Pretty ruthless." The Warlord observed the World Tree closely. "How did you recreate this plant? I thought the Kyuubi was needed."

"When I used my Mokuton to control the Kyuubi and unleash it on Konoha," Zetsu explained, "I managed to capture a little of its essence. Not much, but enough to recreate this tree after capturing the other Jinchuuriki. In its awakening, it destroyed Konoha, before giving birth to the first of my children. I had to purge the spirit of Princess Kaguya from it first, of course, but in the end, her nursery became my own."

"Kaguya… yes, I remember the rabbit. She was a pretty strong woman, if clearly insane. Then again, who _isn't _a little mad?" The Warlord chuckled. "She was very attached to your counterpart, do you know that? She was so horrified when I smashed her black son's skull under my foot she couldn't help but shed a tear. This was the opportunity I needed to kill her."

Red Zetsu narrowed its eyes. "If she died at your hand so easily, then she didn't deserve to live."

"Oh, she was more than strong enough to match me, even now, but the difference between us was simple: I am _heartless_." The Warlord snorted. "Her child's death drove her to despair. If the situation had been reversed, I wouldn't have bat an eyelash at such a trivial event. It is when you care for nothing in this world, when you realize you are _alone_, that your true power comes out. You cease to be a man, and you become a demon that cares only for himself."

The dreaded conqueror glanced at the newborn Zetsu with cold indifference. "I appreciate your company, Zetsu. I believe you have a bright future ahead of you… but your love for your children keeps you down."

"Perhaps, but at least I will leave a legacy behind," Red Zetsu replied, "My children will mourn me, and I will forever exist through their memories. You, on the other hand, are going to die alone and despised."

"Die? Since when are you under the delusion I _can _die?" The Warlord mocked. "I am the Oni no Shinobi, the Devil of Shinobi. No one can comprehend my power and cunning. The battlefield is my realm, conquest my crown, and death my scepter. No one can match me. _No one_."

Zetsu shrugged at the man's hubris. "Yet, you have been unable to take down one kunoichi."

"I lacked the proper motivation. In your case, I thought the prospect of taking revenge on your nemesis would be enough, but apparently you need a… little assistance."

The Red Zetsu glanced at its ally in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"I have nothing better to do with my time," the Warlord said, "My body lusts for battle. Yes… the blood of our foes will be such a delightful sight to behold."

* * *

><p><strong>Technique Compendium<strong>

Ninshuu: Human Containment Seal, S-rank: by using Ninshuu, the ancestor of ninjutsu, the user releases his spiritual energy outside his body in the form of a whirlwind he can direct at will. Upon hitting a target, the whirlwind creates a pathway between the user and the victim: the user then uses his own spiritual energy to affect the victim's physical energy and seal him in an item.

Ninshuu: Powerless Imbalance, S-rank: by using Ninshuu, the user connects his spiritual energy to the victim's own, and puts a mental barrier between his physical and spiritual energy, preventing him of using chakra. While the effect wears off with time and meditation, the victim's chakra is disrupted, alongside any possible seal or bloodline limit.

Fuuinjutsu: Return to Nothingness, unknown rank: by adding seals to a fan, the user can reduce a technique back to its primal state of ethereal chakra and instantly absorb it.

Fire Release: Fenghuang, A-rank: the user turns his chakra into the shape of a fiery bird and launch it at a target.

Yamata-no-Orochi: turning his Susanoo into the shape of a eight-headed snake, the user than summons his Amaterasu through the creature's lungs, unleashing a powerful fire upon a target at high speed.

Infinite Izanagi, SS-rank: the ultimate version of the kinjutsu Izanagi. Through the sacrifice of an eye and limitless reserves of chakra, the user is able to use the Izanagi on a global scale, turning the old world into an illusion and his fantasies into reality. However, the death of the user will undo the technique, with unknown consequences.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** that chapter was more or less Obito's.

I wanted to show how a reaction to a single event can change an individual. Rin's death led to two different reactions for the Obitos portrayed here: in Zetsu's world, he took it as an inspiration to become a better person and persevere in trying to be good. In the Road to Ninja's verse... he snapped. They're both the same person: they just took different paths in life.

For the battles: I envision Mifune as the anti-ninja per excellence. He doesn't have flashy techniques; he focuses on impairing his foes instead. Giving him the ability to use a warped version of Ninshuu seemed fitting: Ninshuu was originally made to connect people. Mifune uses it to dominate them. Meanwhile, Orochimaru is basically the most souped up version you'll see. The main difference with his canon self is his ability to learn from his mistakes, which earned him the Sharingan. As you can guess, he'll be a major foe for this arc.

The next chapters will focus mostly on character development, especially Naruko, Sasuke and the Dark Wolf, Chibaku, Izanami and Kazama. There won't be a big battle for a while, but the next should be pretty epic in scoop.

Would you kindly leave a review?


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